Rhynie's magnificent war memorial was one of the first to be erected after WW1 . The granite figure of a greatcoated soldier , it was carved by a monumental mason of outstanding talent , called Robert Warrack Morrison . Bob Morrison , as he was known , was born in Aberdeen in 1890 , the son of a tailor . Like numerous other North - east stone - cutters , he worked as a young man in the granite yards of the United States , both before and after WW1 . It was a letter from his old firm , Morren and Co. , of Holland Street , which brought him back to his native city from Barr'e , Vermont in April , 1920 . His boss , David Morren sen., had recalled a granite wreath his young cutter had effortlessly turned out in a lunch - hour , confirming his belief that he had a craftsman of rare talent on his staff . Not only was Morrison's attention to detail meticulous but he was an extraordinarily fast worker . People said he took tremendous risks . Dispensing , for instance , with normal procedure of squaring off a block ( a week per face , four weeks per block ) , he knew instinctively the depth to cut to without the use of needles , carving the figure of a soldier in six weeks as opposed to the usual six to nine months . He was known in the trade as " the King of the Carvers " . Outside the trade , he was not known at all ; and only in recent years that he has won wider recognition . A lecturer in sculpture from North - east England , Fred Watson , has rated him a genius , who used " complicated and astonishing trickery " . He has described the detail on the Rhynie figure as being " virtuoso carving from a man who probably had no formal training in freehand sculpture " . The Rhynie memorial was Morrison's first , being unveiled on May 30th , 1920 , just over six weeks after his return from America .Further examples of his work in Aberdeenshire include the obelisk at Clatt and the Celtic crosses at Lumsden and at Towie . He executed the soldier figures at New Elgin and at Tarland for other companies , the latter bearing such a strong resemblance to the figure at Ballachulish and Glencoe as to suggest that this may be his work too .As his reputation spread , his memorials also went to Cumberland and Northumberland .The Celtic cross at High Spen , Tyne and Wear , appears to be from the Morren yard , but may not be of suffucient quality to be Morrison's , but the figure at Blaydon , County Durham , may safely be claimed as his , being an exact replica of the Rhynie memorial . Morrison died in 1945 at the age of 55 , never having recovered from the death of his wife , Annie , the mother of his seven children .The stone he carved for her grave in Trinity Cemetery Aberdeen , may be reckoned among his finest works . ( Written by Robert Morrison's grandson , Douglas Kynoch , with acknowledgements to the late Jean W. Morrison and David B.Morren jun. ) .
Robert Morrison's finest piece of work at Trinity Cemetery Aberdeen .