Kingussie couple recognised as war grave heroes
A Kingussie couple have been recognised for their outstanding volunteering work recording details and cleaning headstones of heroes from the two World Wars.
Gilmour and Susan Strang have just received a prestigious award from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The husband and wife volunteer for the CWGC and have been given a Spotlight Award and a letter of congratulation from CWGC’s Director General, Claire Horton.
The couple who have been married for 48 years are Eyes On Hands On volunteers.
They are responsible for 13 cemeteries across the Cairngorms National Park and take photos to document grave conditions and clean them by hand if required.
More recently, they have represented the commission at the launch of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF) in Scotland.
They shared the importance of their work with politicians, military officials, and charity donors at an event hosted at Edinburgh Castle. In May, they supported War Graves Week, the annual opportunity to shine a spotlight on the graves and memorials of Commonwealth service personnel around the world.
Their passion for commemoration has taken them around the world.
In 2016, they embarked on an ambitious project to visit the graves of every man named on their town war memorial.
Of the 60 named recorded, they have so far visited 58 of them on a quest that has led them to France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland but also closer to home in Lossiemouth. The Strangs are particularly proud to care for the 15 Newfoundland men, who came to Scotland with the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit in World War II.
Susan has supported a historian from Newfoundland in his research and wrote the foreword to his book which will be published shortly.
The commission said the pair have been incredible representatives for them both in Scotland and around the world.
Mr Strang said: “Winning the Spotlight Award was a real surprise to both of us. As CWGC volunteers we feel encouraged, valued, and very well supported.
“It is a real privilege to represent the work of the commission and we love meeting others with similar interests and supporting people just starting out on their journey to find out about their relatives.”
Ms Horton congratulated the Strangs and thanked them for their wonderful on-going contribution.
She continued: “The Strangs and CWGC’s UK-wide network of other dedicated volunteers absolutely epitomise our values and continually support our mission of keeping the memories of the fallen alive through a wide range of roles, committing hours of their time and energy freely, with passion and boundless enthusiasm.
“I and CWGC staff teams everywhere, are enormously grateful for their contribution.
“We want our volunteers to know how valued and appreciated they are.”
The commission’s mission is to ensure those who died in service, or as a result of conflict, are commemorated so that they, and the human cost of war, are remembered for ever.
Founded by Royal Charter in 1917, it works on behalf of the governments of Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK to commemorate the 1.7 million men and women from the Commonwealth who lost their lives in the two great wars.
The cemeteries, memorials, graves, landscapes, and records in its are found at 23,000 locations and in more than 150 countries and territories.
