IT touched the lives of millions of Scots at home and abroad; its resonance still felt 100 years on.

Now Scotland is preparing to remember all those who lost their lives in the First World War on Armistice Sunday, in the centenary year of the cessation of hostilities.

A special wreath-laying ceremony officially opened the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance at the Scott Monument yesterday, and on November 11, more than 1,000 people, including the Princess Royal, will attend a service at Glasgow Cathedral. Descendants of four brothers killed in the war have helped launch the national commemoration.

A limited number of tickets for the event, organised by WW100 Scotland with Glasgow City Council, are available to the public.

Robin Scott-Elliot, whose great grandfather was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, will attend the commemoration with his wife Karen and daughters Iona, 11, and Torrin, 9 and was at the Cathedral yesterday, with his children Iona and Torrin., holding a copy of a scrapbook compiled by his great-great-grandmother of her sons at war, who never returnedHe was there to share the story of the brothers, a story shared by so many ordinary Scots, boys and men, most of whom never wanted to be soldiers.

His great-grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel William Herbert Anderson, was killed a week after his youngest brother, Teddie. His brothers Charlie and Ronnie also died.

Mr Scott-Elliot, 48, who lives in Helensburgh, said: “It is unthinkable what the parents of Bertie, Charlie, Ronnie and Teddie must have gone through, losing all four sons in less than four years. When I reflect on their stories and think about when they died in relation to my age now, I’m struck by how truly short their lives were.

“The impact of their deaths was felt in the family for years – their parents never recovered, and my grandfather, who was a toddler at the time of Bertie’s death, had to go through life without a father – an experience which was shared by many after the war.

“I am very proud of the brave actions of my great-grandfather and great-uncles and will be remembering their sacrifices – and millions of others – with my family at Glasgow Cathedral on November 11.”

“It’s so important to pass these stories on to the next generation so that the devastation caused by the war is never forgotten.

“As we get further away from the war it is easy to forget but the least we can do is remember what they did and what it cost them, and remember all the other men and women who suffered the same fate.”

Lieutenant Colonel Anderson was commanding the 12th Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry, as it moved through France in March 1918. He was awarded the VC for courageously leading his command in a double-counter attack, successfully driving the enemy away despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered.

However, his bravery cost him his life and he died behind enemy lines on March 25, 1918, at the age of 36.

The service at Glasgow Cathedral will be broadcast live on BBC One Scotland. It will have a multi-generational focus, with the National Youth Choir of Scotland singing alongside the Glasgow Cathedral Choir.

To begin the Service, Orcadian Andy Cant will play a specially commissioned Fiddle tribute entitled Glimmers of Goodbye and a commemorative prayer by Professor Norman Drummond, chairman of WW100 Scotland and the Scottish Commemorations Panel, will be read by three generations of one family and by young people from Canada, Australia and New Zealand representing the Commonwealth.

Professor Drummond said: “We believe we have created a fitting, traditional yet contemporary service to reflect the mood of the nation at the time of the First Armistice 100 years ago.”

Meanwhile on Monday a special wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance.

Deacon Blue star and BBC radio presenter Ricky Ross, has also composed a song inspired by the Unknown Warrior for Armistice Day. at 10am.

ONE hundred years ago a mother kept a scrapbook of her sons at war, sons who were never to come home.

Nora Anderson pasted letters and photos from her four boys on to thick, black card pages. Below, in the cursive script of another, lost age, she, matter-of-factly, added dates.

Now her great-great-grandson has the book in his hands. Robin Scott-Elliot turns the pages, so carefully he is almost caressing them, and flips between two pictures of one of the sons, Teddie, the youngest.

“You can see it in his eyes. You can see it in his face,” he says. “First he is a kid and them suddenly he is a man.”

A journalist and writer, Mr Scott-Elliot is in Glasgow Cathedral to share the story of the brothers, a story shared by so many ordinary Scots, boys and men, most of whom never wanted to be soldiers.

This Sunday 1,000 will gather in the great church to remember their sacrifice for Scotland’s WW100 commemorations.

“They all went willingly,” Mr Scott-Elliot, 48, from Helensburgh, tells of his own family. “Nobody had a clue what was coming.”

Teddie, a pilot, died in a crash March 1918, aged 21. Barely a week later the last of four brothers, Bertie Anderson, lost his life too. He was a 36-year-old Glasgow accountant, a lieutenant colonel in the Highland Light Infantry who had left his wife and two toddler sons at home in Cardross, Dunbartonshire. One of those children was Mr Scott-Elliot’s grandfather.

Bertie Anderson left another family treasure, a book of thoughts and sayings he had jotted down to get him through life at the front. He was one of the soldiers who faced off the last great push of Germany into France and Belgium in 1918. He led his outnumbered unit on a counter-offensive, dying in close combat. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

“The word ‘hero’ is used too easily today,” says Scott-Elliot. “I’m not sure Bertie would have viewed himself as a hero. He strikes me as a thoughtful man, a peaceful man – I know that sounds ridiculous – who did what thousands like him had to do. When his moment came, he was a brave man.”

Now all the old Tommies are gone. So are most of those who remember them. This, admit organisers, has changed commemorations. History is now more honest as hurt fades.

At the Cathedral, Mr Scott-Elliot’s daughters, Iona and Torrin, pose with a picture of Bertie. But why do children not forget? “Stories,” reckons Mr Scott-Elliot. “They can understand what it would be like to grow up without a dad. The FirstWorld War is so pointless hopefully its stories will survive as a reminder of what the cost of war can be.”