The Commando Memorial stands about a mile from the village of Spean Bridge, itself just eight miles north-east of Fort William. It is clearly visible from the A82, and for those who come upon it by accident, it is a moment not easily forgotten. It is tasked with proudly guarding the memory of those truly gallant British Commando Forces from the second world war.
The choice of site was particular; it overlooks the areas where the men trained, from 1942 onwards, at Achnacarry Castle. This is now one of the UK’s best-known monuments, and draws folk from all parts of the world, many remembering beloved relatives or family friends.
It’s appropriate that the men depicted and commemorated here, and for all time, are in sight of both Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor, viewed across the River Spean valley; their peaks matching the heights of valour reached in some of the darkest times that Europe has ever known.
Scott Sutherland – the Sculptor – his vision
Scott Sutherland won a 1949 competition, open to all Scottish sculptors, for this commission. As an army man himself during the conflict, his victory was truly appropriate. The prize, incidentally, was £200. In his later Royal Scottish Academy obituary, it was noted: ‘Rarely have a sculptor and subject been so perfectly matched. He had known and worked alongside the Commandos during the war and had a great admiration for them’.
It also noted: ‘In addition the scale was right – heroic in proportions – matching its subject’. Critics at the time approved of his decision to move away from the more abstract forms with which he had often previously worked.
He also later created the Black Watch Memorial at Powrie Brae in Dundee, and the memorial to Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, who was Air Officer Commanding, RAF Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain, at his birthplace of Moffat – worth a visit if you’re passing through or nearby.