Dufftown prepares to remember the fallen
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A COMMUNITY is coming together to remember the sacrifice made by its people during World War I.
Dufftown Royal British Legion is spearheading a project to honour those who gave their lives during the conflict, which ended 100 years ago.
As part of the work, a giant poppy waterfall will be hung from the town's central clock tower ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
Hundreds of hand-knitted poppies have been created by local people to form the piece, which is being sewn together by volunteers from the British Legion and wider community. They are meeting every Wednesday to bring the work together before it takes its place at the heart of the community.
In addition, the legion has raised £31,000 to replace its heating system and has gathered enough money to buy three 6ft Tommy figures as well as six silhouettes for the church pews as part of the national There but not There installation. Councillor Louise Laing helped locals secure money from the Community Fund to buy the poignant figures.
Pupils from Dufftown have also been involved and will be present at the town's Remembrance Parade.
Claire Porter, Legion secretary, said around 172 men from the town gave their lives in WWI. Of those, 108 are commemorated on the war memorial while others are named elsewhere.
She said: "To put this into some context, the 1911 census give the population of Dufftown at about 4000. Of those, there were around 1000 men of military age. Half of those were in reserved occupations. The rest serving, volunteering or being called up.
"Out of 500, over 170 would never return. This is a casualty rate of around 34 per cent. It is generally accepted that the casualty rate for the UK was around 10 per cent of those who served.
"In Scotland that rises to over 20 per cent. Therefore Dufftown by comparison suffered one of the highest rates in the country."
The youngest to die was an 18-year-old man, 2nd Lieutenant George Cowie. One family had five sons who served, three of whom would never come home and one who was returned wounded.
Another family had two sons killed on the same day in different actions – receiving the death notices 24 hours apart. At least eight gallantry awards were assigned to Dufftown's fallen.
