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THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED BY FIELD-MARSHAL
THE RIGHT HON. EARL ROBERTS, V.C.,K.G., K.P., G.C.B., O.M.,
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE BRITISH
ARMY, ON 22ND AUGUST 1903.
JOHN MELROSE, PROVOST.



ERECTED BY ALL CLASSES
OF THIS BORDERLAND IN
HONOUR OF THE MEN OF
HAWICK AND DISTRICT WHO
FELL IN SOUTH AFRICA IN
THE GREAT BOER WAR OF
1899-1902 AS A MEMORIAL
OF UNDYING RECORD.

"YOU DO WELL TO KEEP THEIR
MEMORIES GREEN. YOU DO WELL
TO CHERISH THE EXAMPLE THEY
SET AND TO OFFER THE ONLY ONE
CONSOLATION TO THEIR RELATIVES
AND FRIENDS, THAT THEY HAVE
NOT GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN VAIN,
THAT THE OBJECT FOR WHICH
THEY FOUGHT HAS BEEN ACCOM
PLISHED."







OFFICERS
_________

JOHN JAMES SCOTT CHISHOLME, of Stirches. Colonel, Imperial Light Horse. Killed at Elandslaagte 21st October 1899.
ARTHUR DAVID RIPLEY POTT, of Todrig. Captain, 3rd K.O.S.B. Died at Kimberley 20th December 1901.
BASIL NAPIER, Thirlstane. Lieutenant, 34th Imperial Yeomanry. Mortally wounded at Senekal 27th December 1900, died next day.



KILLED IN ACTION
_________

TROOPERS
ANDREW INGLIS. 62nd City Imperial Yeomanry. Bethlehem 5th July 1900.
JAMES HUME. 23rd Imperial Yeomanry. Middlepost 6th February 1902
ANDREW EWART SCOTT. Midgehope. S.A. Constabulary. Vantondershoek 8th Feby. 1902.

PRIVATES
GEORGE TURNBULL. 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers. Colenso 15th December 1899.
GEORGE TURNBULL HART. 1st K.O.S.B. Paardeberg Drift 8th February 1900.
ANDREW S. WINTRUP. 1st Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. Nooitgedacht 13th December 1900.
WILLIAM KEDIE. 2nd Royal Highlanders. Magersfontein 11th December 1899.



DIED OF WOUNDS AND OTHER
CASUALTIES OF THE WAR
_________

SERGEANT
THOMAS GRIEVE. West Buccleuch. 17th Imperial Yeomanry.
CORPORALS
TOM WILMOT. 5th Northumberland Imperial Yeomanry.
ANDREW RIDDLE. 2nd Seaforth Highlanders.
TROOPERS
GEORGE ARCHBOLD TURNBULL. Roberts Horse.
JAMES REID. S.A. Constabulary.
PRIVATES
JAMES HUNTER. C. Company Imperial Light Infantry.
PATRICK REILLY. 1st Gordon Highlanders.
JOHN HUGGAN. 1st K.O.S.B.
JAMES BALLANTYNE. 3rd K.O.S.B.
JAMES WATSON. 1st Royal Scots.
JAMES RICHARDSON. 1ST Scots Guards.
JOHN WILSON. 1st K.O.S.B.
JOHN REID. 2nd K.O.S.B.

....GREAT preparations have been made for the unveiling of the local Patriotic Memorial, which takes place on Saturday afternoon by Lord Roberts, who is to be accompanied by a distinguished military staff. Troops from Stobs and the Border Rifle Volunteers will also be present. As will be seen from advertisement, excursion trains are to be run to Hawick from other Border towns, so that it is likely there will be a very large gathering on the occasion.



