THE soldiers called Passchendaele the battle of mud and it has become one of the most notorious of the First World War. By the end of it, half a million people had been killed or wounded, including 310,000 Allied soldiers. Some 90,000 British soldiers were also reported missing. Most were never found.
Today is the 100th anniversary of the start of the battle and there have been events big and small to mark the date. In Ypres, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a commemoration service, while, in Crieff, veterans and serving soldiers marched through the town watched by thousands of locals and visitors.
The people of Crieff have a particular reason to remember Passchendaele. The town was one of the traditional recruiting grounds for the Black Watch and a high number of their men were involved in the battle.
By the end of the war, two-thirds of the 50,000 men commissioned or enlisted into the regiment had been wounded and 8960 of them killed.
The effect on Crieff and other Scottish communities can still be seen in the sombre list of names on the country’s 8000 war memorials; the centenary events have also succeeded in remembering those men in
an atmosphere of respect and remorse. Battles like Passchendaele have become some of the most infamous in military history. It is right we remember and regret them.
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