Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has welcomed the news that new brown tourist signs on the M8 and M9 have been erected to direct tourists to the Korean War Memorial in the Bathgate Hills. The signs were produced by Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, a social enterprise that provides employment and development opportunities for Armed Forces Veterans in Scotland.
Fiona initially raised the installation of the brown tourist signs directly with then Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans, Graeme Dey MSP. Following this, the Scottish Government entered into discussions with Transport Scotland regarding a review of its signage policy as it pertains to war memorials that are of national significance.
Fiona then wrote to the Minister inviting him to visit the Korean War Memorial, and asking that he encourage the Transport Secretary Michael Matheson and Transport Scotland to find a way of including the Korean War Memorial in Bathgate on the current M9 Brown signs and to add a new sign on the M8.
The installation of the Scottish Korean War Memorial signage is now complete on both the M8 and the M9.
Fiona commented:
“I am delighted that the need for and importance of motorway Brown Signs for the Korean War Memorial has been recognised, and that the signage is now installed, and it is fitting that these signs were produced by Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, an organisation that is doing invaluable work with Armed Forces Veterans.
“The Korean War Memorial is a unique War Memorial of National Significance, the only such memorial in Scotland and indeed the UK, and both local residents and visitors to the area should be able to find it easily. I would like to thank the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, and the British Korean Veterans Association for making this possible.
“The Memorial is a peaceful and moving tribute to those who fought and lost their lives in Korea, hand made with Korean tiles by a Korean builder and surrounded by 110 Korean Fir trees and around 1100 Scottish trees representing the servicemen who were killed. I would urge constituents who have not visited the spot in the Bathgate Hills to see it for themselves.”
ENDS