Edinburgh: Launch of Conscientious Objectors Memorial design

On 15 May the Opposing War Memorial design will be unveiled at a launch event following the fourth annual International Conscientious Objectors Day Vigil in Edinburgh.

Following the offer of a site in Princes St Gardens, a consortium of civil society groups and peace campaigns held a competition and invited artists to submit designs for a memorial to conscientious objectors and all who oppose war. Edinburgh artist Kate Ive's design has been selected and a maquette will be unveiled at the launch event.

The Memorial will pay tribute to WW1 conscientious objectors who paved the way for a wider peace movement that continues to this day. Organisers hope the finished sculpture will be installed by April next year, the centenary of the end of the First World War for COs who were imprisoned until April 1919.

Committee member Brian Larkin, Coordinator of the Edinburgh Peace & Justice Centre, said: "Those who refused to fight and who opposed the First World War should be remembered. Britain was the first country to establish a right to conscientious objection - in the Military Service Act 1916. But only a few COs were granted exemption. Thousands of men went to prison for refusing conscription. They endured harsh conditions, hard labour, mistreatment and even force feeding in prison. Their principled resistance is an important part of our history that suggests the possibility of alternatives to war through peacebuilding and conflict resolution."

"Kate Ive's engaging, inclusive design will address the imbalance in public space where there is a preponderance of memorials to wars, wars which were not glorious, but horrific. Edinburgh has 37 war memorials. Eight of them are concentrated in Princes St Gardens. It's a perfect setting for a memorial that questions the prevailing view that war is necessary and even good, a view that, arguably leads us to resort, at times unnecessarily, to war. This 'Opposing War Memorial' will create a space for reflection on the role of individual conscience and the possibility of peacebuilding and conflict transformation.

At the event Historian Lesley Orr will talk about opposition to the First World War in Scotland, and Kate Ive will talk about her process in creating the design, and explain how people can be involved in creating a beautiful, intriguing and enduring monument to war resisters in Scotland's capital city. The event will launch a campaign to raise funds for the next phase of the project - including completion of technical drawings. These will be submitted for approval by City committees, before the sculpture can be installed.

The launch event will take place at Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, EH1 2JL Edinburgh 6.30 - 8pm. Doors open 6.10pm for a cup of tea. The launch will follow the Conscientious Objectors Day public vigil from 5- 6pm by the National Gallery where there will be speakers including descendants of WW1 conscientious objectors, singing by the local Protest in Harmony choir, silence, reading of names of COs and collecting of signatures on post cards calling for over 300 South Korean COs who are currently in prison to be allowed to do alternative service.

The Memorial is supported by Edinburgh MP Tommy Sheppard and Alison Johnstone MSP, First World War historian Trevor Royle, and Cyril Pearce, creator of the Pearce Database of First World War conscientious objectors.

For details of how to donate to the project visit: http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/

Register at: https://opposing-war-design-launch.eventbrite.com