Ships and fishing boats to mark WW1 centenary 26/6/14
Ships, ferries, and fishing boats are to fly their flags at half-mast between sunrise
and sunset on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the first event which triggered
the First World War.
In addition, vessels berthed in port are encouraged to sound a remembrance signal
by giving a blast on their fog horns at 6pm (5pm GMT) that day - to mark the hour
of the first shot fired in the war.
Ferries operated by Caledonian Macbrayne up the west coast and on the Clyde are taking
part.
Flags in Stornoway’s town centre will also be lowered to indicate mourning in remembrance
of the centenary of the conflict.
Similar events will be replicated across the world under an initiative organised
by UNESCO, supported by the International Maritime Organization, to commemorative
the start of WW1.
June 28 marks 100 years since the first act which sparked a chain of events leading
to the Great War.
On this date in 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the imperial crown of Austria
and Hungary - which had annexed much of the Balkans - was assassinated by 19-year-old
revolutionary, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo.
The aftermath saw a month of heightening tensions before Ferdinand’s uncle, Franz
Joseph, angered by the murder of his successor, declared war on Serbia.
France and Russia prepared their military to help the Serbs. Germany rallied on the
side of Austria-Hungary. On 1st August 1914, it declared war on Russia and attacked
Luxembourg the following day. Belgium refused to let the German army cross over into
France so faced war with Germany which resulted in Britain coming into the conflict.