The tiny handful of surviving World War Two Black Watch veterans will muster round the standard for possibly the final time in a poignant Perthshire ceremony to remember a generation of heroes.
For six gruelling years brave Black Watch soldiers answered each and every call to arms from the sands of Tobruk to the jungles of Burma, beaches of Normandy and battle for Italy to the crossing of the River Rhine.
Only 29 soldiers have been contacted from those who fought across Europe, North Africa and the Far East wearing the distinctive Red Hackle, and 17 all aged 84 to 93 have answered the rallying cry 66 years after the end of a war which killed 1377 of their fellow officers and soldiers and wounded hundreds more.
Lieutenant Colonel Roddy Riddell, the vice-chairman of organisers of The Black Watch Association, explained why they decided to call up the soldiers one last time.
He said, “With the death recently of Britain’s last World War One veteran we became aware that we were also sadly rapidly losing those who fought during the 1939-45 conflict.
“We realised this was probably the last time we would be able to muster world war two veterans who fought in all campaigns and theatres that The Black Watch was involved in during those long, weary years.”
Veterans from seven different wartime battalions of The Black Watch will be represented on Saturday battalions which helped earn 62 battle honours for the regiment as it fought its way across France, Holland, Germany, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Crete and Burma.
A commemorative dinner for the veterans will be held in Perth on Saturday night followed by their attendance at the biennial Black Watch muster parade in Aberfeldy on Sunday morning.’Time is running out’Veteran Dr Tom Renouf (86) is one of those to answer the call.
He said, “We are aware this is probably the last time we can muster. There are not many of us left and it’s difficult to get together in an organised way. Time is running out for us.”
Dr Renouf fought with the 5th Battalion, landing in Normandy and fighting for the liberation of Europe. He won the Military Medal for bravery at the crossing of the Rhine-a medal he dedicates to his comrades.
He said, “We’ll get together this weekend and talk about those days the battles we fought, the towns we liberated, the friends we lost.
“What binds us so closely together is that we relied on one another to get us through that hell on earth.
“It was a lottery whether you lived or died and we’re lucky enough to still be here to represent those who never got a chance to really start their lives.
“We’re proud and honoured to do so. We’re not worried that the Last Post is almost sounding for us we lived with a death sentence on our heads during the war.
“There will soon come a day when people will no longer be able to see us, but hopefully they will never forget us.”
Black Watch Association secretary Major Ronnie Proctor said all generations of Black Watch soldiers would attend Sunday’s church service and parade at Aberfeldy where the regiment first mustered in 1740 and pay tribute to the veterans.