The Battle of Loos national commemorations

25th September 2015 - 27th September 2015

Dundee has been chosen to host the official commemorations which will mark the centenary of the Battle of Loos and pay tribute to the estimated 30,000 Scots who took part in the battle. A number of events organised by different organisations will take place over the weekend.

Friday 25th September 2015

6.30am: The ceremonies open with the annual lighting of the beacon at the War Memorial on Dundee Law.  A closed service hosted by Black Watch Veterans will take place.

7.30pm: Great War Dundee will host Remembering Loos, a commemorative event featuring words, poetry, song and music. Tv presenter Lorraine Kelly, BBC Radio One Scotland presenter Jamie MacDougall, Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne in Game of Thrones), and Scottish author James Robertson will bring to life the words and stories of those in trenches and the home front. Songs and orchestral music will be performed by RSNO and Dundee Symphony Orchestra, Dallahan, and Robyn Stapleton (2014 Winner of BBC Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year) to name but a few. Tickets are £5 and are available now at the Dundee City Box Office or online.

Attendees are also invited to the Marryat Hall at 6.45pm for the launch of the Education Scotland exhibition where they will have opportunity to see work produced by Morgan Academy and St John’s RC High School who have been working on a P7 to S1 transition project. The pupils have been learning about WW1 and the impact that it had on Dundee. Pupils started their work on this project last term and have adopted a model where they create their own exhibition panels and then act as guides/facilitators to introduce the subject to the local community. Alongside this exhibition will be the Loos Visualisation project produced by the University of Abertay. There will be a further opportunity to view both exhibitions at the close of the Remembering Loos event.

Saturday 26th September 2015

11.30am: Members of the public are invited to watch a parade consisting of around 300 troops from the Armed Service and 300 veterans who will march towards the City Square for a service at noon.

12.00pm: A major commemorative service will be led by four Ministers from Dundee representing the Scottish Episcopal, Roman Catholic Church of Scotland, Church of Scotland and the Chaplain General to the Armed Forces. Members of the public can watch the service on the large screens in the City Square, however a number of tickets will be made available to the public (details to be announced soon).

7.30pm:  The screening of The Guns of Loos Dundee Contemporary Arts. This is an exciting collaboration between Great War Dundee and the DCA; not only will this be the first time the film has been screened Scotland since the 1930s, but we’ve also commissioned Stephen Horne, one of the UKs leading silent film composers and performers, to create and perform the score live. Tickets are £10 (£7) and can be purchased from the DCA box office or online.

Sunday 27th September 2015

11.00am: The Black Watch Association are hosting a service at Dundee Parish Church (St Mary’s).