It is situated in front of the 16th-century MacLellan's Castle and shows a seated warrior with sword and shield with a sleeping child on his knee.

The memorial was designed by George Henry Paulin and erected in 1921 to commemorate the men lost during the First World War.

It was sculpted by George Henry Paulin of Edinburgh, who had been recommended by the Glasgow School artist Edward Atkinson Hornel, who had strong connections to Kirkcudbright.

[1] The plinth holds three large and one small plaques listing the 96 men of the town who died during the First World War.

The memorial was unveiled 14 April 1921 by Colonel Robert Francis Dudgeon, the Lord-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbrightshire, and dedicated by Reverend W. Barclay.