A NEW tribute is to be unveiled in Muirkirk, remembering all the men and women who served in the world wars.

With the support of East Ayrshire Council, the memorial will be created in the garden area adjacent to the Muirkirk cenotaph.

The group of residents behind the project wanted to create a lasting memory for those who sacrificed themselves in the wars.

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It is hoped that the artwork, which will include "a lovingly-crafted Celtic cross", will look to commemorate their lives, and think of what life could have been like if people of Muirkirk and nearby Glenbuck didn't have to go to war.

Those behind the project said: "Some people in Muirkirk felt a need to pay a lasting tribute to those who gave their lives in war, granting us the freedoms we enjoy today.

"Working together, combining their skills, they created this memorial – a lovingly crafted Celtic cross, and many more individual crosses, each one commemorating the loss of life and the devastation caused for loved ones left behind.

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"The individual crosses will fall in time, leaving only the steel fixings behind, each like a fading memory.

"We shall never know what contribution these brave people would have made to the communities in Muirkirk and Glenbuck, what families may have been born, what relationships forged, what skills employed.

"We believe the tribute these people would want is one that endures, that we can all do frequently."

The dedication ceremony will take place on Monday, November 11 at 11am, close to the village's memorial on Main Street.