Girls help mark WWI bloodshed
Two pupils from Duncanrig Secondary were among a group of over 70 chosen to attend the commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of Arras.
Eilidh Campbell and Emily Gough from S3 attended the Scottish commemoration service for the battle, which had the highest concentration of Scottish soldiers to fight in a single battle during the First World War, the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in France.
The battle, which took place from April 9 to May 15, 1917, was the first major allied offensive of that year and saw British and Canadian units attack at Arras and Vimy Ridge.
Eilidh and Emily were among pupils chosen to represent every local authority across the country.
They visited the battlefields and tunnels of Arrras and attended the beating retreat held in the Place des Heroes town square in Arras, a ceremony which was attended by a range of dignitaries including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
An added bonus for the trip was the opportunity the girls had to interview Ms Sturgeon on behalf of the BBC.
The interviews Emily and Eilidh recorded are scheduled to be broadcast by BBC Radio Scotland in November to coincide with Remembrance Sunday.
The trip was part of the Scottish Commemorations Panel programme of commemorative events marking key dates in WWI which had a particular significance for Scotland.
It was unique in the programme as it was the only commemorative event which took place outside of Scotland.
Eilidh and Emily were part of B Company (Glasgow) and were one of three coach parties who made the trip.
The first day was spend touring the battlefields of the Somme in the north of France.
First stop was Newfoundland Park at Beaumont Hamel, where the pupils were given a tour of the British and German front lines of July 1, 1916, which was the bloodiest day in the history of the British military with just under 60,000 casualties, including almost 20,000 killed.
Visits to Y-Ravine and Hunter’s cemeteries as well as the monument to the 51st Highland Division allowed the pupils to reflect on the sheer scale of sacrifice made at the Somme.
From there the party moved on to the Thiepval Memorial and the Missing of the Somme, where the names of over 70,000 men whose remains were never found are inscribed.
The girls paid their respects to the likes of Harry Wattie, the famous Heart of Midlothian footballer who was killed on July 1, 1916, aged just 23.
Pupils then visited Dartmoor Cemetery and Lochnagar Crater.
The main event of the tour was the commemoration of the Battle of Arras.
By the end of the fighting in May the British had suffered around 159,000 casualties, which gave the Battle of Arras a higher daily casualty rate (4076) than was experienced at the Somme in 1916 or Passchendaele in 1917.
Eilidh said: “This very poignant trip has left me truly moved and made me realise how fortunate we are to be here and have the lives we luckily have, due to the major sacrifices the British Army unfortunately had to make.
“We will forever be in debt to these wonderful soldiers.”
Emily added: “I’m really thankful that I was chosen to go on this trip. I made some amazing friends, interviewed some amazing people and got to experience things that I will never forget.”
We will forever be in debt to these wonderful soldiers