On the west wall of the church, in an area now known as the Craig Corner, there is a plaque and medal to the memory of Jane Haining.
Jane Haining was born in Dunscore and worshipped in the Craig Free Church. She was the only Scots woman to die in Auschwitz. As Matron of the Girls Home in the Budapest Mission of the Church of Scotland, she refused to leave her charges when war broke out and paid the ultimate price. Non-Jews who gave or risked their lives to aid Jews in the Holocaust may be added to the list of ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ – the Memorial of the Jewish people located in Jerusalem. Jane Haining was honoured in this way in 1998.
The church retains a strong link with Hungary and every year a group of Hungarian children visit Dunscore.
You can visit some of the places that were important in Jane’s life and find out more about her by following the Jane Haining Trail. This route was created by Dunscore Community Council with the aid of the Tom Carrick bequest.
The trail includes Lochanhead Farm where she was born and brought up, Craig Church where she worshipped and her primary school. You can see a copy of the leaflet:
The map of the trail is shown below: