Located amongst pleasant gardens on Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, close to the railway station, Kirkcaldy War Memorial is the centrepiece of an integrated scheme intended to represent a tangible commemoration of the losses suffered during the First World War. This scheme included Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery, and the War Memorial Gardens. This was the gift of linoleum manufacturer John Nairn, in memory of his son who was killed on the Western Front. Erected in 1923, the memorial was formally unveiled by Admiral Lord Wester Wemyss on 27th June 1925. It comprises a wall displaying the names of the fallen, which extends either side of a central pillar in Art Deco style. A large plaque records To the Abiding Memory of those Men of Kirkcaldy who gave their Lives in the Great War this Park and its Buildings are Dedicated. A further inscription states Also in Gratitude to all who Served, with interested plaques illustrating the different services; the Royal and Merchant Navies, the artillery, infantry and air service in aeroplanes and airships.
The Memorial lies directly in front of the Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery, however the symmetry of the scheme is spoiled by the northeastern extension to the that building three years later to form the Kirkcaldy Central Library. The symmetry is further disrupted by the addition of a Second World War Memorial to the right of the original, designed by Thomas Hubbard and unveiled in 1958. A catafalque in front of this smaller memorial bears the inscription In Proud Memory of the Men of Kirkcaldy who Gave their Lives in the Second World War. 1,012 local people were killed in the First World War, and another 452 during the Second World War.
