Scotland's Covid Memorial: how it all began

It led to Donald Martin, Editor of The Herald, deciding to launch a campaign to create Scotland’s Covid memorial. A public fund was then set up following an initial £5,000 donation from the Renfrewshire-based Harry Clarke group of companies in memory of Jim Russell.

Read more: In pictures: Scotland's Covid Memorial official opening

Glasgow City Council stepped forward with the offer of a home for the memorial in Pollok Country Park, with the then Lord Provost Philip Braat describing it as an “important and significant memorial which will bring solace to those who have lost loved ones.”

Deputy First Minister John Swinney also laid a wreath and joined families on a silent walk. From left, Glasgow's Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren, Mr Swinney, artist Alec Findlay and Donald Martin, Editor of The Herald. Photo Gordon Terris.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also backed the project, saying the I Remember campaign will ensure “fitting and lasting tributes to every life lost to Covid-19 and other illnesses during the pandemic”.

A dedicated Memorial Steering Group was set up to carefully guide the project to ensure the memories and hopes of a nation would help shape the memorial and led to greenspace Scotland, a charity and social enterprise that promotes green networks and spaces, becoming involved.

Working with its chief executive Julie Procter, an advisory panel was set up and it recommended the appointment of artist and poet Alec Finlay.

Mr Finlay was commissioned to create the tribute and his vision has led to the I remember Covid national memorial.

Opening of The Herald I Remember national Covid memorial. People pictured at Birch Grove in Pollok Country Park. Birch Grove is one of the areas in the park where artist Alec Finlay has installed supports as part of the I Remember memorial. Photograph by

After two years and reaching the fundraising target of close to £250,000, there is now a special place to go to remember loved ones who died during the pandemic.

For artist and poet Mr Finlay it wasn’t just about the physical supports that have been created, but also about a shared memory. He collated the book I remember from the hundreds of single sentences he received about how people had been affected by the pandemic. The “I remember” form was devised by American artist Joe Brainard.

Read more: Scotland's Covid memorial: Silent walk held to mark opening

Mr Finlay said: “In the early months of the pandemic, amid the fear we felt, out of the support we gave one another, there was a vision of a more just world, a more local way of life, and a world in which vulnerability would be met with love.

“In the book there is a memory ‘I remember when the left behind were left behind’.

“Is that where we are heading: no-one wearing masks, life returning to normal, move along, nothing to see. For many people life hasn’t returned to normal. Some hold a grief that has not been assuaged, because the circumstances of the loss of their loved ones were so painful.

“The book is not a carved inscription, but a torch that burns – it burns for a culture of recuperation, a vision of a fairer kinder world, the true memorial of Covid-19 which we should build together.”

Families affected by Covid at the opening of the Covid Memorial in Pollok Country Park. From left, Malcolm and Karen Macpherson Mandy Macpherson and Adam Mathieson. Photo by Gordon Terris.

Mr Finlay hopes the memorial and the book will begin to offer a sense of healing.

He added: “We captured the memories of the nurses, doctors, cancer care specialists, mothers, sons, poets, care home workers, all the people who recorded their experiences of the pandemic, which became ‘I remember’.”

A wreath in memory of those lost to Covid

Mrs Procter, of greenspace scotland, our commissioning partner, is an advocate for outdoor spaces that she says became even more important to people during the pandemic as they rediscovered parks close to home and being surrounded by nature.

She said: “Being in parks creates a space where lots of people can come together and there was a moment when we spent time in silence on the memorial walk where we were enveloped by the park.

“The memorial is growing throughout the park and will continue to do so. What we have here is the kernel with the first 15 tree supports installed and by the end of this year that will increase to 40 supports.

“There is a sense of togetherness that this project brings and it really does feel like Scotland’s Covid memorial, which has the ability to reach out to other places across the country.”

To find out more go to https://www.iremember.scot/

You can order the I remember book at https://stewedrhubarb.org/product/i-remember-alec-finlay/