Selkirk's Tommy is there but not there

Selkirk has commemorated the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with the installation of a striking outline of a British Tommy at the war memorial.

The evocative 6ft silhouette of a British soldier was purchased from the national There But Not There campaign, thanks to funding from the town’s Rotary club, Fleece Bar and Kitchen, the royal burgh’s casting associations, the Coulson family and other Souters. The statue did a tour of the town on Sunday before being installed at the war memorial garden.

Organiser David Deacon, chairman of Selkirk Ex-Soldiers Association, said: “I believe this is the first Tommy in the Scottish Borders and installation is in time for Selkirk Common Riding.

The silhouette of the soldier is in place in time for the Common Riding.The silhouette of the soldier is in place in time for the Common Riding.
The silhouette of the soldier is in place in time for the Common Riding.
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“Further events and activities are planned later in the year around remembrance which are intended to involve the wider community of Selkirk.”

The patron of the campaign, Baron Richard Dannatt, said: “The poppies at the Tower of London captured the start of the national First World War commemoration. There But Not There will be the abiding concluding image.”

Find out more at www.
therebutnotthere.org.uk