The Ward Family Memorial

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 14 Jan 2013

This obelisk stands on the western side of the cemetery's east carriage drive. It is 16'6" high, and is made of polished red Peterhead granite. It was erected by John Ward of the firm William Denny & Brothers, was designed by the Dumbarton architect J M Crawford, and was carved by the Glasgow sculptor Robert Gray. The inscriptions on several sides of the stone are headed by the names of John and Helen Ward. Regarding them, the text on the near side records that the shipbuilder John Ward died on the 20th of March 1912, aged 64 years, and that his wife Helen Elizabeth Kerr died on the 7th of June 1931, aged 76 years. Another side of the memorial mentions John's earlier wife, Annie Philips, who died in 1874, aged 26. The photograph was intentionally taken from an angle where the sun's reflection would highlight carvings on the upper part of the obelisk. The design visible on that part of the memorial is one that is often referred to as the Greek honeysuckle pattern.

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