A national commemorative event was staged in Edinburgh yesterday to mark the start of the World War One centenaries. It took the form of a Drumhead Service, a form of religious service on a makeshift altar of piled drums draped with military flags. Following the multi-faith service on the Castle Esplanade, a procession of soldiers, veterans and members of the public marched down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Park where a field of replica Commonwealth War Graves had been erected. Participants had gathered to remember the sacrifice made by many thousands of Scots and the impacts of the war on Scottish society.

A Scottish Government news release titled “Scotland remembers” describes the event. BBC TV covered the event, and also included interviews with academic historians Sir Hew Strachan and Trevor Royle in its programmes. A BBC news story “Thousands attend WW1 Drumhead commemoration” reports on the occasion.