I was in Perth town centre this morning, in the area of the war memorial, and decided to join the small group paying their respects to the war dead at 11 am on 11 day of 11 month. In the silence that followed the last bell I thought of my Grandpa, Robert Cowper who fought in the Great War with the Black Watch. Although he endured horrific conditions in the trenches and had a shrapnel injury which affected his left hand all his life, he at least came home.

His brother, my Great Uncle Alexander Murray Cowper was not so lucky. He signed up aged 20 to the 8th batallion, Black Watch and died 5 years later on 12 October 1917 in the hell of the Battle of Passchendaele. Much has been written of this battle and the tragic numbers of young men who lost their lives. I try to imagine what it must have felt like to be there and how scared, yet so brave they were but really, it's impossible. His name is inscribed on one of the many panels at Tyne Cot Cemetry in Belgium. One day I will visit this vast memorial to the brave men who fought for their country, never to return to their loving families.

So for you Alexander Cowper and all the other brave souls who have died in the wars that followed the Great War, I pay my respect for the ultimate sacrifice you all made.