As the nation prepares to remember the fallen, a “despicable” thief has been slammed for desecrating a memorial garden at Forfar Legion.
Just days after members of the town branch installed solar lights as part of the ongoing project to create the garden at the Academy Street branch, they were swiped by the callous criminal.
Branch officials say they have been saddened and angered by the theft because of where it happened, rather than the financial impact of the cruel act.
The garden also has particular poignancy for many at Forfar Legion since the project was close to the heart of Mick McKeown, a former branch chairman who tragically died after being struck by a bus in the town in early January.
Former Forfar branch chairman Charlie Brown, who is now national chairman of Royal British legion (Scotland) said: “These lights are just a few pounds so it’s not about the value, it’s about the significance of the garden to many people.
“A lot of people put a lot of work into creating this garden and it is fenced off so someone has had to go in there and remove these lights.”
Mr Brown added: “In my 25 years involved in Remembrance events, never once has anyone interfered with anything like this.
“At The Cross in Forfar we have the wreaths and crosses on display and they are left alone, so it has upset people that this has happened at the garden when people are trying to create something special there.
“The idea was to try to transform that piece of ground to make it an area fitting for the remembrance of many.
“A lot of good work is going on around the town through community bodies and the idea was for the Legion to get involved in doing its bit with the idea of this commemorative garden.”
Ken Campbell, who was instrumental in the work to create the garden, said: “It’s despicable that someone would do this.
“It just seems that folk don’t care about something like this. These lights aren’t big and they’re not expensive so it’s not as if they would be able to sell them on.
“But it’s what they were part of that is important to the Legion and it’s disgusting that someone would just go in and take them.”
