Armistice 100: Kinghorn remembers with poignant Tommy sculpture

The six-foot-high metal silhouette of a British soldier, Tommy, is part of the 2018 Armistice project There But Not There from the charity Remembered.

It was bought for the Royal Burgh of Kinghorn Community Council by chairman Alan McIlravie thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor.

At a recent meeting Mr McIlravie asked members if they could think of a way of raising the £750 cost of the statue in just a few weeks.

“I came across this online and thought it would be something the community council would like to look at for our centenary commemorations,” he said.

“I was wondering how we could do it in a short space of time when someone approached me and said they wanted to give the money in memory of a relative who had survived the Great War. Most people remember those who died, but there were people who survived but carried the burden of what they experienced for the rest of their life.”

Since he arrived in Kinghorn a few weeks ago the soldier has been on visits around the village where he has been attracting a lot of attention.

On Tuesday he was at Kinghorn Primary where the children learned about the concept of There But Not There at an assembly about the centenary of the end of the Great War.

“The children were enthralled with the appearance of the silhouette at their school during their morning break,” said Mr McIlravie.

He will have pride of place at the Kinghorn Remembrance Day parade on Sunday when the stories of a soldier and sailor whose names are on the war memorial will be told.

“It’s very fitting as the figures on our memorial are a soldier and a sailor,” added Alan.

After the ceremony Tommy will be placed at the entrance to the new housing development on the former Caberfeidh site.