Bagpipers in Italian tribute

They joined with Schiehallion Pipe Band, London Scottish Pipe Band and the Trinity Occasional Pipers from Edinburgh to form a massed band at the request of the Italian Government.

The aim was to commemorate the last battle of WW1 at Treviso on the Piave River.

Band member Pat Donoghue, of Edinburgh Bagpipes Company, said: "It was the 90th anniversary and they wanted to do it justice...they did that and some.

"We played in many towns and villages - Fagara, Guevara, Maserada and Ponte de Piave are but a few.

"The crowning glory of our tour was of course playing in St Mark's Square in Venice.

"Scotland and the pipe band was relevant on two counts...In WW2, at the end of the 1939-45 conflict the London Scottish Regiment marched into St Marks Square, and their pipe band played, as did todays pipe band on June 17.

"The second is, the Gordon Highlanders were part of the defence of the Piave. This is where the enemy advance was stopped, and many are buried in the cemeteries we attended as part of the commemoration.

"It was a very humbling experience, and to see row upon row of young men cut down in their teen years was moving and poignant for everyone there. "The debt owed to those men, and indeed all servicemen from all conflicts, is as relevant today as it was then, and it impacts in a very real way when the rows are unending.

"The people who tend to these cemeteries create a beauty and peace that the men deserve, but belie the horror of their deaths.

"On a personal level coming from a family of men who served in both wars in The Royal Scots and the Scots Greys, it made the sacrifices they made come to life, and the saddest moment comes when one realises it's too late to say thank you.

"It was a tough few days of a fairly gruelling schedule, doing four and five jobs a day, but not one of those who went regretted it, especially as the Italian people were fantastically warm and welcoming.

"Everyone who went probably feels as I do, they'd do it again in a heartbeat, such was the honour.

"I hope that this small piece inspires people to appreciate the debt owed to the soldiers fighting in our name today, and honour them when they return home."