FAIR ISLE PRIMARY SCHOOL – WINNERS OF SCOTLAND WAR MEMORIAL COMPETITION

Congratulations to the pupils of Fair Isle Primary School whose film about World War One veterans from Fair Isle has won the Royal British Legion Scotland War Memorial Competition.  

The four Fair Isle pupils (Ythan Shaw, Amber Wiseman, Robyn Wiseman and Maria Vasii) uncovered real life stories for the competition, part of a campaign by the Royal British Legion Scotland to commemorate the centenary of World war One.

“The pupil’s film Our Boys was made in partnership with the Fair Isle museum and will be part of a display that will be unveiled to the public at the museum in May.

Our Boys tells the soldiers’ stories and shows how the loss of life during the war devastated the local community. Pupils filmed interviews with Fair Isle residents and relatives of veterans honoured on the Fair Isle war memorial.

The Legion’s Scotland chief executive Kevin Gray said: “The level of the competition entries is exceptional. The film made by Fair Isle Primary pupils showed how much they had engaged with their history and war memorial heritage through the stories of real people. Well done to all for this fantastic entry.”

As part of the competition all the research will be submitted to a national online archive of war memorials to help the War Memorials Trust find out about the condition of memorials and help preserve and protect them. Each entry will also help the Imperial War Museum to catalogue war memorials across Scotland.

As joint winners of the competition, Fair Isle Primary School will be invited to present their project to veterans at the Royal British Legion Scotland. The pupils will get a tour and overnight stay on board the Royal Navy warship and floating war museum HMS Belfast  in London. The children will also present their findings to veterans from across Scotland."

Acknowledgements to The Shetland Times, Friday, 21st March 2014 and The Fair Isle Times, 28th March 2014.