Note

Date 22 April 2022

Event ID 1135745

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Note

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1135745

A low-lying concrete memorial lies on the E side of the former entrance track to the Brahan PoW camp. The memorial is not in its original location having been moved c.26m ESE to allow for construction of the A835 trunk Road in the 1980's.

The memorial comprises the national coat of arms of Ukraine, surrounded by a raised border with a inlaid design. An inscription under the symbol reads '1949 The Ukraine'. The Memorial appears to have survived its relocation and is now being maintained after efforts by the Ukrainian community and of the local estate.

A photograph said to date from the 1940's shows a second memorial. This appears to be similar in size and construction but the central panel is a lion rampant. There appears to be no trace of this memorial and it must be presumed that it now considered lost.

Following the end of the Second World War the former PoW camp was repurposed as a Displaced Persons Camp and mostly held Ukrainians who because they had fought on the axis side could not return to the Ukraine which was then part of the Soviet Union, for fear of imprisonment or death. The UK government accommodated these former PoWs in old camps across the UK. The men were put to work in local farms and industries. It is presumed that permission was given to let the Ukrainians construction two memorials to commemorate their time at Brahan.

Information from HES 22 April 2022