A major restoration of Inverness’ largest war memorial has earned an award.
The Cavell Gardens memorial on Ness Bank has been named best large war memorial with gardens in Scotland by the Royal British Legion.
The 33ft sandstone memorial was originally opened in December 1922, when a crowd of 5,000 gathered to see the unveiling.
An extensive £25,000 restoration to return the memorial close to its original state was started in 2012 and completed earlier this year.
Work, carried out by specialist contractors included restoring the original stonework and signage, new metal fencing around the floral display beds, installing new exterior lighting and restoring the memorial bench.
The area around the memorial has also been refurbished, including upgrading the footpaths, waste bins and seats, while a team of gardeners re-planted all of the floral displays.
Allan Anderson, of the council’s community services team, tends to the memorial every day, including tidying up litter and cutting the grass.
He said: “I treat it better than my own garden. I was brought up to respect the people who fought in the wars and I’m proud to do my little bit to help.”
Ian Burnett, from the Inverness Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland, has been one of the driving forces behind the restoration.
Yesterday he said he was “delighted” that Inverness had won the major prize for the first time since 1991.
He added: “There’s been a lot of small details adding up to get us to this point.”
Accepting the trophy on behalf of the council, Provost of Inverness Alex Graham said: “War memorials are an integral part of the nation’s remembrance of people who have given up their lives for our country.
“The work done at Cavell Gardens ensures that it will continue to be a memorial of the highest standard which Inverness can be proud of for many years to come.