Commonwealth leaders will lay wreaths at the cenotaph in Glasgow
Glasgow has been chosen to host the focal point of the UK and Commonwealth’s activities to mark the centenary of the start of World War I.
Heads of state will be in the city next year for the closing ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games on 3 August.
The UK government has said the leaders will be invited to stay on for a special service at Glasgow Cathedral to commemorate the 100th anniversary.
This will be followed by wreath laying at the cenotaph in George Square.
Secretary of State Michael Moore said: “Next year’s events to commemorate the First World War will reflect on the human cost of the conflict which involved those from across the UK as well as throughout the wider world.
‘Fitting tribute’
“A special service in Glasgow to remember the fallen and their sacrifice will be a fitting tribute to their memory and the attendance of Commonwealth leaders will add to the sense of occasion.”
The Lord Lieutenant, Glasgow’s Lord Provost Sadie Docherty, will lead the service remembering Britain’s role in a war.
Lord Provost Docherty said: “I am delighted to announce that Glasgow will commemorate this significant milestone in our country’s history by holding a range of events to mark the centenary year of the Great War, beginning with a special service at Glasgow Cathedral followed by a ceremony in George Square.
“I know this is something that Glaswegians will want to be part of. They value their hard won freedoms and are extremely proud of their city’s contribution.
“I am also thrilled at the prospect of our Commonwealth cousins joining me, and the rest of Glasgow, on this important day of remembrance.”
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Heritage Lottery Fund scheme to mark WWI centenary
One project will look at the history of Hearts players who died in WWI
A new scheme to help communities across Scotland mark the centenary of World War I has been launched.
A total of £6m is being made available between now and 2019 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Local groups will be encouraged to apply for small grants of between £3,000 and £10,000.
The cash is to be used to help explore, conserve and share WWI heritage, and deepen understanding of the conflict.
The Heritage Lottery Fund will hand out at least £1m annually over the next six years through the Then And Now programme.
Community groups from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh are helping to launch the scheme and have already begun exploring what the legacy of WWI means to them.
In Glasgow, school pupils have been uncovering the human stories behind the names on the city’s war memorials.
Another project, already commissioned, has been exploring the history of the seven Heart of Midlothian football players who died in the conflict.
The Hard Vrocht Grun project in Aberdeenshire has been looking at the stories of those who toiled in the trenches, and those who worked the land in their absence.
Colin McLean, head of HLF in Scotland said: “The impact of WWI was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the country.
“The Heritage Lottery Fund’s new programme will enable communities across Scotland to explore the continuing legacy of this war and help young people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has influenced our modern world.”
Among those who will help select further successful projects is author Sebastian Faulks, whose novel Birdsong is set in the trenches.
The new programme can also provide funding for the conservation of war memorials.
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Alex Salmond announces Scottish war memorials restoration fund
Mr Salmond made the announcement on a visit to the war memorial in Fyvie
Scotland’s war memorials are to be cleaned and restored to help mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. The Scottish government has created the £1m Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund to pay for the work. There are thought to be between 5,000 and 6,000 memorials in villages, towns and cities across the country. First Minister Alex Salmond said each memorial was a reminder of the “futility of war”.
Speaking during a visit to the Fyvie war memorial in Aberdeenshire, Mr Salmond said the new fund would help communities across Scotland to continue to pay their respects to those who fell during both world wars and other conflicts.
‘Ultimate price’
He said: “The events in 2014 to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War will not be a celebration in Scotland, but a commemoration of the servicemen and women who paid the ultimate price in defence of our country.
“Scotland’s war memorials – from the magnificent to the more modest – pay tribute to those fallen and will be an important part of the commemorations in communities the length and breadth of Scotland during 2014.
“Fyvie, for example, lost 67 men from that parish on the battlefields of Europe – a figure that represented a devastating blow to such a small community. Some of those men fought for other countries – Australia, Canada and New Zealand – but each will have left loved ones and ancestors behind in Aberdeenshire who will never forget them.”
Mr Salmond said some memorials were in need of an upgrade to get them up to standard for the commemorations.
He added: “Each memorial in Scotland reminds us of the sacrifice made by those who died during the Great War, the Second World War and other conflicts. They remind us of the futility of war and the necessity that we never forget the sacrifice made by those who fell in conflict.”
Historic Scotland has supported the sensitive conservation and repair of war memorials in Scotland since 2008 through a dedicated grant scheme administered by the War Memorials Trust.
The Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund is open for applications now with funding available over the course of the four-year centenary commemorations, from 2014 through to 2018.
The Scottish government said it expected to announce further details of the activities being planned to commemorate the centenary of World War I in due course.