WORK is set to begin on a memorial garden at the headquarters of veterans' charity, Erskine, as it prepares to mark its 100th birthday.

The Erskine Memorial Garden Garden at the Erskine Estate in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, will bring together three existing memorial sites - The Regimental Walls of Scotland, Japanese Prisoners of War Memorial and The Lost Gardeners of the Great War as part of the charity's centenary celebrations.

The garden will offer veterans a place for reflection, exercise or somewhere to enjoy time with family and friends.

A paved memorial walkway will wind through woodland filled with trees, shrubs and wild flowers and will feature plaques in memory of past residents and loved ones lost.

The charity said it wanted to create an additional outdoor space at the centre which would be accessible to wheelchair users and residents from the180-bed Erskine Home and the 40-bed Erskine Park Home.

In a statement, it said: "Spending time outdoors is incredibly important to our residents, many of whom are elderly and disabled and benefit from time spent outside of their long-term care environment.

"It is particularly important to provide an outdoor space where residents can spend quality time with loved ones. The provision of garden space and garden views for all residents has always been an important aspect of Erskine Care and the Memorial Garden is an extension of this philosophy."

The garden will also act as a memorial site to remember those who lost their lives in both world wars and subsequent conflicts and for all the veterans cared for by the charity over the past 100 years.

It will also provide a mechanism by which family members and Erskine donors can honour a loved one. They will have the opportunity to place memorial plaques, with wording of their choosing, in the garden.

It comes as Erskine prepares to launch its annual Veteran’s Wishes Week from June 1.