DUNFERMLINE pipers have been invited to play at the Nijmegen marches in the Netherlands.

The Dunfermline District Pipe Band will be flying out to the city in July 2023, visiting military and war memorial sites to pay their respects while they're there, and are hoping to raise £8,000 to pay for the trip.

Lead drummer John McIntyre told the Press: "Please, give what you can. Think about the reason, the big picture behind it. It's not just the pipe band going on a jolly, we're going there for specific reasons! So, if you can give, please do."

Honoured to be invited, the band will be travelling with the City of Sheffield Pipe Band and hosted by the Batavorum Pipes & Drums, Nijmegen group. As well as performing for the event, the group will also be playing at the drum head service at the Oosterbeek War Ceremony.

The band itself has ex-servicemen in its ranks, John himself is ex-Scots Guards and so will be visiting graves during the trip.

John continued: "I have nothing but admiration for people who fight for their country. I'm immensely proud of the people who went before me and the people who will come after me.

"To be given the opportunity, to be asked and invited is such a privilege. Since the First World War, there is still somewhere in the region of 450,000 bodies that have never been accounted for. People think that everyone who died in the First World War are out there and they have all been accounted for but they really haven't.

"We can't forget these people, I know it was 100 years ago but we still can't forget them."

There's one grave in particular that John and his band are looking to visit, at Jonkerbos War Cemetery. Guardsman William Boyd, a member of the Scots Guards, was from Dunfermline and died in October 1944. He was just 19.

"We're a charity, a non fee-paying band," John explained. "We don't charge anybody any money to learn, we earn money by doing galas, fundraisers and raffles to keep the band going and a band is very expensive. That's why this trip is so expensive.

"We don't have the money to do it and while most of us could probably afford to pay our own way, we want to try and raise the money so we can take as many people as we can."

If you can help get John and the Dunfermline District Pipe Band to Nijmegen, visit their GoFundMe page.