Falkirk daughter remembers the dad she never knew as work starts on war memorial
26.03.2022 - 07:53
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
The daughter of a soldier killed by a German sniper's bullet in the second World War has admitted seeing the start of work on a local war memorial that will bear his name was an emotional moment.
Isobel Turnbull, 78, joined members of the committee behind the Bainsford war memorial project to cut the turf and mark the start of the work in Dawson Park.
Isobel was just over a year old when her father, David Allan - a private with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders - was killed by a sniper's bullet in Germany in 1945. He was just 20 years old when he died, leaving Isobel's mum, Jenny, a widow at the same young age.
Isobel has no memories of her dad, but she has visited his grave in the Reichswald Forest war cemetery, Kleve, to remember and pay tribute. She thinks that a war memorial close to home will be a fitting tribute to the men of Bainsford who lost their lives and she was delighted to be part of the campaign to get a local memorial.
She said: "I have visited my dad's grave four times but it will be lovely to have somewhere local to come and remember him. I really feel very emotional today."
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The pain of David's loss can be felt in keepsakes that are now in Isobel's possession, including his Glengarry, his medals and a wallet containing the telegram his family received on his death. There is also a handwritten poem and epitaph, written by his heartbroken mother, carefully preserved along with a postcard addressed to his ‘darling baby daughter’.
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