Scotland's first ever collaborative folk single raises money for veterans' care homes

A collection of Scottish musicians have come together to record a folk single, to be released Monday 18 May, which will raise money for the charity Erskine.

The song ‘Our Heroes’ was written by Gary Innes, of folk rock band Mànran, and also features musical contributions from Phil Cunningham, Julie Fowlis, Duncan Chisholm, Scott Wood and Siobhan Miller, as well as from members of Treacherous Orchestra, Skerryvore, Rura and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. There is also a poetry recital from Iain Anderson, who reads from a poem by Sir Owen Seaman.

Innes was inspired by the story of one Lance Corporal Donald Paterson of the 4th Cameron Highlanders, who used his bagpipes to rally troops at the second Battle of Artois, during World War I. Paterson fell, along with 17,000 more allied soldiers, at one of that battle’s key engagements at Festubert, exactly 100 years before the date of the single’s release.

After the battle the bagpipes were found and sent home to Paterson’s family and, although lost for a time, were rediscovered in 1975 still bearing the blood stains of the owner. The same bagpipes are heard in ‘Our Heroes’ played by award-winning piper Duncan MacGillivray.

Gary Innes, comments: “I originally wrote ‘Our Heroes’ a couple of years ago to commemorate the war, performing it as part of a show called ‘Shinty’s Heroes’.

“I felt it was really important to remember the fallen at Festubert 100 years on. So many Highlanders lost their lives in this 10-day battle and coming from the Highlands myself I wanted to mark the anniversary in some way. It was then I thought about recording ‘Our Heroes’ and donating the money to supporting Scottish veterans. Erskine was the obvious choice as they are so well known in Scotland and support veterans from all services.”

He continues: “It has been great craic from start to finish and I want to say a big thank you to everyone involved with the recording, mixing and mastering who happily gave their time for free. Now we just hope people enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Charity Erskine Veterans Charity operate five care homes for veterans in Scotland and community fundraiser David McFadden spoke of his gratitude for the musicians’ efforts, saying: “We are delighted that ‘Our Heroes’ not only commemorates a significant World War 1 anniversary but will directly benefit our veterans. We want to say a huge thank you to Gary and all the musicians involved for their invaluable support.”