An Eyes On, Hands On Scotland Grand Tour 2024

Take a look at some of the amazing activity our Scottish Eyes On, Hands On volunteers have been up to with Eyes On, Hands On Coordinator Donna Hutchinson.

Eyes On, Hands On Scotland

A Scottish EYes On, Hands On Grand Tour

Image: Inspecting and weeding underway! 

Beginning of October saw me start my autumn grand tour of Scotland in Perth where myself and 10 volunteers met at Perth Wellshill Cemetery for a catch up.  

We were able to inspect and clean 60 scattered headstones which was a great achievement.  

A well-deserved coffee and blether afterwards was had where the volunteers were able to share stories about their volunteering experiences.  

Image: Where necessary, our EOHO volunteers give our headstones a good scrub with water to help clean away any dirt.

I then set off for Dundee (Balgay) Cemetery and once again the sun was shining for our team day.  

Gardener Alan Watt was able to pop by for a quick visit and, as always the volunteers loved chatting with him and picking his brain.  The plot looked immaculate, as always.  

We got another 40 headstones inspected and cleaned and found the ones that had been hiding from the allocated volunteer. 

All in all another successful hands on day and another well deserved coffee afterwards where the topic of the day was Burma in WW2.

Needless to say, my knowledge has increased again thanks to our volunteers!  

Image: With a brush and warm water, our EOHO volunteers help breathe new life into our headstones across Scotland

I then kept driving north and found myself meeting the next group of volunteers in the slightly chillier but still dry Fraserburgh. 

CWGC beanies were the fashion focal point of this meet.  

All 62 scattered graves were inspected, cleared and cleaned (if needed). However, the last one kept all 6 of us on our toes trying to locate it until we realised it was the casualty nearest the front gate where we had all convened earlier.  

Image: Inspecting our headstones is a key duty of EOHO volunteers. Thanks to all off our Scottish Eyes On, Hands On volunteers for all your hard work!

After, yes, you’ve guessed it… a coffee and obligatory cake and catch up of what everyone’s been up to I ventured to my last location of Inverness.  

Tomnahurich Cemetery is a beautiful, peaceful cemetery and as it was raining (it had to happen at some point) we decided to inspect, weed (if needed) but not clean.  

A good walk round the circuit (the cemetery winds round the base of a hill) stopping at each scattered as we went and checking the previous storm landslide location.  

The volunteers shared stories as we went and as always it was a great catch up opportunity.  

Sadly, this would be the last coffee and cake of the tour so it was celebrated with a delicious scone at the botanical gardens.

Thanks to everyone who came along and joined me on my tour!

All images courtesy of Donna Huthinson

What is Eyes On, Hands On?

Eyes On, Hands On (EOHO) is a volunteer project suitable for history lovers of all ages.

It’s a chance for those with an interest in history to help us in our commemoration work and help connect with their local heritage.

We ask volunteers to be our eyes on the ground, helping to monitor and look after graves close to where they live.

An Eyes On, Hands On volunteer scrubs a headstone. Once signed up, EOHO project members are trained in how to identify isolated headstones and burials, how to undertake inspections, and how to care for each war grave.

Our local volunteers then become the Commission and Foundation’s eyes on the ground. 

The information they pass on allows us to better allocate our resources. The CWGC’s professional facilities teams can be better directed, and we can act fast if any issues are found with our sites.

How can you join the Eyes On, Hands On programme?

Want to become an Eyes On, Hands On volunteer? Head on over to the Commonwealth War Graves Volunteer page and make an application.

Please note: because of the brilliant historic response to EOHO, the team is only recruiting in some specific areas and towns. 

Please do still enquire to find out which areas we’re recruiting in or to find more ways you can volunteer with us.