We restart our Winter Evening Talks on Thursday 17 October 2026 when Matthew Jarron will tell us about “The Origins of Dundee’s War Memorial”
The war memorial beacon on the top of Dundee Law recently celebrated its centenary. For over a hundred years it has been one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, yet its location and its distinctive design were the subjects of considerable debate and controversy in the years immediately following the end of the Great War. In this talk, Matthew Jarron relates the complex saga of the memorial’s design and creation.
Matthew Jarron is Curator of the University of Dundee Museums, comprising over 35,000 artefacts, artworks and specimens displayed in a variety of venues including the Tower Foyer & Lamb Galleries, the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum and the Tayside Medical History Museum. Matthew is also Secretary of the Abertay Historical Society, co-ordinator of the Public Art Dundee project, a former chair of the Scottish Society for Art History and the author and/or editor of several books including Independent & Individualist: Art in Dundee 1867-1924.