If you leave the Waverly train station in Edinburgh and make a left turn towards the High Street, follow Market Street to the right, towards the Castle. Market Street
connects with Mound Place at a true “hairpin” curve. At this juncture, you can find the statue of a Black Watch soldier standing high above the street. This is the Black Watch War Memorial,
which commemorates those members of the Watch who died during the Boer War 1899-1902. The Bank of Scotland donated the site in 1906.
The bronze sculpture stands on a pedestal of red granite. The soldier atop the monument stands with his weight on his left foot, while he leans against his rifle. The
soldier clearly dominates the piece, but there is great action and detail in the relief sculpture below depicting the kilted soldiers moving ahead. On the top appear the words
Am Freiceadan Dubh, the Gaelic for “The Black Watch”
On the sides of the monument are listed the names of approximately 200 of the soldiers who died either in the battle, or of diseases contracted.
The sculpture is the work of William Birnie Rhind, RSA, 1873-1933 and was unveiled in 1910
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