Wilfred Owen, arguably the most well-known of Britain’s World War One poets, has now been commemorated with the unveiling of a plaque in his honour at the Edinburgh school he taught at while recovering from ‘shell shock’ in 1917. He is one of 11 historic figures to be recognised as part of this year’s Historic Scotland Commemorative Plaques Scheme, aiming to follow the popularity of English Heritage’s Blue Plaques and other schemes south of the border.

Owen, who was killed in November 1918 %ndsah; just days before the Armistice %ndsah; briefly taught English Literature at Tynecastle High School in 1917, as part of rehabilitation programme for treatment he was undergoing for neurasthenia at the nearby Craiglockhart War Hospital. Owen’s tenure at the school has long been known but, until now, has been unmarked. His fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon had also been a patient at Craiglockhart.

The new Commemorative Plaque Scheme is designed to celebrate the life and achievements of significant historic figures, through the erection of a plaque on the home where they lived, or the building that was particularly synonymous with their achievements.

Members of the public were asked to submit nominations then an independent panel of experts selected the final 11.

The other 10 figures selected were:

• Dr Henry Faulds, pioneer of fingerprint collection and identification techniques
• John Muir, widely recognised as the father of nature conservation
• Sir Patrick Geddes. Born in Ballater, Geddes was a well-travelled botanist, sociologist, geographer and pioneering town planner
• Sir Hugh Munro, original member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, after whom the standard term for Scottish Mountains of over 3,000ft was named
• Alexander Wilson, poet, artist, scientist and social commentator, known as the ‘father of American ornithology’
• Alexander Kellas, British physiologist who made pioneering contributions to the exploration of Everest
• Mary Lilly Walker, who did much for the plight of under-privileged women and children in Dundee
• John Rae, the first European to discover the final navigable link in the Northwest Passage
• William Murray, famous mountaineer and author of two, now classic, climbing books while a POW during WW2
• Adam Ferguson, one of the pre-eminent 18th-century Scottish literati, along with Adam Smith and David Hume.

www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/commemorativeplaques