Close by the entrance, in the steep, wooded valley that was apparently frequented by smugglers and ne’er do wells as late as the mid 1800s, is a tall, broken column, fashioned from polished red Peterhead granite.\u00a0 The dais beneath reads: \u201cA token of the esteem to the memory of Caroline E R Martyn.\u00a0 Born Lincolnshire 3 May 1867, died at Dundee 23 July 1896.\u00a0 A devoted worker in the cause of humanity\u201d.\u00a0 Below that an inscription records that the monument was erected by: \u201cSocialist comrades and Dundee Textile Workers Union\u201d.<\/p>\n
Carrie Martyn, as she was known in life, was, it transpires, a remarkable woman.\u00a0 She edited socialist newspapers, relentlessly organised the most badly treated industrial workers into unions, and most significantly, toured the country speaking to open-air meetings \u2013 some of them attracting audiences of thousands.\u00a0 She and Keir Hardy \u2013 with whom she served on the Independent Labour\u00a0Party\u2019s national executive \u2013 toured Britain preaching their cause.\u00a0 When she died, Hardy wrote that Martyn was: \u201cthe leading socialist of her day with a powerful intellect and a moral force that was unmatched\u201d.<\/p>\n Forgotten for many years, Martyn\u2019s memorial garnered fresh attention in 2009 when the inquiries of an amateur historian in England led the secretary of Dundee Trades Council, Chris Arnott, to search the city\u2019s cemeteries for her grave.\u00a0 He came upon it, missing its column and entirely forgotten.\u00a0 Detective work on his part, a lucky find and support from today\u2019s trades unionists have transformed the memorial.\u00a0 It stands erect, as intended, cleaned up and with fresh flowers and a picture of Martyn at its foot.\u00a0 An excellent account of her life has also been published<\/a>.<\/p>\n Martyn\u2019s is a story well worth celebrating \u2013 but it is surely not the only one at Balgay, or any other burial site?\u00a0 Whether or not you have faith in an afterlife, for the living, our most important relationship with the dead is how we remember them.\u00a0 In this world, the lives of the deceased obtain meaning by the inspiration they provide us, the lessons learned from their endeavours and the way in which celebrating their achievements spurs us anew to shape our own lives.<\/p>\n So forget the gothic window dressing, the bats and storytellers\u2019 hokum about zombies and ghosts.\u00a0 Apply a lively mind to any graveyard and the real-life stories that have shaped its creation and you will find an abundance of living energy \u2013 sufficient to sustain and nourish you though a great many everyday travails.<\/p>\n Photograph \u00a9 Tim Dawson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hollywood and horror writers have seen to it that graveyards evoke feelings of dread, fear and apprehension.\u00a0 At best they are where the grieving outpour their despair; at worst they are the scene of spines chilled, foul deeds and the …<\/p>\n![\"Caroline_Martyn_memorial1\"](\"http:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Caroline_Martyn_memorial1-300x239.jpg\")
<\/a>Its height, nine feet six inches, is on a scale with the surrounding industrialists\u2019 and professionals\u2019 resting places – suggesting that her’s was a death that caused widespread mourning.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Many pitifully-paid jute-mill workers must have contributed to fund such a significant memorial.<\/p>\n