AUDIENCES will have the chance to hear what it was like for a Scottish soldier to go to war in 1914 thanks to fresh archival discoveries.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ Museum in Stirling is bringing back its lecture series with the first instalment to shed new light on the start of WW1.

Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Clark will be telling the fascinating story of 2nd Battalion Argylls, as they moved, in a matter of weeks, from a backwater Highland posting at Fort George to confrontation with the German Army at Mons and Le Cateau.

The first lecture from 11am on Saturday, January 14, will bring to life the Argylls' shocked initial encounter with the maelstrom of the great war and their role in the strategic moves that determined the crucial mobile phase of what would soon become a static war of attrition.

The talk will also highlight the unexpected diversity of the army life of that era and examine how the often-overlooked story of the war’s opening phases foreshadowed the better-known horrors of The Somme and Passchendaele.

Going ahead at the Colour’s Room in the museum at Stirling Castle, the lecture will last around 45 minutes and is the first in the museum's winter lecture series.

Lt Col Clark joined the Argylls in 1988 and is still serving with the Royal Regiment of Scotland. He served with the 1st Battalion in Germany and for two operational tours in West Belfast in the 1990s.

Visit argylls.co.uk for tickets – those heading along are asked to note that this does not include entry to Stirling Castle, where the museum is located.

Entry is free to museum guardians, serving members of the armed forces, members of the regimental association, dinner club and Historic Scotland on presentation of a valid membership card.

However, tickets must still be pre-booked via Stirling Castle’s website before arrival.