Garden of Remembrance, Dunoon

I laid a wreath at the Rembrance Sunday commemoration held at the War Memorial in Dunoon, which sits facing the Clyde. Around it is a small memorial garden, planted today with little crosses and poppies.

Amongst the names on the memorial is that of Sir Harry Lauder's only son, Captain John Lauder who was killed in action on December 28, 1916. Sir Harry Lauder lived for a time in the town.

As his biographical note on the iTunes website puts it " Before his son's death, Lauder had worked tirelessly to interest young Scotsmen in conscripting to the war effort, and indirectly helped build the regiment that German soldiers would later respectfully refer to as the "ladies from hell." After his son's death, Lauder went into the field himself, taking a small piano attached to a military vehicle directly onto the front lines and performing for the troops. Lauder did this at his own expense, and most of his fellow entertainers thought he'd taken leave of his senses. But in doing so, Lauder set a precedent that has been followed from that time since, ultimately paving the way for the USO shows and other types of special entertainment programs provided for service personnel. For his achievements in this regard, Lauder was knighted by King George V in 1919.

After the war Lauder also was very active in the movement to ensure that War Memorials - like the one in Dunoon - were created across the country.