During the First World War, the nation’s young men joined to fight and protect our way of life.

The war went on from July 1914 until November 1918.

During this period our great-grandparents had to keep the country moving along and carried out the work that was left by the young men who had gone to fight in the war. Not only did the older generation of that time work and help to run our country but also their children, (our grandparents). Our great grandmothers helped in the factories, farms, hospitals and our transport infrastructure. They also helped with the Fire and Ambulance service ran the corner shop and supported office work.

The children under the leadership of Boys Brigade and Scout masters would guard and watch the railway lines watch the coast line and assist the elderly in their community. This was import work which was undertaken with sacrifice and hardship, of which most of us would not be able to contemplate. When the war was over for those who did return, there was hardship lack of work and then the after effect of the Spanish Flu pandemic. That was followed by the 1920-1921 great depression. Widows with children, severely wounded men returning from the conflict of the War, made life very hard and unpredictable; but they continued to rebuild the country and change the world that our grandparents inherited from them.

We owe a debt of gratitude to our great grandparents, grandparents and our mums and dads for what they did to great the nation we have now. The freedom to enjoy what we have as a nation to do thinks that they never had the opportunity to enjoy as we have.

What better way to show our appreciation to our family and those of the nation that have given so much and have passed away, than by saying thank you in a written form in our own hand writing and held in our heritage centre for future generation to read and appreciate what they did and how we felt about them.

Above this article is a ‘thank you letter’ ready for you to add your own words or just sign under the words that have been added underneath the thank you motif.

Members of the Royal British Legion Scotland and Poppy Scotland will be out and about in all the local towns promoting this campaign over the next 100 days, so that you can record your own personal appreciation to those that created the nation we have today.

Copies will also be available in Saltcoats Library and also on line from the Royal British Legion Scotland website.

You can hand in the letter or send it to Ardrossan Herald, 12 Princes Street, KA22 8BP.