IAN McCracken has spent several years researching the lives of Glasgow men who gave their lives in the Great War, including eight who died in the space of three days at the Battle of Loos, one century ago this weekend.

But Mr McCracken has a personal reason for attending a commemorative event on Saturday. His great-uncle, Thomas Ogilvie Geddes, a soldier with the Royal Scots Fusiliers, also died at Loos. He was killed by friendly fire.

The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will attend events in Dundee to mark the centenary of Loos. An estimated 7,000 Scots out of 30,000 died in the battle. Ms Sturgeon said: "With around 30,000 Scots serving at Loos, its effect was felt throughout every village and town in Scotland.

"The weekend of national commemorations will be a fitting tribute to those that fought, those that died and those that were left at home."

Mr McCracken is a volunteer archivist at Govan High School in Glasgow and he has researched the 64 men commemorated on the school's Roll of Honour.

The eight who died at Loos - Gilbert Campbell, James Duff, Arthur Kinloch, Duncan McIntosh, Francis McKinlay, Peter McVicar, Henry Moody and Robert Murray - were a mixture of privates, lance-corporals and corporals, and they served with regiments ranging from the Seaforth Highlanders to the Royal Scots. Three of them were aged just 19, and five of them died on the same day - September 25.

One of them was Peter McVicar, a grocery assistant at the Kinning Park Co-operative, who died just months after his younger brother, Angus, 17, had been killed elsewhere on the Western Front.

"According to contemporary newspapers and forces war records, every single one of them was killed in action," added Mr McCracken. "All of them are commemorated on the Loos Memorial.

Mr McCracken's great-uncle Tom, who had been a pupil at Dennistoun's Whitehill Secondary, was just 24 when he died a century ago.

He said: "My grandmother's sister, before she died, understandably didn't want to talk about losing her brother, but I had seen his medals in the house and she had obviously mentioned him at some point.

"There was a family story that one of his pals had returned from the front and told them that Tom had been killed by British shell fire. They didn't use the expression 'friendly fire' at that time.

"Having done some research, I think that sort of incident was responsible for quite a large number of deaths. It seems to have been a confused sort of battle even by the standards of the Great War.

"I have the original letter that was sent to his parents with the medals that he would have been awarded.

"What is poignant is that though he was killed in September 1915 the letter was not actually sent to them until May 1922. I'm not sure why this should have been the case, but just as they had adjusted to life without him, this letter arrived. I well up every time I look at it."

Mr McCracken, who said he is willing to talk to any relatives linked to Govan High's World War 1 or World War 2 memorials, added: "I'm going to Dundee to represent not just Tom but the eight other men, too. I feel a strong connection to those people, and I think it's important that today's pupils see them as much more than just ancient history."