Courier country marked Remembrance Sunday in a series of ceremonies made all the more poignant by this year being the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.
In Dundee, veterans listened to the bugler play the Last Post alongside bystanders who came to pay their respects to the fallen.
Private Alan Primrose, who served with the Scots Guards in Afghanistan in 2012, said: “It’s deeply important for us to pay our respects.
“It is emotional, especially because our war wasn’t nearly as tough as the war some of these men fought.”Click here for a full photo gallery in DundeeHe continued: “We must remember the fallen, and the sacrifices they made so that we could have all this.”
Dundee city centre was silent on a crisp November morning as the bells of the cathedral tolled 11.
Hundreds of people turned out to watch the troops march from Dundee High School through City Square to Steeple Church.
Figures from local politics, including Lord Provost Bob Duncan, laid wreaths, while representatives from all branches of the armed forces also paid their respects at the war memorial.
Kenny Maclean, who served with the Royal Marines in Northern Ireland, said: “It was fantastic, and really lovely to be a part of. Dundee always puts on a good show.
“We can also put our crosses up, which I think is very important. It is deeply important to remember, particularly for me because I started at 11 as a cadet, and was in the army all my life.
“It’s nice to see old faces again, and it’s very important to me to see so many young people turning out and being respectful.”
Remembrance services were also conducted in Monifieth and at the Dundee international submarine memorial.
Across Fife they gathered to pay their respects to the local people who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Young and old, men and women, they marched through villages and towns throughout the region to lay wreaths, sing and say prayers for those who gave their lives in conflict.
One of the region’s largest Remembrance Sunday events took place in Kirkcaldy, where about 1,000 people marched from the Town House to the Memorial Gardens.
Veterans and serving personnel were joined by cadets, school children and members of the public for a brief service, which was attended by Fife Council leader David Ross and MSPs David Torrance and Claire Baker.
Local man Billy Swanson, 46, said that while no member of his family had died in conflict, he wanted to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for his freedom.
“It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to die like that,” he said.
“A lot of people think it’s just about the First World War but we have lost people in Iraq and Afghanistan. War is still with us today.”
The scenes in Kirkcaldy were replicated all over Fife, with almost every community hosting a ceremony of some kind, such has been the reach of war over the past century.
From Inverkeithing in the south-west to St Andrews in the north-east, they stood silent at 11am in a two-minute tribute to the dead.
Rob Scott, chairman of the Fife branch of The Black Watch Association, said: “We had about 500 people in Methil.
“It was a good ceremony and on parade we had representatives from lots of groups.
“It was enjoyable but, hopefully, everybody took something from it.”
Across Angus, there was no more poignant Armistice commemoration than the Carnoustie gathering whose remembered sons included the first Victoria Cross recipient of the Great War.
At the award-winning war memorial on the seaside town’s High Street, a crowd of several hundred gathered to watch young and old lay wreaths in memory of the fallen.
And on the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, special significance was attached to the place written in community history by the heroic actions of Lance Corporal Charles Jarvis and Petty Officer George Samson, who each received the nation’s highest valour award in the 1914-18 conflict.
The wreath in Samson’s honour was laid by 88-year-old family member Bob Samson from Broughty Ferry, accompanied by his son, David, and while no direct descendants of Jarvis were at the Angus ceremony, ex-serviceman Dave Duke took the honour of placing a circle of poppies on the memorial as a resident of the town’s Jarvis Place named in honour of the brave soldier.
Jarvis, of the 57th Field Company Royal Engineers, was a 33-year-old lance corporal when, just three weeks into the war on August 23 1914, at Jemappes in Belgium, he worked for 90 minutes under heavy fire, in full view of the enemy, and finally succeeded in firing charges for the demolition of a bridge to cover the retreat of the army from Mons.
Samson served in the Royal Naval Reserve on HMS River Clyde during the 1915 landing at Gallipoli.
With three other men, he worked all day under very heavy fire, attending wounded and getting out lines before eventually himself being severely wounded.
Remembrance services were well-attended across the district.
Perth also paid tribute to those who fought and died for their country.
Provost Liz Grant, councillors, council officials and members of the High Constables of the City of Perth formed the civic Remembrance Sunday parade.
Led by Perth and District Pipe Band, the parade left the council buildings and proceeded to St John’s Kirk for the Service of Remembrance via High Street, King Edward Street and North St John’s Place.
The military parade comprised local veterans, representatives of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and local cadets.
The parade marched through the city centre to St John’s Kirk.
The salute was taken at the viewpoint at the junction of Tay Street and High Street.
Businessman Iain Hutchison paid tribute in his own way by flying a replica Spitfire from Perth to Edinburgh Airport.
The managing director of Merlin ERD in Perth formed part of a flypast in Edinburgh for the Remembrance parade at the 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron memorial.
Meanwhile, a Remembrance Sunday parade and service took place in Blairgowrie, with ex-service personnel who were unable to march joining the parade at the Wellmeadow.
The service at the Wellmeadow was conducted by the Rev Harry Mowbray, Blairgowrie Parish Church. This was followed by the laying of wreaths by Legion representatives and other organisations.
In addition, a wreath was laid at the service to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War by relatives of Alexander Petrie, in whose memory a headstone was recently erected at Blairgowrie Cemetery.
A short remembrance service will be held at the 51st Highland Memorial at the North Inch, Perth, at 11am on Tuesday.