Sundial featuring silhouette of veteran unveiled to mark Falklands anniversary

Scotland’s largest veterans’ charity has unveiled a striking memorial to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War.

The Shadow Of The Brave, a 5ft steel sundial, is modelled on the silhouette of veteran Bill McDowall, 61, kneeling and paying his respects to his fallen comrades.

Mr McDowall served in the Falklands as a 21-year-old and now works and resides in the Erskine Veterans Village, in Renfrewshire.

Ian Cumming, Erskine’s chief executive, said it is “only right that we pay our respects to those who fought with valour to defend the citizens and the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands”.

He added: “Time and distance may have further faded the memory of the general public.

“However, for those who fought so heroically, their physical and mental wounds may as well have been acquired yesterday, for they live with them today.”

The sundial will now become a place of remembrance and reflection for veterans. In between every hour there is a series of dots totalling 255 to commemorate every fallen British military personnel.

The dial, unveiled at the charity’s Erskine grounds, is marked to tell the time in the Falkland Islands, with the shadow created by the kneeling soldier sweeping across the dots every single day from sunrise to sunset, 6am to 6pm.

Outside the dial, it is inscribed with the poignant quote: “At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

Guests at a Remembrance service held as the sundial was unveiled were welcomed by Mr Cumming, with the Rev Jude Okorie, Royal Navy chaplain, then paying tribute to those who fought and died in the 10-week conflict between April and June 1982.

There was also a minute’s silence, which was marked by the Last Post. The Crags Of Tumbledown Mountain, famously composed by Pipe Major James Riddell in the Falklands during battle honouring those who fought, followed.

Mr Cumming said: “The Remembrance service and the unveiling of stunning Shadow Of The Brave, one of the few permanent Falklands War memorials in Scotland, are poignant and fitting tributes to all those who served.

“Through Bill McDowall, and so many other Erskine veterans who fought in the Falklands, we know the pain that so many live with.

“This sundial, in Bill’s image, is a remarkable piece of artwork, which will serve as a reminder to everyone who visits our veterans’ village of the sacrifices that so many have made.”