Roll of honour to Leith war heroes to go on show

Published on Friday 8 February 2008 09:13

BOOKS containing the original records of people from Leith who were killed in the First World War are set to go on public display for the first time.

They represent a roll of honour to the 2205 men who died in the Great War, and have been in storage since their publication in 1920.

It is understood the five books are now set to be unveiled at this year's Leith Festival.

The lists give the names, addresses, Army divisions and ages of those who fell, as well as the dates and causes of death.

Steve Mitchell, who works for the festival, discovered the existence of the books and yesterday met Lothian Health Services Archive representatives to discuss a temporary exhibition for them, probably in Leith Library.

He said: "Each volume is a beautiful manuscript. We knew of them before so we asked the Lothian Health Services Archive if they knew where they were.

"After a lot of digging we managed to get them. It was part of another project we are doing about Great Junction Street, and it all developed from there."

The books, which are currently kept at the Edinburgh University Library in George Square, also contain names of 350 people who earned special honours during the war.

There is a summary about the contribution by the people of Leith and the area itself.

The information in the books provided the names for the memorial at the old Leith Hospital, which opened in January 1927.

Mr Mitchell added: "It was agreed that these really should be displayed somewhere and we thought the festival would be an ideal stage for them to be on.

"The library would be the ideal place for this – I don't see anywhere else in Leith that would be able to display them."

The books – officially called The Leith Roll of Honour – were created following a resolution by Leith Town Council, and were moved to safe storage when the hospital was passed over to the NHS in 1948.

Assistant archivist for the collection, Laura Brouard, said: "A manager's minute of May 12, 1927, tells us that a design for the case in which to display the Leith Roll of Honour was unanimously approved. It is permanently preserved in appropriate archival and environmental conditions."

Leith councillor Gordon Munro, who laid a wreath last year at South Leith Parish Church in memory of the First World War dead, said: "There's still a plaque at the community treatment centre to commemorate the dead, and this would be another way of remembering the glorious dead.

"It's of strong community interest and acknowledgement of the role they played. We can never overstate the loss and sacrifice those people made."

The exhibition will run from May 30 to June 8.

&#149 Lothian Health Services Archive website