Honouring a little piece of Scotland in a not so foreign field - Steve Cardownie

Contalmaison Cairn, France, honouring the 16th Royal Scots, McCrae’s Battalion who died on July 1, 1916

He told me that he was in the throes of organising this year’s visit to the commerative cairn in Contalmaison, France, which is undertaken every year and which, once again, is fully booked.

He wrote yesterday to inform me that “this year the first of July falls on a Tuesday and on that date, the tiny village of Contalmaison will be welcoming a host of bleary-eyed visitors from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia and Germany.

“The focus of everyone’s attention is a humble cairn, built from Elgin Sandstone by Scottish craftsmen and adorned with four handsome bronze plaques, designed in Edinburgh, sculpted in Kirkwall and cast in a foundry in Nairn.

“The cairn stands on a platform of Caithness slate, imported from Scotland just over 20 years ago with the rest of the materials. Truly a little piece of Scotland in a not so foreign field.”

I was lucky to represent the city at the unveiling of the Cairn in 2004, which was attended by a crowd of over 1000 people, all to see the memorial to the 16th Royal Scots, first proposed in 1919 and finally completed more than 80 years later.

Jack said that “The 16th Royal Scots was McCrae’s Battalion and was raised from volunteers in 1914 during the opening months of the Great War. Players and supporters from Hearts and Hibs joined the ranks, along with others from Raith Rovers, Falkirk and Dunfermline.

“McCrae’s was the original ‘Football Battalion’ and was tragically destroyed in less than an hour on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme.

“In spite of dreadful losses McCrae’s penetrated further into the German trenches than any other unit, reaching the outskirts of Contalmaison before they were pushed back.”

Since the unveiling of the cairn in 2004 the McCrae’s Battalion Trust, based in Edinburgh, sends a full coach of “pilgrims” out to France to the ceremony, which is held in the village every year on 1 July to remember those who fell.

Jack reminded me that an agreement between Edinburgh and Contalmaison was forged “which cemented the friendship of a city of 500,000 with a village of 100 souls. The people of Contalmaison are unfazed by that and care for the Cairn as if it commemorates their own sons.”

I have always been impressed by the commitment and passion demonstrated by the McCrae’s Battalion when managing these events, particularly when it comes down to “engaging with the locals.”

Jack writes on the Trust’s website that “The Battle of the Somme has become synonymous with slaughter. On the opening morning alone nearly 20,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers gave their lives. A further 40,000 were wounded. The first of July 1916 is often referred to as the blackest day in the history of the British Army.”

The service lives long in the memory and a more moving ceremony I have yet to witness. Standing alongside supporters from other football clubs and villagers from the picturesque village of Contalmaison, as the sound of the piper’s lament was carried by the breeze across the fields of France, was a truly emotional experience.