Veterans William Morrison and Paul Cooper fly flag for Remembrance

William Morrison, 59, a Musselburgh resident for 23 years, deputy standard bearer for Scotland; and Paul Cooper, 49, from Cockenzie, Edinburgh and Lothians area standard bearer, are poised to take up their duties.

The two men will take part in the National Remembrance Service in Edinburgh on Remembrance Sunday, leading the veterans’ parade from Edinburgh Castle to Edinburgh City Chambers.

Mr Cooper will also be present at the Armistice Day ceremony in Princes Street Gardens on Saturday.

They have been praised by Dr Claire Armstrong, Legion Scotland CEO, who said they “epitomise” the Legion Scotland motto: ‘Service not Self’.

From left, Paul Cooper with the Kings colour, William Morrison carrying the Legion Standard and Tony Hooman, national parade marshall, wearing the red sash at this year's opening of Garden of Remembrance in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh

Mr Morrison, who served with the 37 Java Field Battery, Royal Artillery from 1988 until 2001, saw operational duties in the Gulf War in 1991 and peacekeeping service in Northern Ireland in 1994 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1998.

A grandfather-of-two, he now works as a delivery driver for Tesco in Musselburgh and, as a member of the Musselburgh & District Veterans Group, is fundraising for the Scottish Poppy Appeal.

Mr Morrison, who lives in the Goosegreen area, started training with Legion Scotland in March last year, under the guidance of national parade marshall Tony Hooman RLC and area parade marshall Graham Walter, RAF.

He said: “I then repeated the training this year and competed in all competitions, so was appointed in May as deputy standard bearer for Scotland, to Jock Davidson, and as deputy area standard bearer to Paul Cooper.”

Mr Morrison, who will hold the position for a year, said: “It has been such a privilege to take part in many parades.

“King Charles III’s visit to Scotland after his succession to the throne will go down in my memories for life but my highlight must be carrying out the Remembrance parade duties and attending a funeral for a 103-year-old gunner veteran earlier this year. To pay these respects to the fallen is the ultimate privilege.”

At the opening of the Garden of Remembrance in Edinburgh, he carried the War Widows Association standard. He also attended the Scottish region summer meeting of the Royal Regiment of Artillery and won the standard bearers competition. He will now go to the national event in Blackpool next year.

Pictured centre is Tony Hooman, national parade marshall, wearing the red sash, and to his right is Paul Cooper with Kings colour and left is William Morrison carrying the Legion standard at this year's opening of Garden of Remembrance

Mr Morrison said: “It’s a position that I’m immensely proud to do, and has led to helping two local RAF cadet units from Portobello and Musselburgh with their standard bearers in readiness for Remembrance services.”

Mr Cooper, a former pupil of Preston Lodge High School in Prestonpans, joined the 1st battalion the Royal Scots at the age of 15. He trained in Newcastle as a junior leader. He has completed two tours of service in Northern Ireland. He also served with the joint helicopter support unit at RAF Odiham, completing tours of Bosnia and the Falklands Islands.

Mr Cooper was medically discharged in 2001 aged 27 and married a year later.

He began as a standard bearer for Cockenzie & Port Seton Royal British Legion in 2019, enjoying his first area competition in 2022 in Jedburgh, when he finished third, before winning a competition in Edinburgh.

Mr Morrison and Mr Cooper take part in events such as Armed Forces Day, Scottish American Memorial Day in Princes Street Gardens, 95th Scottish memorial parade at Edinburgh Castle; armed forces flag raising ceremony at the City Chambers; Lord Haig memorial service at St Boswells; a ceremony at the Scottish Parliament when life serving volunteers with Poppyscotland receive the charity’s highest honour, the President’s Award; and the Australian Vietnam veterans vigil at Birkhill Cemetery, Dundee.

Dr Armstrong said they were relatively new to Legion Scotland as standard bearers but had “excelled” in training and in competition, and were “proudly disseminating their experiences” to incoming generations of standard bearers.

She added: “I would personally like to thank both Billy and Paul for their tireless dedication, as well as to thank standard bearers across Scotland who are playing their vital roles at Remembrance events across Scotland with a superb professionalism.”