OVER 1000 people are expected at the National Centenary Commem-orative Service in Glasgow Cathedral today, which will be broadcast live on BBC1.

Glasgow has been chosen for the national service as the UK’s Centenary Commemoration began in the city on August 4, 2014, the day after the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

Along with HRH The Princess Royal, the service will be attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Lord-Lieutenant of Glasgow Eva Bolander with the narration by ex-Royal Marine, TV presenter and athlete JJ Chalmers.

It will have a multigenerational focus, with the National Youth Choir of Scotland singing alongside Glasgow Cathedral Choir. Ceitlin L R Smith, 2014 Mod Gold Medal Winner, will sing Runrig’s Gaelic song An Ubhal as Airde (The Highest Apple).

Orcadian Andy Cant will play a specially commissioned fiddle tribute and chair of WW100 Scotland and the Scottish Commemorations Panel, Professor Norman Drummond’s commemorative prayer will be read by three generations of one family and by young people from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, representing the Commonwealth.

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev Susan Brown (pictured, left), will give the final blessing.

“Glasgow is extremely proud to host the national service marking the end of the Great War,” said Councillor Bolander. “We were honoured to hold the UK service signalling the start of First World War commemorations back in 2014.

“Throughout the last four years Glasgow has honoured seven of its First World War VC heroes with commemorative paving stones including Bertie Anderson – whose stone can be viewed outside the People’s Palace.”

Of the 700,000 Scots who joined the forces, more than 100,000 died during the First World War. Nearly every village, city and town in Scotland has some form of memorial showing the names of their war dead.

Lieutenant Colonel William Herbert Anderson, known as Bertie, was commanding the 12th Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry, as it moved through France in March 1918.

He was awarded the VC for leading his command in a double-counter attack, driving the enemy away despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered.

However, his bravery cost him his life and he died behind enemy lines on March 25, 1918, at the age of 36, the last of four brothers to perish in the war.

His great-grandson, Robin Scott-Elliot, who will be attending the commemoration today with his wife Karen and daughters Iona and Torrin, said what his forebears had suffered was “unthinkable”.

“When I reflect on their stories and think about when they died in relation to my age now, I’m struck by how truly short their lives were.

“The impact of their deaths was felt in the family for years – their parents never recovered, and my grandfather, who was a toddler at the time of Bertie’s death, had to go through life without a father – an experience which was shared by many after the war.

“It’s so important to pass these stories on to the next generation so that the devastation caused by the war is never forgotten.”

NORMAN Drummond said it was important to remember that November 11, 1918, was not the end of the lives lost during the war. Among those who died after the Armistice were over 200 Lewis and Harris sailors when HMY Iolaire hit the rocks of the Beasts of Holm on January 1, 1919.

The tragedy will be remembered in commemorations on Lewis on January 1, 2019.

“This remains one of the worst UK maritime disasters of the 20th century,” said Professor Drummond.

Tonight an audience of around 2000 is expected at the Usher Hall for a performance of acclaimed multimedia production Far, Far from Ypres. Scottish folk favourites including Barbara Dickson will bring the story of prototypical Scots soldier Jimmy McDonald to life through the iconic songs, poems and real stories of the war.

The show will mark the final performance in a 10-venue commemorative tour of Scotland, which has received standing ovations and critical acclaim throughout.