Wicker warrior helps commemorate the Battle of Killiecrankie

Re-enactment will tell the tale of a war between father and daughter

A wicker figure of a Scottish government soldier has been created as a reminder of Perthshire’s place at the heart of a bloody battle.

The figure commemorates the fact the first shots of the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 were fired in the Pass of Killiecrankie.

At the end of this month the annual Soldiers of Killiecrankie event, Scotland’s largest 17th-Century re-enactment, will take place there.

The wicker soldier, created by Georgia Crook and located in the Garry Bridge car park, was installed by Perth and Kinross Council Community Green Space in support of the annual event.

Councillor Mike Williamson said: “Before the creation of the Soldiers of Killiecrankie event, many people knew of the Battle of Killiecrankie but had never visited the actual battle site nor understood the significance of the history on their doorstep.”

The Battle of Killiecrankie was between the supporters of King James VII and II and his daughter Queen Mary and her husband, William of Orange

“Many people incorrectly think that the Jacobite wars were the Scots versus the English – interestingly, there was only one English regiment fighting with the government at the Battle of Killiecrankie, the rest were Scottish and Dutch,” said a spokesman for the event.

The Soldiers of Killiecrankie starts on the evening of July 28 with a street skirmish along Pitlochry’s main street.

From 11am to 5pm on July 29 and 30 there are battle re-enactments at Killiecrankie.

Most people incorrectly think that the Jacobite wars were the Scots versus the English

Pictures: Steve MacDougall.

Left: Riders of the Storm at last year’s re-enactment of the battle. Above: a participant dressed in the uniform of a 17th Century Scottish government infantryman.