- Historic Environment Scotland calls for rebranding of regimental markers
Signs describing ‘acts of violence’ will be added to Scots war memorials following a controversial review of tourist attractions.
Heritage chiefs say a raft of ‘interpretation improvements’ describing regiments’ ‘imperial past’ will be added to destinations such as Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Glasgow Cathedral.
At Glasgow Cathedral, tourists will be informed of ‘sensitivities’ surrounding memorials honouring members of regiments which served in Northern Ireland during ‘The Troubles’.
A sign mentioning King William of Orange’s links to slavery is to be added beside the memorial
Even a memorial to King William of Orange near the cathedral will have a sign describing how he ‘benefited financially from the trafficking of enslaved people’.
The review was commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the government-funded heritage agency responsible for some of the country’s leading tourist attractions.
Academics at Glasgow University were tasked with examining associations between publicly owned buildings and historic acts of imperialism.
It found many properties had connection to Scotland’s ‘heavy and sometimes disproportionate’ involvement in colonialism in the Caribbean, Africa, the Americas and Asia, as well as ‘the north of Ireland’.
People visiting these attractions will be given this information on updated signs and notice boards.
The report, overseen by Dr Stephen Mullen, Professor Stephen Driscoll and Dr Andrew Mackillop, said: ‘Scottish units were involved in acts of violence against a wide range of peoples.’
In one example, the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders were recalled for their involvement in suppressing uprisings in India in the mid-19th century.
Memorials at Glasgow Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle and other historic sites will have signs put in place
The commentary states: ‘The overall British campaign in this period claimed the lives of at least 150,000 people. Racialised judicial repression and military violence remained an under-lying feature of the Empire.’
A report by Dr Mullen highlights the imperial past of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, who are remembered in a monument at Edinburgh Castle.
It says: ‘The KOSB served in Ireland in 1914 and in Northern Ireland from 1970 to 1989. While garrisoning Dublin in 1914 a detachment of the regiment fired into a crowd killing three people.’
A spokesman for HES said: ‘We have a rolling programme of interpretation improvements at our sites, including Edinburgh Castle, Glasgow Cathedral and Stirling Castle.’
Callum McGoldrick of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘It is shocking funds would be used for such a pointless project. The Scottish Government should abandon this ridiculous endeavour.’
