Work begins to create Scotland's Covid memorial on national reflection day

An oak tree support was installed close to what will be one of the key focal points, the Riverside Grove, as a minute's silence was held at the site to remember lives lost or impacted by Covid.

Read more: Listen here: I remember: Scotland's Covid Memorial moving audio

Elsewhere a minute's silence was observed at Holyrood where Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone was joined by leaders from all parties to mark the occasion.

The Herald is leading the campaign to create I remember: Scotland’s Covid memorial in the stunning grounds of Pollok Country Park. Designed and created by our artist Alec Finlay it is a concept that will consist of a series of tree supports and poignantly the first of these supports was installed at one of the memorial’s key locations.

Artist Alec Finlay, at right, installing the first of the Covid memorial tree supports in Pollok Country Park. Pictured with Alec, are from left, Rachel Smith, Alastair Leitch and Kate McAllan. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

As people joined in the minute's silence at what will become known as the Riverside Grove, which will be surrounded by a meadow of wildflowers, in the distance the first of the supports could be seen nestling against a beech tree. The nine foot support is the first of many which will be installed and have the words I remember carved on them.

Artist Alec Finlay installing the first of the Covid memorial tree supports in Pollok Country Park. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

They are based on physical poses and reflect how a person felt at a particular moment in time. The series of supports will form a memorial walk and allow those looking for reflection and contemplation the chance to discover the memorial for themselves.

Marion McDonald who lost her mum Eileen Honeyman to Covid on the 14 March 2020. Marion is pictured at Pollok Country Park on the second anniversary of the first Covid lockdown. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

Artist Alec Finlay told those gathered: “This is not my day or our day, this is really your day. This is a day especially for the bereaved families who taught me so much in their integrity and their respect and their pain and have helped guide the project.”

For Connie McCready, who lost her fiancé Jim Russell to Covid in May 2020 and set up the Covid 19 Families Scotland support group, it was a poignant day.

She became involved in the memorial campaign after Hillington-based Harry Clarke group of companies made a donation of £5000 in honour of her partner.

Bravely speaking after the minute’s silence, Ms McCready said: “The Herald and the team have made us feel like the heart of this. It has given us somewhere to come and find solace and we are so grateful they have done this. Alec’s work is phenomenal and as we see it developing it is nothing that we could have ever imagined.”

Among those attending was Keren Nairns, a student nurse, who lost her grandparents Agnes Addison and Davie Wilson just five months apart. Her grandmother died from Covid and her grandfather died just a few months later.

"I know the pain from both sides from losing a loved one and losing patients on Covid wards," said Ms Nairns. "I still don't think I have grieved properly."

People pictured during a minutes silence for those lost to Covid at Riverside Grove in Pollok Country Park in Glasgow. Riverside Grove is the key focal point of The Herald's Covid memorial. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

Marion McDonald lost her mum Eileen Honeyman to Covid in March 2020 and says grief still overwhelms the family.

She said: "It was important to be here with people who have gone through this. We are only just able hold a memorial for our mum next month and bury her ashes with our father."

Following the minute’s silence Mr Finlay led everyone from a mound at the grove to the nearby support where bereaved relatives, Covid charity representatives, and Libby Milton, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Services for Scotland, of Marie Curie Cancer Care, which had organised the national day of reflection, laid wreaths of remembrance around the first support.

Marie Curie staff had to adapt the way they cared for people with cancer and were among the groups who took part in our I remember project.

Mrs Milton said: "I remember the patients and families we cared for but I also remember our staff and the impact this has had on them and their ability to care through their own challenges, their own struggles with ill health as some of them also have Long Covid, and their ability to give the kind of care they wanted to give when the pressures were extraordinary."

And on the second anniversary of the first national lockdown we released the powerful and moving audio of I remember. The I remembers are single sentences about the pandemic and were gathered by Mr Finlay. They are an integral part of the memorial artwork and were recorded by actor Robert Carlyle.

Vigil at George Square, Glasgow to mark the second national lockdown anniversary. The event attended by families who lost loved ones in the covid pandemic was organised by Covid 19 Families Scotland. Pictured are people holding lanterns and yellow roses

Last week four boxes containing I remembers were buried in a kist at the Riverside Grove during a moving ceremony.

The Herald has raised almost £140,000 towards the Covid memorial and has received significant financial support from the Scottish Government, entrepreneurs and generous donations from businesses and members of the public.

Soon after the campaign was launched in May 2020, Glasgow City Council stepped forward with the offer to host the memorial in the grounds of Pollok Country Park and we have worked with greenspace Scotland who have managed the artistic commission on our behalf.

To donate go to The Herald memorial garden go to gofundme.com/ herald-garden-of-remembrance. You can also send donations via post to The Herald Garden of Remembrance Campaign, Herald & Times, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow, G32 8FG.