THE SACRIFICE of a young Arbroath Scots Guardsman, who fell to an IRA sniper’s bullet in Northern Ireland, was marked yesterday at an emotion-charged ceremony at the town’s war memorial.

After years of campaigning by the Dundee and Angus branch of the Scots Guards Association, Gdsm George Lockhart’s name was recently added to the memorial to the war dead.

Yesterday serving and former members of the regiment were joined by friends and family members to pay tribute to the memory of a young man who, even before he joined the army and was killed at the age of only 24, touched the lives of many people in Arbroath.

Before the dedication ceremony, the Scots Guard Association pipe band led the standard bearers with former comrades who served with Gdsm Lockhart.

The Earl of Dalhousie, president of the Dundee and Angus branch of the Scots Guards Association, welcomed those attending and the introduction and opening prayer were delivered by the Rev Angus Smith.

Parade organiser Jim Ritchie recited Binyon’s Lines and a wreath was laid by the Dundee and Angus branch’s chairman David Cuthill.

The Last Post was sounded by Drum Major Brian Alexander and, after the lament Floo’ers o’ the Forest on the pipes and the observation of silence in Gdsm Lockhart’s memory, Drum Major Alexander sounded Reveille.

Gdsm Lockhart was born in Arbroath on May 27, 1948, the only son of William and Janet. He was a pupil of Arbroath Academy.

He was a Queen’s Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster of the 1st Arbroath Troop and an active member of the St Andrews Ambulance Association and the Montrose Lifeguard Club.

He joined the Scots Guards on January 6, 1971, and after completing his training at the Guards’ Depot at Pirbright, was posted to the 2nd Battalion at Redford Barracks.

In his moving tribute to Gdsm Lockhart, Col John M. Clavering, then his company commander, said, “In early 1972, the battalion was sent to Northern Ireland at short notice and with very little training where the Right Flank company was responsible for the hard Republican area of the Brandywell in the Bogside district of Londonderry.

“IRA snipers were the main threat. We took a number of casualties and hardly a day went by when a patrol was not attacked by a mob or fired on.

“At this time George was a company storeman and therefore not required to take part in the day-to-day company operations, but it is a measure of the man that, in full knowledge of the risks, he volunteered to take his turn on the streets.

“When on patrol on September 23 he was shot by an IRA sniper and subsequently died of his wounds in hospital with his parents by his side.

“He was 24 years of age when he was killed with all his life before him—a tragic loss of a young man who gave, in his short lifetime, a great deal to his local community, his regiment and his country.”

Speaking after the parade was dismissed, Colonel Clavering said, “His name is already on the memorials in the Guards’ Chapel and in Glasgow Cathedral but it is good that his sacrifice is now recorded on his local war memorial.

“It is, perhaps, also a good opportunity to bring back into focus the number of servicemen and women who were killed in Northern Ireland—I think something like 175 in 1971/72 alone.

“We were getting shot at every day and, unfortunately for us, the IRA at that time had at least one or two really accurate snipers.”

Former Dundee and Angus Scots Guards Association branch chairman Jim Ritchie, who commanded yesterday’s parade and led the campaign to have Gdsm Lockhart’s name added to the Arbroath War Memorial, said, “I think it’s good that the sacrifice of guys like George should be remembered and I would like to thank all those who helped to make this happen, and in particular Angus Provost Ruth Leslie Melville for her support.”