The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh Tapestry project is being extended Scotland-wide in a bid to reach out to other communities whose soldiers died in the battle.

This follows research carried out by Dr David Caldwell, president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who worked for 38 years with the National Museums of Scotland.

He has studied the list of names of Scottish soldiers who died, which is read out at the Old Musselburgh Club’s annual commemoration of the battle at its memorial stone near Wallyford.

The revised list has some 250 names; it is hoped MSPs will be enlisted to share them with groups and organisations in their communities to give them the chance to research their ancestors.

Roger Knox, chairman of the Pinkie Cleugh Battlefield Group, said: “The names of the fallen at Pinkie, uncovered by David Caldwell, illustrate the wide area of the origin of the force.

“Experience of other tapestry constructions has shown that people do show an interest where there is a connection to their own village, estate, family and area.

“We hope that the circulation of the names and places of origin of the fallen will encourage potential stitchers to come forward.”

Mr Knox said that Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, had offered to circulate details amongst colleagues at the Scottish Parliament.

Mr Beattie said: “I am delighted to help in this significant effort and have reached out to my colleagues in Holyrood to ask them to assist using their contacts with local quilting groups.

“I am pleased that I have already received several responses and hope that we can establish interest across Scotland to take part in this fantastic project.”

Designed by Andrew Crummy, the artist behind the Great Tapestry of Scotland and Battle of Prestonpans Tapestry, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh Tapestry is being worked on by a group of stitchers under the expert guidance of Liz Neilson.

Unlike any of Mr Crummy’s other tapestries, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh Tapestry will have up to six huge panels.

Stitchers have been working on smaller embroideries depicting their favourite parts of Musselburgh and what the town means to them.

These will be incorporated into the finished panels, which will be housed at the Brunton Hall.

Pinkie Cleugh was the last pitched battle between Scotland and England, fought on September 10, 1547.

It took place during the Rough Wooing, when the armies of Scotland and England fought to determine who should marry the infant Mary, Queen of Scots.

The armies were led by the Earl of Arran, Regent of Scotland, and the Lord Protector of England, the Duke of Somerset, whose aim was to secure the betrothal of nine-year-old Prince Edward, the English heir apparent, to five-year-old Mary.

There were 10,000 Scottish troops massacred in the rout, which became known as ‘Black Saturday’.

Historic Environment Scotland is also reviewing the inventory record for the Battle of Pinkie and would welcome comments from the public.

The battle was added to the list of nationally important battlefields in Scotland in 2011.

A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland said: “We have updated the inventory record for the Battle of Pinkie battlefield site following a request from a member of the public.

“The record has been updated to reflect new research on the historical information and context of the battle.

“We have added different interpretations of features connected to the battle and have updated the maps that accompany the record.

“The Battle of Pinkie, which took place in 1547, is thought to be the largest single battle ever fought in Scotland in terms of numbers of combatants.

“As part of our consultation, which runs until Wednesday, December 22, we are encouraging members of the public to share their views on the proposed updates to the inventory at consultations.his toricenvironment.scot/herit age/battle-of-pinkie”

Changes were made to address the reasons why the Duke of Somerset invaded and the wider aims of the 1547 campaign.

Updated information regarding armoury and deployment numbers for the English forces has been included.