The memorial was paid for by
The Scottish – American War Memorial Committee representing Scottish-Americans as a tribute to the bravery of Scottish troops during World War I. The
Scottish National War Memorial (with similar design relating to the military in the Shrine) having been opened in July of that same year it was evidently relatedly unveiled on 7 September 1927 by the
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom,
Alanson B Houghton, with the Mackintosh's text reading "if it be life that waits, I shall live forever unconquered. If death, I shall die at last, strong in my pride and free" and with on the contemporary postcard the title "Spirit of 1914". "The Call 1914" (as actually named within the memorial) was designed by
R. Tait McKenzie who was a
Scottish Canadian working at the time at the
University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia. McKenzie only took to sculpture in later life having started his interests in physical education. His sculpture invariably was of life size male athletic figures. This work took him four years to complete. When R Tait McKenzie died he hoped to have his heart buried beneath this memorial, and this presumably either because he considered this his best work or also perhaps on account of a belief in its general significance in relation to First World War memorials in general and in particular perhaps the directly related
Scottish National War Memorial. ==References==