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Elsrickle is a small village of pretty much one street and not many more than 100 inhabitants. It now has no church, no garage, no shops, no post office, no school and no pub. But, unusually for such a small village, and perhaps even uniquely, it has two war memorials.
The first was erected by the village church, Ellsridgehill United Free Church, now closed. It is usual for church war memorials to be erected within the church, often wall mounted, but this one was erected outside, a little distance from the church, and looks more like a civic memorial.
For reasons explained in the poem below, a second memorial was erected soon after, which is the location for this cache. The poem below tells the most poignant tale, and far more eloquently than I could.
Elsrickle
The Twa Monuments
There’s a wee auld fashioned village
that lies aff the beaten track
And I want tae tell a story that ma
memory brings me back;
For in that wee auld village is a sicht
that’s quite unique.
For you’ll find a War Memorial at each
end o’ the street.
In that wee auld fashioned village were
twa puirhoose bairns brocht up.
Twa laddies wha gied their labour for a
bed and bite and sup.
But when they grew to manhood the
Great War it broke oot
And wae a wheen o’ others they donned
the khaki cloot.
Frae oot that awfu carnage, were some
that ne’er came back
to the auld fashioned village, that
lies aff the beaten track.
No’ in the quiet kirkyard their last
Resting place was found,
But far frae bonny Scotland they lie
in foreign ground.
In memory o’ thae gallant lads a
Monument was raised
On which their noble sacrifice commended
was and praised.
Their names were also written there
but sad it was tae see
nae mention o’ the puirhoose bairns –
Surely it couldnae be.
For they along wi’ ithers, had laid their
young lives doon.
And just the same as others, deserved
fair Honour’s croon.
No muckle wealth nor gear had they,
but whit they had they gied.
Their very life’s bluid they poured oot
And for their country died.
The minister’s attention was drawn tae
the fact
but he just dismissed the matter and
quite refused tae act.
But in that wee auld village wis a man that
couldnae staun
to see in ony measure man’s
inhumanity tae man.
An’ sae tae richt the wrang that his
kindly hert felt sair,
A monument for their ain twa sels he
had erected there,
Richt at the ither end o’ the street, the
tapmaist and forebye
It stauns tae tell the story tae every
passerby.
The words engraved upon the stane are
plain and clearly tell
That it’s for “Twa Gallant Heroes” who
in the Great War fell.
And underneath their honoured names,
without display or fuss,
The vital fact it simply states
“They also died for us”.
Oh, may we, like that honest man, gie
honour whaur it’s due.
Esteeming character and truth – be pockets t’m or fu’.
For aften in the humble cot true riches
they abound
When in the mansions o’ the rich they
scarcely can be found.
And let us think o’ Anither Yin who
gied Himself for us
And ask ourselves the question “Whit dis it mean tae us?”
Sure it cannae be that we, wi cauld herts can despise
The Love Divine that bore our sins, in
Calvary’s sacrifice,
But may we like that honest man with every word and act
Let oor lives be a memorial to that great and glorious fact.
I'm sorry that I can not give acknowledgement to the poet, but I don’t know who he/she was.
The monument was erected, and the above poem written, after the 1st World War, but, interestingly, the name of the one local person who lost their life in the 2nd World War was added to this monument and not to the more official and grander one down the road.
As an added bonus, on a clear day there are lovely views to the south.
The cache is not actually at the monument, which is at N55° 40.623 W003° 29.340, as I couldn't get permission for this, but is placed nearby. It's a heavily camouflaged micro/nano. You may need something to help remove the logsheet. Please replace the container exactly as found.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx haqre n fgbar orgjrra gur srapr, gur ebnq, gur ynzccbfg naq gur sver ulqenag cvyyne.