On 10 September 2016 a rededication ceremony was held at Alness War Memorial following a refurbishment.

A new precision steam cleaning process to remove moss and algae from the lettering was used to transform the memorial – which was barely legible – after Alness natives from home and abroad gave generously to a fund set up to pay for the work.

Alness Community Association launched the appeal to refurbish the 20ft high memorial at the east end of the High Street after it was decided it would be funded in the same way the memorial had been paid for in 1920 – by public subscription. Extra donations meant a fund was in place to pay for the upkeep of the memorial and any further restoration work it may require. The total raised was £8500.

The service was intended as a ‘thank you’ to all contributors.

The restoration was carried out by conservation stonemason John Maclean of Dingwall and took around four days to complete. The steam cleaner was bought specifically for the task as it was thought it would be less damaging to the sandstone than power washing, which took the surface off the memorial when that was carried out back in the 1980s.

After the great losses of World War 1, the Alness War Memorial was erected through public subscription and unveiled in 1921 to commemorate those from Alness and Wester Rosskeen who had been lost.

In 1949, following another public subscription, the names of those who died in World War 2 were added and the memorial rededicated. In total it now lists 114 local people who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country – 85 in WW1, 28 in WW2 and one in the Northern Ireland conflict.

The whole structure needed careful cleaning, all the joints re-pointed and other much needed restoration work. The association also received support from Highland Council and SSE sub-contractors BAM Nuttall and Siemens, who were working nearby at Fyrish.
[Text courtesy of The Ross-shire Journal]