Re-dedication of Black Watch memorial

From The Courier:

RINCE CHARLES will be in Dundee on Sunday to attend the rededication service of The Black Watch memorial his grandmother, the late Queen Mother, unveiled on the outskirts of the city exactly 50 years ago.

The bronze of a Black Watch soldier stands at Powrie Brae against the backdrop of the Angus countryside and commemorates the sacrifice of more than 440 4th and 5th Battalion Black Watch soldiers who died in the second world war.

Over the years it has proved a site of pilgrimage, remembrance and reflection for those associated with the wartime Dundee City and County of Angus battalions.

“The landmark statue stands with his feet in Angus but overlooks the city of Dundee, commemorating the loss of lads from both the rural and urban battalions,” Black Watch Association secretary Major Ronnie Proctor said.

“Unfortunately years standing out in all weathers had taken their toll on our old soldier and urgent restoration was required to stop it deteriorating beyond repair.”

Around £12,000 was raised by grant aid and Black Watch Association fund-raising to restore the statue and on Sunday Prince Charles will follow in the Queen Mother’s footsteps as royal patron of The Black Watch Association to rededicate the memorial.

The prince will be joined by second world war veterans of the Dundee and Angus battalions, some of whom attended the original ceremony in October 1959.

Serving Black Watch soldiers of 3rd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, Territorial Army soldiers of the 51st Highland Volunteers, members of the Angus and Dundee Battalion of the Army Cadet Force, Black Watch veterans and their families will also join civic heads and the public to mark the occasion.

Sunday’s service will begin at 12.30pm and will be conducted jointly by the Right Rev Vincent Logan, Bishop of Dunkeld, former Black Watch national serviceman the Rev Canon Peter Allen, and the Rev Bob Wightman, Dundee Combined Forces Association chaplain.