The names of two soldiers, one killed in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, will be among the first to be etched on the newly-extended Kirkcaldy war memorial.
Private Kevin McHale (27), from Lochgelly, died in a road accident in North Babil in 2004.
He will be remembered on the monument along with Corporal Sean Binnie, who was just 22 when he was killed by a gunshot in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in May 2009 during a firefight with insurgents.
Although born in Belfast, Cpl Binnie was brought up in Kirkcaldy.
They will be listed on the memorial alongside three soldiers who were lost in Palestine, Malaya and Northern Ireland.
A new panel has been added to Kirkcaldy’s memorial to make way for new bronze plaques commemorating service personnel lost in conflicts since the second world war.
The existing cenotaph was not big enough to accommodate the names of all Fifers who have died in action, and British campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have meant the list is still getting longer.Dedication ceremonyA sum of £4600 has been provided by the War Memorials Trust, and a further £5000 has been allocated by Fife Council from the local area budget.
The total cost of the memorial makeover is £15,000, but Fife Council is confident the remainder can be found.
Councillor Alice Soper was among those who campaigned for the memorial to be extended.
She paid tribute to the late RAF veteran Jim Honeyman who, as Fife area secretary of the Royal British Legion, helped get the project off the ground.
She said because Fife, Perthshire and Angus were key recruiting areas for the army, almost every local family knew someone who had served in conflicts past and present.
Ms Soper said, “It’s vitally important we commemorate local people who have been lost in more recent conflicts alongside those already highlighted on the memorial.
“We’ve been working closely with the Scottish National War Memorial Trust, of which I am a trustee, and the Royal British Legion to check names to be engraved on the memorial.
“Once the work is completed we will be organising a dedication ceremony to unveil the extension to the war memorial.”Sad realityThe memorial is expected to be completed and cleaned up in time for Remembrance Day.
Reg Briers, Fife area chairman of the Royal British Legion in Scotland, said it was a sad reality that names had to be added to the stone.
He said, “The first world war was supposed to be the war to end all wars, and then the second world war happened.
“If anything big happens again we will have to add more names on.”
He added, “The work was started by our colleague Jim Honeyman, who passed away recently, and we are delighted to see everything coming together after all the work.”
Fife area secretary Jim Paterson said, “The new right-hand wall will bear the names of servicemen and women lost in conflicts from 1946 onwards.
“It is vitally important that these people are recognised.”