Scotland

Call for expansion of Marines memorial

A Scottish site, that is the location of a memorial for soldiers, is expected to be expanded, due to so many tributes being laid and ashes being scattered there.

The Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge is dedicated to marines who trained in the area during World War II.

The nearby memorial garden honours those killed in conflicts, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Highland council says it has been alterted, by the Commando Veterans Association, to increasing pressure on the site.

Council officers have recommended the local authority, which owns and maintains the site, spends £25,000 on upgrading and expanding the garden.

A recent report states: "Sadly, due to current circumstances, the number of tributes being placed at the site has increased greatly, meaning that the garden is now overcrowded."

The report will be considered on Thursday.

Earlier this year, six Essex-based soldiers cycled to Spean Bridge in memory of a colleague who was killed in Afghanistan.

The soldiers from 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD), based at Carver Barracks in Wimbish, peddled north to lay a memorial stone at the garden for Sapper David Watson, who died in 2009.

Sapper Watson, 23, from Newcastle upon Tyne, was fatally wounded by a roadside bomb in the Sangin area of Helmand province. He had trained with the Royal Marines.

From 2004 to 2006, a Royal Marine upset by the state of the garden of remembrance led efforts to refurbish it.

Regimental Sgt Maj Ali McGill and 19 volunteers from the Fleet Protection Group at HM Naval Base Clyde carried out the improvements.

The Commando Memorial overlooks the Great Glen and the hills, glens and moorland where marines trained for missions during World War II.

Picture: www.walkhighlands.co.uk