Volunteers sought for annual Battle of Falkirk 1298 commemoration events

The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on July 22, 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence.

In recent years the commemoration of the battle has seen a day of living history, re-enactments and engaging activities take place in Falkirk town centre as well as a parade and ceremony at the commemorative cairn in Callendar Park.

And the organisers would like to continue to build on these events to host an even larger event that could further benefit the town.

But in order to stand any chance of further growing the commemorations, they need more volunteers to get involved and help make it happen.

David Reid, convener of the Society of John de Graeme, one of the organising group alongside the Society of William Wallace, said: “We’ve been trying with a lot of difficulty to grow the event as we would like in time the Battle of Falkirk to become the biggest historical re-enactment event in Scotland.

“It is achievable when you look at events like the Largs Viking Festival and the Battle of Evesham near Leicester.

"There’s a lot of hurdles and obstacles we need to overcome – finance is one of them.

"This year’s event is going to be a bit scaled down from the last few years.

"One of our partners, Falkirk Delivers, has had their funding cut and have had to review their events.

"So we’re looking at other ways to fund the event and to see what’s possible this year."

But despite the challenges in finding funding, David said that whatever happens the commemoration of the battle “is always going to take place in one form or another”.

He said: “The reason we’re set on an annual event is that it’s important to the town. We’re trying to promote the history and the battle shouldn’t be forgotten.

"If it falls back to just being the commemoration then it’s going to be a hard task to get back to the community events we’ve had over the last few years.

"We have received some money from Falkirk Council already for this year’s event and we’re waiting to hear if we’ve been successful in the latest round of Community Choices funding.

"But in order to help spread the workload and help the event run smoother, we’re looking for new volunteers to come forward and get involved.

"There’s a volunteer role for everybody, whether it’s getting kitted up on the day, helping behind the scenes or even just bringing new ideas.

"These kinds of events, with community support, can prove quite beneficial for everyone.”

A meeting for those who are interested in getting involved in some way is taking place at Thornhill Community Centre on Wednesday, March 26 at 7pm.

For more information visit the Battle of Falkirk 1298 Facebook page.