CONSTRUCTION OF THE MEMORIAL

CÍLOVÁ ČÁSTKA/COLLECTION TARGET

V OBLASTI 1.66M Kč/IN THE REGION OF £stg 59K

Plnění k 20.2.2010 - 87%
Percentage of target to 20 February 2010 – 87%

Would those donors who did not supply their address, please notify us, preferrably electronically at the Consulate General in Edinburgh, so that the charity would be able to send them an acknowledgement. By law, all donors become charity "members" with a full right of inspection of our accounts. A new account has been opened in  the Czech Republic for Civic Association "Sdružení pro výstavbu pomníku parašutistům", a sister charity to Czech Memorial . The number of the account in the Czech Republic is 0077661122/0800. Donations in Scotland please by cheque, the CAF voucher or similar, issued to Czech Memorial, and sent to the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Edinburgh. Would all donors please make sure that we have their addresses so that we can send them a photograph of the memorial (so that you would not miss it when visiting the area. When passing through Edinburgh make sure, please, to ´phone me at 00441314475528, and I shall be only too happy to meet you. Thank you.)  

Two years ago, a special exhibition on Commandos was unveiled at the Scottish War Museum in Edinburgh. Among the items on show were a few mementos of Czechoslovak trainees at the Special Training Schools of the SOE in1941-1943. The Curator of the Museum, Stuart Allan, who at that time was writing his book Commando Country 1) asked me to try and decipher the signatures in a small book, given as a souvenier to their instructor Ernt Van Maurik by one group of the trainees. It was an English translation of a book by a Czech writer, Karel Čapek, called Letters from England. With the old book and a magnifying glass in hand, I realised, yet again, not only the existence of an intuitive Czech intelligence reflected in the choice of the souvenier, but also of Čapek’s genius and of the smallness of the world: during his travels in Scotland in 1924, Čapek sailed from the Isle of Skye past the islands of Rhum and Eigg to Mallaig, and then, on his way from Mallaig to Fort William travelled through Morar and Arisaig in the heart of the .Commando Country where Czechoslovak soldiers were billeted near the Silver Sands, directly opposite of Rhum and Eigg. And then, the signatures. I managed to decipher all twenty of them, each name a hero. Two columns of names: Drbohlav, Kubiš, Rozprým, Mikš, Svoboda, Čoupek, Pospíšil, Hrubý, Grabovský, Tesař, Bublík, Kolařík, Trpík, Zálešák, Škácha, Dvořák, Turšner, Zemek, Kouba, Sedlák. My heart quickened and what else could I do but ask friends in the Czech Republic to establish a charity which would take care of building a memorial to our volunteers exactly where, before they went to action, they could take the last breath of air filled with freedom.

As a footnote, Stuart Allan was finally persuaded to submit his magnificent book as a dissertation, and will receive for it his PhD. Congratulations, Stuart!)
(PM, Trustee, Czech Memorial)

Choice of location and artistic execution

Training in Scotland, as described above, was carried out in the area which, today, is controlled by the Lochaber Council, near the north-western coast of Scotland, mostly between Morar in the north and Arisaig in the south. There are also the three houses in which the Czechoslovak trainees were billeted, i.e. Garramore, Camusdarrach and Traigh House (STS 25a, 25b and 25c).

Detail investigation and information from archives narrowed the choice of locations suitable for the Memorial to two: 1. village of Arisaig, and 2. the surroundings of Traigh House.

Following enquiries in Arisaig, where, advantageously, is located the Sea, Land & Islands Information Centre (where it would be possible to install an exhibition about the Memorial to Czechoslovak parachutists) and at Traigh House, we are now convinced that, in agreement with the opinion of many citizens of Arisaig, both Councils, regional and community, and local inhabitants would welcome the Memorial in Arisaig, the crossroads of Czechoslovak soldiers in the area. Moreover, Arisaig today lies on a highly exposed tourist route, and both the Memorial and the exhibition would actually popularise the relevant historic facts , and the Czech Republic.
The Trustees decided to depart from the traditional figurative concept of similar memorials and produce a thoroughly modern memorial concept fitting the next generations.

We imagine a memorial in a form of a fallen, but not completely deflated parachute, executed in Czech granite, invoking not reflection of the cruel fate of many of the parachutists, but a hope for ours and next generations based on the sacrifice of heroes. Such a form would also suit the local meteorological conditions: gusts of wind often reach 100 miles per hour and the material must be resistant to the spray of sea water. The memorial would bear an an inscription along the lines of „To the memory of Czech and Slovak soldiers who trained in this SOE area in 1941-1943, and laid down their lives for the freedom of others. Many are buried in places known unto God“. The memorial has been designed by a Czech sculptor Josef Vajce.

To be able to declare the Memorial a War Grave, permanent plaques bearing the names of the fallen soldiers will be fixed to the boulders surrounding the Memorial. 

Registration of the charity, financing, planning permission and representation in the Czech Republic

In agreement with Scottish law, the bulding of the memorial, financing, obtaining planning permission and similar will be administered by a charity „Czech Memorial“ registered in Scotland under the registration number SC039283. A sister organisation, Civic Association for the Construction of the Memorial to Czech and Slovak Soldiers in Scotland,has been estalished in the Czech Republic. Both Charities are governed by five-member Boards of Trustees, chaired by the Honorary Consul-General of the Czech Republic in Scotland, Dr Paul Millar. The appropriate account numbers and relevant instruction for donors are given on page 1 of this website. All Trustees work for the Charities without any call for remuneration, and the Charity has no paid employees. All expenditure will be directed only towards the construction of the Memorial.

The Trustees of both bodies welcome not only financial contributions but also any other support, publicity and co-operation leading to the completion of the Memorial.