Mearns school plans war memorial to ex-pupils

A MEARNS school is planning a war memorial to commemorate former pupils who died during the Second World War.

The country will remember the centenary of the First World War at many ceremonies across the UK on November 11.

While honouring the dead of that war, Lathallan School in Johnshaven is to install a permanent tribute to its pupils who died in the 1939-45 conflict, along with four men who perished while serving abroad.

The memorial, situated in the main building, will be unveiled before services of remembrance this year.

The school was founded in 1930 and five pupils from the formative decade lost their lives in the Second World War.

As the school was burned to the ground in the 1940s, before moving from Fife to Johnshaven, a war memorial would appear to have been low on the school’s priority list.

One poignant fact is that the average age of these old Lathallians was only 22, and two of the boys were still teenagers when killed in action.

Now that Lathallan takes pupils up to the age of 18, this fact resonates strongly with the current pupils.

Alastair Shepherd, one of the directors of the school, has been the guiding light behind the war memorial project.

“The school has changed beyond all recognition from the early days in Fife but one thing that has never changed is the strong ethos of the school,” he said.

“Perhaps living and working in a historic castle makes the pupils conscious that historical events are not as remote as we sometimes think.

“The pupils are very aware of the heritage of the school and how the behaviour and sacrifice of Old Lathallians in the past reflects well on them in the modern era.”

The memorial is due to be unveiled by Colonel Nigel Shepherd, Royal Logistics Corps, who is believed to be the most senior Old Lathallian now serving in the armed forces.

Colonel Shepherd has served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Headmaster Richard Toley said: “It is very important in this centenary year of World War One to recognise the valour and bravery of the Lathallan pupils who served their country in all conflicts.”

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Main picture: Kris Miller. Lathallan pupils Jake Beagrie and Cara Philip outside the school and an artist’s impression of what the memorial would look like.