Wreaths have been placed on lamp posts around a North Ayrshire village alongside posters which pay a poignant tribute to men who died between 1914-18. 

The long-running 'Fairlie's Men Of The Great War' project displays photos and details about local soldiers who perished in the conflict.

Largs and Millport Weekly News:

Fairlie Community Association runs the project which aims to place the wreaths as close as possible to where the soldiers lived. 

There are nine wreaths commemorating the 19 men named as having made the supreme sacrifice on the Roll of Honour in Fairlie Village Hall.

The first Fairlie man to die was Captain The Hon. James Boyle, who was killed in action on 18 October, 1914 near La Bassee, France, aged 34. He is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.

He was the son of David, the 7th Earl of Glasgow, and he lived at Kelburn Castle and Fairlie Craig (Glen Road). His brothers The Hon. Alan Reginald, The Hon. John David, and Patrick James Boyle, 8th Earl of Glasgow, who are also named on the plaque, survived the war.

Largs and Millport Weekly News:

According to newspaper reports from the time, Captain Boyle was bayoneted several times and fell on 18th October, 1914, during the battle of La Bassee, but it was impossible for his men to recover him and they had to retire without him.

He was officially reported wounded and missing for six weeks before a note from a German officer confirming his death.

A memorial in Largs Cemetery states that he was buried at Park Warneton, Belgium. According to online sources, he was buried by the Germans but the grave was subsequently lost.

After the war, the family erected a memorial in the form of a Celtic cross by the N41 road near La Bassee opposite the wood where he fell.

In April 1920, a stained glass window in Fairlie Parish Church, erected by his widow and children, was dedicated to the memory of Captain Boyle.