Veterans gave Gourock school pupils a special history lesson on the First War War

The men travelled from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders' Museum at Stirling Castle to St Columba's High School to speak to fourth years and help them to prepare for Gourock's £5,000 Coming Home project to mark the end of the Great War.

Gerald Mortimer, a guide at the museum, said: "Since 2014, there has been a tremendous interest in World War One as we build up to the 100th anniversary.

"I think it's quite important that students have an understanding of what happened to ordinary men. We tell as story about a young Gourock man who volunteered because of the initial excitement, but then how this changed as the war continued.

"We also have some beautiful war poems. There is so much famous war poetry but there are works also from ordinary soldiers that are incredibly powerful.

"There is also a heart-rending letter from a local young man to his parents. He was 18 at the time and was about to come under attack and didn't know if he was going to survive.

"He did, but he was killed later in the war.

"Although the conflict was brutal, during the First World War eight out of every nine soldiers came back home, albeit a bit battered."

Their visit was part of an outreach project, involving talks and a interactive box with artefacts from the First World War.

Members of Gourock heritage and arts board of trustees were also at the event, including chairperson Councillor Lynne Quinn.

Local script writer Adam O'Brien was also on hand to take notes to help him pen a drama.

This play will be performed at St John's Church Hall on Armistice Day, as part of a series of events.

Gerald's colleague Jim Healy, ex-warrant officer, said: "Young people now will never have experienced anything like this

"It was a mindset in the First World War that people would go to fight for King and country, it was their patriotic duty to do it."

He said one of the harshest facts he told pupils was that the youngest Argyll to die in the war was only 15 years old.

Jim said: "He lied about his age to enlist."

The Coming Home initiative is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.