MAY will see the 110th anniversary of the Quintinshill rail disaster near Gretna.
And there are plans for an exhibition in Edinburgh to mark it.
Entitled ‘Gretna 110’, it will run at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in the capital’s Dalmeny Street from May 19-24.
It is being organised by the Royal Scots Museum, as the regiment lost 216 soldiers in the crash. Many more were also injured.
They were on their way from Larbert to Liverpool Docks to embark to go and fight in Gallipoli.
In addition, the Royal Scots will also hold their annual Regimental Service at the city’s Rosebank Cemetery on Saturday May 24, and this year they are hoping for ‘significant involvement’ from the local community.
Meanwhile, author Christine Holt has revealed that she is preparing to release a book, The Low Road, based on events at Quintinshill.
In a Facebook post this week she said: “During the time of the First World War, at 6.49 am on Saturday 22nd of May 1915, in a remote location near the England-Scotland border, worlds were about to collide in what would become known as Britain’s worst train disaster.
“Multiple trains collided at the isolated signal box at Quintinshill, just north of Gretna Green, resulting in the death of over 200 soldiers, with many more wounded, unrecognisable, or unaccounted for.
“The Low Road is a harrowing tale of what happened that fateful day, with love, courage, and betrayal at the heart of the story.”
Above – people tending to the wounded following the Quintinshill rail crash in 1915. Photo from ebay
