Busby honours its war dead
A cast bronze plaque was unveiled on Thursday 26 January 2012 on the exterior wall of the Duff Memorial Halls and community library in Busby in memory of the village's war dead.
A dedication service was conducted by the Reverend Jerry Eve of Busby Parish Church and two poppy wreaths were laid by the Friends of Duff Memorial Halls and the British Legion.
Reverend Eve said: "This dedication serves to remind the community of the terrible sacrifice made by so many families in the village."
June Lamont, supervisor at the library said: "After two years of working towards this very important community project the staff of Busby community library and the Friends of Duff Memorial Halls were delighted to unveil a beautiful cast bronze plaque in memory of the villages' war dead.
"Perhaps the most fitting thing about this fine plaque is that it stands as part of a much loved community hall and library and provides a direct link between the lost generations of the past and the future generations to come."
This idea for a plaque was born from the great success and support that Busby community library received from the local community for their 2010 shoe box appeal for parcels4troops. Out of this success the Friends of Duff Memorial Halls was founded.
June added: "Without the collaborative effort, inspiration and hard work of these kind souls, Isobel Brawley, Elizabeth Fairley, Jean Hume, Lillias Mackay, May McQuade, Rena Thomson and Doreen Walport, who dedicated so much of themselves by holding two coffee mornings and raising money towards the plaque, this would still have been only a dream.
"One of the ladies from the group, Mrs May McQuade passed away in November and sadly wasn't here to see the memorial plaque in place. Thursday 26 of January would have been May's 77th birthday and we were delighted to have her two daughters present at the unveiling."
"We would like to thank the following people who have supported us - John McVicar, who researched all the names of the people so that we could record them in the two condolence books within the library.
"Thanks also go to East Renfrewshire Council, piper Thomas Leitch and Mrs Anna McClure who wrote up the two condolence books and which are on display in the library
"And finally special thanks must go to the community of Busby, a huge 'thank you' for all the help and support that you have shown us during the last two years while we have been trying to make this a reality."
East Renfrewshire Council was represented by community services convener Councillor Mary Montague and education convener Councillor Alan Lafferty.
