Flagpole flying Union Jack at Falkirk area war memorial snapped in half and thrown onto road

A memorial dedicated to the brave sons of a Falkirk district village who gave their lives for their country has been vandalised.

A flagpole flying a Union Jack at Carronshore War Memorial was snapped in half and tossed onto a main road overnight on Saturday.

Carronshore Heritage Forum (CHF), whose members oversaw the creation of the lasting legacy to those who fought in the First and Second World Wars, confirmed the incident via social media.

A GoFundMe page has since been set up to replace the damaged pole.

Graham Wright, who built part of the monument for free, has blasted the vandalism and vowed to pay £2000 to help catch the culprits.

He said: “Someone has taken a hatred towards the Union Jack. This isn’t about religion, colours or creed.

“To do that kind of thing is absolutely disgusting. You can’t go any lower than that.

“This has been more than one person.

A flagpole at Carronshore War Memorial was snapped in two. Picture: Carronshore Heritage Forum on Facebook.

“We’ve got the Saltire and a Union Jack next to each other. They’ve kicked the Union Jack off, broken the pole in half and thrown it onto the road.

“I said I was willing to pay £2000 to get them caught because myself and my grandfather are ex-serving soldiers. This is about our grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought for us.

“You’ve got to look after people who’ve fought and died for this country. It infuriates me somebody would do that. It’s despicable.

A flagpole flying a Union Jack at Carronshore War Memorial was vandalised overnight. Photograph taken June 2020. Picture: Michael Gillen.

“Anyone who does that to a war memorial should be jailed. I hope the law comes down on them.”

A post by CHF read: “An act of vandalism has occurred at the Carronshore War Memorial between 7pm [on Saturday] and 7am on Sunday, whereby the flagpole that flies the Union Flag has been snapped and thrown onto Main Road opposite the Carronshore War Memorial.

“CCTV footage has been viewed and will be passed on to Police Scotland. Let it be known those responsible will be taken to task and named and shamed.

“After being made aware of this disrespectful act, the Saltire flag has been removed from its flagpole and replaced with the Union flag where it will fly alone until such time we have a replacement pole in place so that both the Saltire flag and the Union flag can again fly side by side.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Officers will be making enquiries to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

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