The Southern Reporter, Thursday 20th August 1903



....On Saturday Lord Roberts, Commander-in-Chief, brought a fortnight's visit to Scotland to a close, when he inspected Stobs camp and unveiled a monument in Wilton Lodge Park, Hawick, to the memory of men from the Hawick district who fell in the South African war. Great interest was manifested in the visit of the Commander-in-Chief, not only in Hawick, but in the adjoining Border towns, and by afternoon thousands of visitors had arrived in the town, and these, with the large muster of townspeople, the display of flags, and the brilliant weather, combined to form a gay and bustling scene.
....Lord Roberts, accompanied by Lieut.-General Sir Archibald Hunter, commanding the Forces in Scotland; Lieut.-General Sir Ian Hamilton, and other officers, arrived in Hawick on Friday night and stayed overnight at the Tower Hotel. On leaving there at nine o'clock on Saturday morning, the Commander-in-Chief, on leaving the Tower on horseback at nine o'clock, had a most cordial reception from a great crowd that had assembled on the Tower Knowe, the hearty cheers being renewed by crowds at the Tower Dykeside and head of Slitrig Crescent, and the compliments were repeatedly acknowledged by Lord Roberts. The ground occupied by the camp was gone over, and Stobs Castle and its surroundings were also inspected. The party returned to Hawick shortly after one o'clock.
....An hour later Lord Roberts attended a luncheon of a private nature, which was given by the Corporation in his honour, in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Buildings. Among those present were the Earl of Dalkeith, M.P., Lord Herbert Scott, Colonel Godfray, C.B., Berwick, Colonel S. Douglas Elliot, V.D., Edinburgh; and Sheriff Baillie, the company numbering about sixty, presided over by Provost Melrose. A guard of honour was furnished by a company of Hawick Volunteers, under Captain Rodger. Lord Roberts, acknowledging the toast of his health, said this was the second time he had been in Hawick, and the more he saw of it the better he liked it. Referring to Stobs camp, he said that some had predicted that it would lower the moral tone of the community, but the camp had come and gone, and the behaviour of the soldiers had been reported to have been good, while the town had benefited by the camp. He also spoke of the need of more ground and the probability that more would be taken in.
....From the Town Hall the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by his staff and by Provost Melrose, the members of the Town Council, and leading citizens, drove to Wilton Lodge Park, where the patriotic memorial had been erected. It is situated on the level ground on the left bank of the Teviot. The situation and surroundings of the monument are ideal, except that the bandstand spoils the effect of the memorial as it is approached from the town. In anticipation of the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief, the townspeople had made their way to the park in thousands, and it was calculated that about ten thousand persons were present. The ground round the scene of the ceremony was kept by detachments of troops - Army Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, and Black Watch - from Stobs, and by the Border Rifles, the local Volunteer corps. The regulars, who numbered about 300, were under the command of Captain Urquhart, and the Volunteers were commanded by Major Haddon, Hawick. The Cameron Highlanders furnished a guard of honour for the Commander-in-Chief, under Lieutenant Patten-Bethune, and near them were also paraded some thirty-six of the local veterans. They numbered thirty-six, and ranged from whiter-haired but hale-looking wearers of the Crimean and Indian Mutiny medals to middle-aged men who served under Sir Frederick Roberts in his Cabul-to-Candahar march, and young and vigorous reservists who had passed through the South African campaign. As he passed along the ranks the Commander-in-Chief made inquiries as to the men's regiments and their service, and showed a warm interest, which evidently was highly gratifying to the veterans.
....The military party then took their places on the terrace on which the monument is situated. Provost Melrose presided, and called upon Mr Walter Haddon, joint honorary secretary of the committee, who read a statement explaining the origin and object of the memorial. The promoters, he stated, resolved "that the memorial should be one which would perpetuate the memory of the men of the town and district who, at their country's call, laid down their lives for her sake, and which would form a token of sympathy with their mourning relatives, and a lesson in patriotism and public duty to coming generations." The monument was raised by shilling subscriptions, so that all classes of the community had an opportunity of contributing.
