The Kirkwall War Memorial commemorates Kirkwall and St Ola residents who lost their lives in the First World War, World War 2 and in the conflict in Northern Ireland. It is adjacent to St Magnus cathedral and is in the form of an archway built of pink granite. It acts as a gateway to the churchyard and cemetery behind. It was unveiled in 1923 by General Lord Horne. The inner pillars are dedicated to WW1 with the outer pillars being added to commemorate the Second World War. A further addition was added for the conflict in Northern Ireland.
(Above image from Pause for thought by Derek Mayes, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In 2016 for the national commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and German President Joachim Gauck along with the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were among many dignitaries from Britain and Germany.
The graveyard has five Commonwealth War Graves.
Directions: Our next stop on the route is the St Magnus Cathedral which is just next to the War Memorial. Please make you way along to the entrance steps.
