A short programme, narrated by Julie Fowlis that examines the terrible effect of WW1 on the lives of the Gaels.

The war tainted every aspect of rural life and, in Highland communities, the most popular sport was shinty. Many shinty players volunteered, serving in territorial battalions, such as the 4th Camerons The Camerons recruited from shinty playing areas such as Kingussie, Beauly and Portree. They played shinty together; they joined up together and they died together.

The war was brutal beyond belief. Artillery and machine guns created carnage on all fronts. Recruiting patterns meant that friends and relatives from the same towns fought side-by-side. The killing fields of the Western Front are a long way from the shinty fields of towns such as Kingussie, but the war drew both places closer With Hugh Dan MacLennan and Murdo Beaton. Show less