HAIG, Douglas, Earl.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Manuscript of a speech delivered at the opening of the Wishaw Ex-Servicemen's Institute, 7 November 1925. An unpublished address given by Field Marshal Haig, the cofounder and first president of the British Legion, calling for the fraternal spirit of the wartime ranks to endure and stressing the need to support veterans. "I hope that the associations which Wishaw's men formed during the Great War will not be forgotten... The sons of Wishaw and District who died for King and Country in the Great War - they did their duty."Throughout the 1920s, Haig was an outspoken advocate for the interests of ex-servicemen and stressed the duty of care owed to them by society. His speech reflects the British Legion's founding principles of equality, mutual support, and patriotism.The manuscript was framed for presentation soon after the speech. The accompanying plaque states that it was gifted by the Wishaw Club in memory of three local servicemen killed in action. They include 2nd Lieutenant Alexander McEwan Fisher (1890-1917), a solicitor who was killed at Arras, Lieutenant James Gibson (1887-1917), Machine Gun Corps, and 2nd Lieutenant Peter N. Cunningham (1892-1917), Highland Light Infantry.

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