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The Eastern Transept continues the theme of the Hall
of Honour and is dedicated to monuments of individual corps. Here however
the principle monuments are decorated with relief sculpture. On the east
wall a wide bronze panel in low relief by Alexander Carrick adorns the
monument to the Royal Artillery. It shows men manning an eight-inch howitzer.
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On the west wall the monument to the Royal Engineers
is also adorned with a relief by Carrick. In a compact square design, with
great skill and clarity he includes a scene of bridge building, a man seated
sending a telegraph message, even a bicycle. Both these reliefs are remarkable
for the way in which strength and simplicity of design are combined with
detailed observation.
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Above this the monument to the Scottish Yeomanry
is a stand of arms in painted stone relief by Pilkington Jackson, truly
remarkable for its detailed and accurate representation of the weapons
used in the war.
The window here represents the machinery of war,
and so also provides the third of the trio of elements: land, sea and air.
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On the inner wall between the arches, designed by Meredith
Williams and beautifully executed by his wife, Alice, a bronze relief of
a single soldier represents the four Scottish Regiments raised outside
Scotland, the London, the Liverpool, the Tyneside and the South African
Scottish. Dressed in his kilt, his head bowed, helmet in hand and arms
reversed, the soldier stands beside a humble temporary grave, a cross of
sticks with the inscription "Known unto God". Beneath the panel
an inscription in Gaelic translates "My Country, My Honour, My God".
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At the head of this wall, above the arches are the medallions
with the heads of animals in high relief by Phillis Bone. The presence
of these animals is a clear statement of the intention that the memorial
should be inclusive. It is not a thing apart but, as the war did, it involves
the whole community, even the humble animals. The inscription reads, "Remember
also the humble beasts".
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