Edinburgh Black Watch Boer War memorial (#0431)

One of the hazards of winter travel is days when everything is grey/gray. In fact, the weather was so grey that day that I barely noticed the statue until having passed it. But, the statue fit with a theme, so a fair amount of processing was used to make the statue clear.

Why include it? Because, as I noted in a much earlier Edinburgh picture, there seemed to be a lot of honoring of war valor around Edinburgh.

The statue is:

“To the Memory of Officers Non-Commissioned Officers & Men of the Black Watch Who Fell in the South African [Second Boer] War 1899-1902”

As noted in the Victorian Web page (link below), the figure is over 11’ tall and was described in 1910 as: “a piece of strong and picturesque modelling. He stands firmly on his left foot, and with his right slightly bent, he is resting both arms on his rifle in a characteristic attitude.” The relief below the figure show “kilted Highlanders advancing towards and taking up firing positions at a ridge.” The War Memorials webpage has good photos of the detail of the statue. The Boer War was the extension of the British Empire into South Africa.

Victorian Web: www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/rhind/3.html
War Memorials: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/80146

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)