AN investigation has been launched following the theft of a plaque at The Herald garden of remembrance taken just hours after it had been unveiled.
The plaque was in memory of all those who have been lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. It had been unveiled by Glasgow’s Lord Provost Philip Braat as the exact location of the memorial was revealed to coincide with the anniversary of the first national lockdown.
One family made a visit to the site in Pollok Country Park on Tuesday as they had wanted to be there for the midday minute silence as part of the National Day of Reflection only to discover it was missing.
Read more: Herald garden of remembrance plaque stolen by sick thieves on lockdown anniversary
The Herald has been campaigning to create a memorial garden as a tribute to Scots who have lost their lives and this was the first time people had been able to view the site which we hope will become an important place for remembrance and healing.
Police Scotland have been alerted and are now looking into the plaque theft after it was taken from its plinth in the park.
Jessica Machon, five, whose great uncle Jim Russell died from covid, at the garden. Photo by Gordon Terris.
Since the site was unveiled, families have taken to the time to visit and have been adding to the tree of yellow ribbons in memory of loved ones.
Connie McCready, who lost her fiancé Jim Russell to covid last May, tied dozens of yellow ribbons with the names of people who have died to the tree for the unveiling and now many more people have done the same.
Peter McMahon, from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, whose wife Debbie died from covid last October, aged 53, made the journey with his daughters and on the anniversary lockdown he spent time there.
Mr McMahon said: “It is important for people to have somewhere to go and to know that it is for them. I was there for the minute silence and it is very peaceful. Through time it might be a place where people will begin to meet and talk as they may well have gone through the same experience of losing someone."
Read more: Watch: Video tribute to those lost as memorial garden site is unveiled
Caroline Harper lost her husband Allan to covid on December 1 last year at the age of 60.
This week she visited the site, saying: "I was there yesterday, it is in a beautiful peaceful setting. I was there myself but I did not feel alone. It is so nice to have a place to go which is only a couple of miles from home to sit and think about Allan and remember the good times, sadly the sad times are still very raw."
The memorial garden campaign has been given a further boost following an offer from the Scottish Government to pledge more than £16,000 to help us reach a milestone £60,000 after more than £43,000 had already been raised. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the memorial garden will be a beautiful and fitting place.
In what was a poignant moment Glasgow’s Lord Provost Philip Braat unveiled the plaque surrounded by earlier this week.
Lord Provost of Glasgow Philip Braat in Pollok Country Park. Photo by Gordon Terris.
The Lord Provost said: “This is deeply shocking news and even more so on the first anniversary of this horrible pandemic."
“I’ve no idea what would make people carry out such wanton vandalism and I hope they are thoroughly ashamed of their actions.”
A Police Scotland investigation is under way. If you have any information, please contact them on 101.
To donate go to The Herald memorial garden go to gofundme.com/ herald-garden-of-remembrance. You can also send donations via post to The Herald Garden of Remembrance Campaign, Herald & Times, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow, G32 8FG. Keep up to date with the latest news at www.heraldscotland.com/campaigns/memorial-garden/
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel