MESSAGES of support for The Herald’s campaign to create a garden of remembrance for Scotland’s coronavirus victims are continuing to flood in.

In just a few short days since launching the campaign, we have been given the offer of a site at Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, for a memorial garden and have received the backing of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and also cross party support from the leaders of Scotland’s main political parties.

Our vision is to create a memorial cairn with names of every one of Scotland’s victims of Covid-19.

And yesterday our campaign was boosted by the offer of financial help from the workforce of HCS Mechanical and Electrical Ltd. The company has strong links to Jim Russell, from Parkhead, Glasgow, who died from the virus, leaving his fiancee Connie McCready heartbroken. 

The Hillington-based firm has pledged £5,000 to The Herald campaign in the hope it can be put towards memorial benches.

Frontline workers in hospitals, communities and care homes know only too well the impact the disease is having on families and some have also gone through the pain of having colleagues die because of the coronavirus.

Health care representatives and unions have backed memorial garden campaign as families and colleagues find a way to heal after the loss of loved ones.

Home care worker Catherine Sweeney is believed to have been the first frontline worker to die with the coronavirus in Scotland. Ms Sweeney, from Dumbarton, died on April 3 in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.

Nurse Janice Graham was the first NHS worker to die from the virus in Scotland. The 58-year-old health care support worker and district nurse died at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock, on April 6. 

Mother-of-two Kirsty Jones, a healthcare support worker with NHS Lanarkshire, died on April 20. She joined the health board after leaving school at 17 and spent much of her career working with older patients. The 41-year-old had recently taken up a role on the frontline of the pandemic, working at an assessment centre in Airdrie.

Another NHS worker who became a victim was Angie Cunningham, 60, who worked for NHS Borders for more than 30 years. The 60-year-old, from Tweedbank, near Galashiels, was a much-respected and valued colleague who provided “amazing care” to her patients, the health board said. She died in the intensive care unit at Borders General Hospital on April 22.

Paramedic Robert Black was described as “a genuine good guy... everyone was his pal”. He was a well-known and loved character in Campbeltown, according to Kintyre Community Resilience Group. The father-of-two died in hospital in Glasgow on May 2.

Backing our memorial garden campaign, Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of the Unite union, said: “Unite Scotland fully supports this excellent initiative by The Herald to commemorate those who have lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic through a memorial garden.

“The garden can be a reminder for the generations to come of the many people who lost their lives to this invisible enemy, as well as a place to come and morn the loss of our loved ones. Unite has thousands of members on the front line helping to protect and to keep the country moving during these difficult days, many of whom have contracted the virus but have thankfully survived. We should never forget the bravery of these workers, and everyone who has lost their lives.”

Meanwhile, Dr Lewis Morrison, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, says: “As a country, we have experienced the collective trauma of the coronavirus and we should never forget all those who have died as a result of this horrible disease.

That’s why BMA Scotland backs the campaign for a memorial garden people can visit to remember those they have lost.”

Also backing our campaign is Most Reverend Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

He said: “It will be very important for people to have a space where they can reflect and remember those who have died and those who may still succumb to this virus. I would support such a national memorial.”

Reverend Dr George Whyte, Principal Clerk of the Church of Scotland, said there will be a “need to remember the scale of the tragedy”.

He said: “The Church of Scotland is only too well aware of the dreadful toll of the coronavirus pandemic.“So many lives have been ended before their time through the onslaught of this vicious disease and yet funeral services have been restricted in terms of attendance and, in some cases, no mourners at all have been permitted to attend.”

“There will be a need to remember the scale of the tragedy and to provide occasions and places where families and friends can properly mark, remember and celebrate their own loved ones.

“At a national level, the Church has already been involved in conversations about an appropriate act of remembrance and all around the country there are discussions about how memorial services might be held when conditions allow.”

The Muslim Council Scotland said a memorial garden is a poignant tribute for those who have lost their lives to the virus. 

It added: “For the Muslim community, this has also been an incredibly challenging time in dealing with bereavement and loss. Families have not been able to send off loved ones as they normally would. We feel the stories of these families should not be forgotten. The memorial garden can, therefore, serve as a place to reflect and commemorate for all.”

Meanwhile, the Sikhs in Scotland charity, said: “We would be happy to back this important campaign to remember those individuals lost from this virus. The Sikh community recently lost a well-known community member to the virus and I know this type of memorial will go a long way for the whole of our city to remember and commemorate their lives.”

Can you help with our campaign? Send us an email to memorialgarden@theherald.co.uk