Scotland’s Greatest War Memorial? (transcribed)

Transcript:

Why? Why Is it that in Galashiels, we have a statue of a Border Reiver in front of our modern day war memorial.

Is this the only war memorial in Scotland to honour the dead of World War I and World War II, which also honours all the men, all the thousands of Scottish men, that were killed in the Anglo-Scottish wars, the wars against England.

It’s often cited as one of the greatest war memorials in Scotland, and you can see why. It’s a magnificent sculpture. Away from the meaning and the purpose of it, just purely the architecture and the design, the art is breathtakingly amazing.

But what does it mean? What is it all about? Well, primarily it’s here as a war memorial to the men of Galashiels who lost their lives in World War I and World War II, and they’re all listed here. Hundreds of them. Brave men who lost their lives fighting for Great Britain, but there’s more to it than that. This statue’s a Border Reiver. Border Reiver had nothing to do with the United Kingdom or World War I and World War II, so why? Why is there a Border Reiver?

So for me, the statue there is doing a few things. One, it’s honouring the brave men of the Scottish Borders, brave men of the Borders, who had to go out and fight. You had to go out and raid cattle and do whatever they had to keep their families alive during the 15 and 1600s.

But also it harks back to a time of war with England, a time when the Scottish Borders, in particularly, was deeply embroiled in this violent, hundreds of year of long war with England, when thousands of us lost our lives. This, for me, is one of the only war memorials in Scotland to remember that, because of this guy and the Peel Tower behind him.

How long do you have to wait before somebody is forgotten? How long before the men in World War II and World War I will no longer be remembered by us, because that’s what’s happened to the thousands of men who died in the Scottish wars of independence.

But you see, the thing about the Border Reiver statue and the war memorial in Galashiels, is it’s now inadvertently became this iconic symbol for Border Reivers and people are descendants or the Border Reiver families, all over the world. It’s became this symbol for clans in North America and Australia, and all over the world, but the thing is, people use the symbol, they use that silhouette and that statue as their emblem, but they don’t know where it is. It really is this massive tourist attraction that we should be tapping into in Galashiels.

Scotland’s Greatest War Memorial?

The Border Reiver of Galashiels: Remembering More Than One War

Standing tall at the heart of Galashiels, overlooking the bustling town centre, is a statue that’s as mysterious as it is magnificent. A rugged horseman, clad in 16th-century raiding gear, sits poised in front of a stone obelisk bearing the names of local men lost in World War I and World War II.

This is no ordinary war memorial. It’s often referred to as Scotland’s greatest—not just for its breathtaking craftsmanship, but because it dares to do something no other war memorial does:

It honours not only the fallen of the Great Wars…
But also the forgotten warriors of the Scottish Borders’ blood-soaked past.

A Memorial Unlike Any Other

At first glance, the monument may confuse. Why is there a 16th-century Border Reiver—a cattle raider, no less—atop a memorial for soldiers of 20th-century warfare?

But that’s exactly what makes it special.

Yes, the names inscribed belong to the brave men of Galashiels who fought and died in World War I and II—hundreds of them, listed with pride and sorrow. But towering above them is a symbol of older conflicts, long before Britain was even a unified nation.

This is more than a war memorial.
It’s a monument to centuries of Scottish sacrifice.

The Border Reiver: More Than a Raider

The figure depicted is a Border Reiver—a raider from the wild Anglo-Scottish frontier during the 15th and 16th centuries. These were not knights or kings. They were ordinary men, hardened by poverty, conflict, and survival. They fought not for glory, but to protect their families and cattle in a land torn apart by lawlessness and constant war with England.

By placing a Reiver atop the memorial, this monument becomes more than a record of the World Wars—it becomes a symbol of every man from the Borders who ever went to war.

The Peel Tower and the Past

Behind the statue is a Peel Tower—a type of fortified structure unique to the Borders. These towers were built for defence, shelter, and survival. Together with the Reiver, the setting creates a deeply evocative image: a warrior protecting his homeland, surrounded by the names of modern sons who did the same on battlefields far from home.

The message?
Warfare is nothing new to the Borders. Neither is bravery.

⏳ How Long Until They’re Forgotten?

The memorial forces us to ask:
How long does it take for the fallen to be forgotten?

We remember the World Wars with reverence—but the thousands of Scots who died during the Anglo-Scottish wars, or in the lawless centuries before the Union of Crowns, are largely forgotten by modern society.

This monument quietly, but powerfully, brings those names and stories back into the fold.

A Global Symbol for Reiver Descendants

Interestingly, the statue has taken on a life of its own far beyond Galashiels.

It’s now used as a symbol by Reiver-descended clans around the world—in North America, Australia, and beyond. The silhouette of the Reiver is proudly displayed by those tracing their roots to the war-torn Borders. Yet, many don’t even know where the statue is. They don’t know it stands in Galashiels, quietly witnessing generations come and go.

This is more than just a statue.
It’s a tourist destination waiting to be discovered, and a cultural anchor for a global diaspora.

The Memorial Galashiels Deserves

In a town steeped in Borderland history, this monument offers something truly unique:

It remembers the modern sacrifices of WWI and WWII.
It pays tribute to the older, forgotten dead of local wars.
And it embodies the resilient spirit of the Scottish Borders—a region that has always, in one form or another, stood on the frontlines.

For all these reasons, this might just be Scotland’s greatest war memorial.

Not just because of its art.
Not just because of its message.
But because it remembers more than one war—and more than one kind of warrior.

Planning a Visit?

The Border Reiver War Memorial stands in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, not far from the town centre and surrounded by the very landscape these men once fought to protect.

Whether you’re a student of history, a descendant of the Reivers, or simply a curious traveller—this is a monument that will stay with you long after you’ve left.