....Lord Roberts then, at the request of the Provost, unveiled the memorial amid ringing cheers. The troops presented arms, the bugles sounded "The Last Post," and while the Hawick Saxhorn Band played a hymn tune, school children from the country district, under the direction of Mrs Aitchison of Brieryhill, walked in procession round the monument and laid flowers on the pedestal. The Rev. J. Rudge Wilson, parish minister of Wilton, who served as an Army chaplain in South Africa, then engaged in prayer.
....Lord Roberts afterwards addressed the spectators. He said - Mr Provost, my Lords, ladies, and gentlemen, I consider myself highly privileged in being permitted to take part in this interesting ceremony and to unveil this monument, which, as is inscribed on its pedestal, has been "erected by all classes of this Borderland in honour of the men of Hawick and district who fell in South Africa in the great Boer war of 1899-1902 as a memorial of undying regard. You do well to keep their memories green. You do well to cherish the example they set, and to offer the only one consolation to their relatives and friends, that they have not given their lives in vain - that the object for which they fought has been accomplished." These words (which are on the monument), to my mind, very happily express the object for which this monument has been erected, an object which commends itself very strongly to me, for I think we should be wanting in proper feeling if we did not do all in our power to show our appreciation of those who so willingly laid down their lives for their country. The late war has proved to us that the same grand spirit which has made this nation what it is - respected and looked up to by all the world - exists as strongly as ever. Many of the men who took part in the war could never have contemplated that they would have been required to take up arms in earnest, but they went out cheerfully and willingly to take their share of the privations and dangers which can never be separated from the life of a soldier in the field. The names that are on this tablet consist of Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteers, as well as of regular soldiers, all of whom vied with each other in doing their duty to their country. One of them, John James Scott Chisholme, I knew intimately. As a subaltern in the 9th Lancers he served with me in Afghanistan, and just twenty years before the day on which he met his death he distinguished himself greatly outside Cabul by remaining on the field of battle until fighting was over, though he was very severely wounded during the engagement. It is essential not only to show our admiration for the deeds which these men have performed, but to set their example before those who come after them. I congratulate Hawick and its neighbourhood on the success which has attended their efforts to perpetuate the names of the men of this district, in whose honour we are assembled here to-day. (Loud cheers.)
....Lord Dalkeith, in moving a vote of thanks to the Commander-in-Chief, said the vastness of the crowd showed how his kindness was appreciated, and his visit would certainly stimulate interest in the service of which he was a distinguished ornament. (Cheers.)
....Colonel William Scott Elliot, Teviot Lodge, on behalf of the committee of subscribers, handed over the monument to the Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council. Provost Melrose, in accepting the custody of it, appealed to the general community to assist in keeping the memorial from being abused or disfigured in any way. Every right-minded person would hope that no one would be foolish enough to disgrace himself and to show disrespect to the memory of the brave men whose names were inscribed by disfiguring the monument. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
....Mr J. G. Winning, Branxholme Knowe, moved a vote of thanks to the sculptor (Mr Birnie Rhind, A.R.S.A.) and the architects (Messrs Scott & Campbell), and these gentlemen acknowledged the compliment. The Committee, on the proposal of Mr Charles J. Wilson, Deanfield, was thanked for its labours, and Mr James T. Vair, one of the honorary secretaries, replied. The proceedings, which had lasted about an hour, were brought to a close by the playing of the National Anthem.
....Lord Roberts and his staff then returned to their carriages and drove to the railway station, where they joined the Midland express for Edinburgh.
....The monument stands twenty-two feet high, and is executed in freestone. There is a fine square pedestal with carved pilasters and moulded panels on each side of the square. The upper part of the pedestal has corner scrolls, connected by swags of laurel wreath. A figure, eight feet in height, representing a soldier in service uniform and standing in an attitude of watchfulness with a rifle resting, as though he was preparing for a bayonet charge, is placed on the top of the pedestal.
The Southern Reporter, Thursday 27th August 1903