Largs woman Christine Gallettie was recently invited to the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate, Ypres, in Belgium in memory of her grandfather Edmund who was killed on the first day of a historic First World War battle.
This was to mark the 100th anniversary commemoration of the the Battle of Passchendaele, the name most commonly given to the Third Battle of Ypres during World War One.
Christine, the eldest of three sisters, joined her family as 200 invited guests were selected by ballot, organised by the government's department of Culture, Media and Sport. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the King and Queen of Belgium were also in attendance at the prestigious evening.
Christine said: "My sisters Ruth, Jan and I were lucky to get the tickets, and the opportunity to sit along with dignitaries, and we sat in a special seated area for the concert which was broadcast live on BBC2.
"We were actually interviewed on the BBC by Dan Snow, and they had chosen us out of the 200 people who were there to tell our story."
Christine's grandfather was killed on 31 July 1917 just a few miles from the centre of Ypres, at the age of 27, serving the 1st and 9th battalions of the Royal Highlanders, Blackwatch.
In the letter that was received by the Gallettie family, it stated that Edmund was killed by sniper but his body was never found, and it was one of the 54,000 names on the Menin gate.
Visiting the largest European cemetery and seeing the names on the Menin gate was particularly moving for Christine and her sisters.
She said: "Three quarters of the names on Menin gate were never found or identified. It was altogether a very moving experience and the concert on the Sunday evening was simply amazing. It was so well organised, and it ran like a military organisation.
"I know very little about my grandfather. My father Ray was only 18 months old when he was killed. I have the letter from his commanding officer to my grandmother and I read part of that out on the programme."
Christine, who lives in Parkview, New Street, joined her sisters from Kirkintilloch and Newport on Tay at the special remembrance ceremony, and said it was a great honour for them to be there.
The letter sent to Christine's grandmother Emily by Lt Clark reads as follows: "I am very sorry indeed it has been impossible to reply to your sister’s letter until now as we were up the line and had no time for correspondence.
"I had intended to write before I received it as your husband was in my platoon for eight months all the time I was in command of it. I had come to regard him as an old friend more than anything else.
"His death was a great blow to me because he was one of the most reliable men in 15 platoon, always cheerful, ready for any duty.
"He was killed early in the morning on the July 31st attack by a sniper. He suffered no pain of any kind and must not have known what struck him. We brought him back and buried him with his comrades just behind our lines.
"The report has been sent to the Graves Commission who will probably write you whenever the advance is sufficiently forward to let them investigate these things.
"To all of us his death is a great loss. By our share of loss, we can measure the greatness of yours and venture to send you our deepest sympathy in this your great bereavement. You face the consolation of knowing he did his duty nobly and to your little son his father should always be a proud memory.
"If he is as good a man as his father was you need ask nothing more.
"Once again, assuring you of deep feeling for you."
Asked about the special trip to Ypres, Ruth said: "It is just incredible; it feels a real privilege. In fact, it is a pilgrimage really - we were there not just to honour our grandfather but our father as well who really just didn't know him any more than we knew him, so it was massive for us to be over there. The whole event was fantastic."