Families gather to recall Scots killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

student holds a poppy during the memorial service at the Church of the Holy Rude, in Stirling

Families of the 37 Scottish service personnel who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan took the unprecedented step of staging a thanksgiving service yesterday to honour their loved ones.

Although other ceremonies have paid tribute to individuals and units, yesterday's service at the Church of the Holy Rude, in Stirling, was the first to pay tribute to all those Scots who have lost their lives in the conflicts. It was also the first such service to be arranged by and for the families.

The event took place on the same day as 300 troops from the Royal Highland Fusiliers marched through the town of Ayr in the first of a series of homecoming parades. The battalion returned last month from a six-month tour in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

In Stirling, the families issued a statement calling on the public to remember the sacrifice made by those who had given their lives. It was read by Mary McCue, from Paisley, whose son, Lance Corporal James McCue, 27, of 7 Air Assault Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, died following an explosion in Iraq.

Today's service is a fitting tribute and celebration of the lives of those we have lost in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq,” she said.

“It is vital that we have these opportunities for people to come together to commemorate the lives and sacrifices made by our servicemen and women and to make sure that they are never forgotten.”

She added: “I feel it's important as it gives us an opportunity to honour and remember our loved ones who have paid the ultimate price. I think our boys and women are out there serving Queen and country - and I think ourselves, as a nation, we should give them all our support. We should never forget their sacrifice.”

Bob Wright, whose son, Corporal Mark Wright, 27, died after being caught in a minefield in Afghanistan, added: “We want to remember all those who gave their lives.

“We don't want these people's lives to be forgotten, including my son's.

“They have paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives.”

Corporal Wright died during the rescue of six of his colleagues, just over two years ago. He was killed when the downdraught of an RAF Chinook helicopter, sent to lift the men to safety, caused an explosion. The aircraft did not have a winch. At an inquest this month into his death, Andrew Walker, the deputy assistant coroner in Oxford, said those responsible at the Ministry of Defence for equipment shortages should “hang their heads in shame”.

Yesterday's event began when a parachutist from the Golden Lions display team alighted near Stirling Castle, carrying a poppy which had been picked earlier this month in Flanders on behalf of Poppyscotland, the veterans' charity. The symbolic flower was taken from the castle to the church in a procession led by pupils from the Queen Victoria School, an MoD-sponsored school in Dunblane, representatives from Poppyscotland and family members. An RAF fighter jet made a flypast as the procession reached the church doors.

More than 400 people, including military personnel and about 200 relatives, attended the service, which was led by the Rev John Paterson and the Rev James Gibson. Pupils from Queen Victoria School placed a poppy in front of photos of each of the 37 servicemen and hymns and songs included the national anthem and Praise My Soul, The King Of Heaven.

The back of the order of service listed the names of all British personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After the service Mr Wright and his wife carried the Flanders poppy back to Stirling Castle, where they were due to present it on behalf of the families to Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister. Mr Salmond was attending a reception to launch the Scottish poppy appeal.

Meanwhile, yesterday it emerged that Mr and Mrs Wright are hoping to launch a new centre for veterans suffering from trauma. Mr Wright told BBC Scotland that all donations, no matter how little, from the public would be welcome. “If they can give their lives, people can give a couple of pounds,” he said