The National War Memorial is in Edinburgh Castle
This building was opened on 14th July 1927 as a memorial to the Scottish dead of the 1st World War 1914-18 by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII). In the Middle Ages St. Mary's Church stood on this site. In 1540 it was converted into a munition house then demolished in 1755 to make room for the North Barracks. The building was improved in 1863 by Robert Billings to give it a more picturesque appearance. The army vacated the building in 1923 and Sir Robert Lorimer adapted it as the National Shrine. The building also commemorates the men who fell in the Second World War 1939-45.
This memorial commemorates 100,000 men. Each regiment has its own register and if you visit allow lots of time. We found so much of interest could have stayed for a week.
Photographs by Christine Stokes
The carving above the front door, clearer in the first photograph, is a pelican piercing its breast to feed its young. It doesn't actually do that but it was a popular symbol for self sacrifice in the early 20th Century
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