The Balmoral War Memorial



The Balmoral War Memorial at Crathie Church, Deeside, was unveiled on 3rd September 1922 by His Majesty King George V, in memory of the men from the estates who gave their lives in the Great War. The names of the men from the Crathie Parish who were killed in the Second World War were later added to the base.

The Swastikas, in both recto and verso forms, were inscribed in the lower, central section of the memorial. We are using the term 'recto' here for a clockwise Swastika, with crampons turning to the right, and 'verso' for an anti-clockwise Swastika, with crampons turning to the left. There is a plaque to the right that offers an explanation for the presence of Swastikas on the memorial. That text reads as follows: 'The Swastika was a symbol of widespread ancient usage, associated with the sun and its name is from Sanskrit, denoting well being, fortune, luck. The symbol appeared on the bindings and title pages of many of Rudyard Kipling's symbol had no sinister associations at the time the Memorial was designed.'

There are several other examples of the Swastika in use during the First World War. A series of Cigarette Cards issued in 1925 depicted some of the Army corps and Divisional Signs used in 1914-1918. The Swastika was the emblem of the 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade and The Euphrates Defences. Another series of cards showing Lucky Charms included the Swastika amongst them.

Servicemen of the Royal Field Artillery [462 Battery] had the Swastika on their right arms. From the same period the Escadrille Lafayette, made up of American pilots, fought for the allies prior to the formal entry of the US into the conflict. Formed in April 1916 they were absorbed into the US Air Service in 1918. Their emblem was the black Swastika and the head of an Indian chief. In addition the US 45th Infantry Division had the Swastika as their insignia, deriving from Native American Indian culture. Many Indian tribes, not least the Hopi, had long regarded the Swastika as a 'good luck' symbol.

Several military formations in Poland also used the Swastika as part of their emblematic insignia during the 1920s. This widespread use of a good luck symbol reflected a tradition stretching over many centuries in that region of eastern Europe [the boundaries of Poland have been subtantially rearranged over the years].

A similar example of Swastikas appearing on a War Memorial may be found in the churchyard of Saint Thomas, Brampton, Chesterfield, here in England. Further afield, we find an example of the use of Swastikas on memorials in a military cemetery in Aquileia near Venice in Italy.

The Edinburgh War Memorial

Here in Great Britain there is another rather unexpected use of this symbol in the stained glass window of the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh. The guide book states, 'Even as the mortar was drying in the walls, this ancient symbol of fortune was appearing in the skies over Europe, the insignia of a man who, like the rider on the white horse, would 'smite the nations and rule over them with a rod of iron' - Adolf Hitler.' However, this interpretation was far from the mind and heart of the artist himself.

Some explanation is called for here. High up in a stained-glass window in the War Memorial are several themes taken from the New Testament book of Revelation. Windows 6 and 7 seek to depict the overthrow of Tyranny, one section of which illustrates the Horseman, Faithful and True, from Revelation Chapter 19:11. On his cloak is a 'Swastika'. Designed by Dr. Robert Douglas Strachan [1875-1950], these unusual window designs were installed during the 1920s.

There are times and occasions when this symbol popularly known as the Swastika may also be termed a 'Gammadion' or a' Fylfot-Cross'. The author would prefer to refer to the symbol in these windows as the Gammadion. In many contexts it has been used as a fully acceptable alternative to the more traditional form of the Christian cross, as exemplified in another design by Robert Strachan in the stained glass windows of Westminster College chapel in Cambridge. Another article on the Swastika in Scotland will focus on the link between these two sets of stained glass windows.