THE Saltire will fly at the Pinkie Cleugh Memorial Stone to mark the anniversary of the battle after local groups came together to install a flagpole.

The Pinkie Cleugh Battlefield Group, in partnership with The Old Musselburgh Club and Musselburgh Conservation Society, erected the pole at the stone, just off Salters Road, Wallyford last week with an inauguration ceremony.

Roger Knox, chairman of the battlefield group, thanked everyone for coming and invited Alastair Hare, past president of The Old Musselburgh Club, to hoist the flag into position. After the ceremony the flag and pole were removed and will be put back in place seven days before the anniversary of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on September 10.

On the anniversary, a battlefield walk will take place. Led by a piper, the walk will make its way along the trail marked by the storyboards erected two years ago, unfolding the story of the battle before it reaches the Pinkie Cleugh Memorial Stone.

At this point the walkers will join with The Old Musselburgh Club members and other interested groups and individuals to be part of the annual commemoration ceremony of the battle where the piper will play musical tributes.

By tradition, a short account of the battle is given followed by the reading out of the names of 10 of the ten thousand who fell in the fields between Wallyford, Whitecraig and Musselburgh, before a floral tribute is laid at the Memorial Stone.