THE sacrifices made by those who fought in the First and Second World Wars will be commemorated at a special gala day held tomorrow (Saturday).

The Clackmannanshire branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland (RBLS) has organised a weekend of events to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1 and the 70th anniversary of WW2’s D-Day.

It begins tonight (Friday) with a 1940’s swing night at Alloa Town Hall. The hall will be decorated in military style fashion and band Swing Sensation, dressed in uniforms from the era, will get people’s toes tapping.

Then tomorrow (Saturday), past and present armed forces personnel will join together in a parade from Alloa Academy to Alloa Rugby Club.

A parade of the bikers section from the RBLS and vehicles from the 1940’s era will begin at 10.15am from Morrisons and head to the town centre and the car park in King Street. From there it will be joined by local pipes and drums and head through the town past Tesco. Then the Armed Forces Day parade will take place from Alloa Academy to Alloa Rugby Club where there will be a gala-style family fun day with children’s rides and stalls.

Then, on Sunday, 20 July, a wreath laying ceremony will be held at the local war memorial to commemorate three local heroes, James Lennox Dawson, James Dalgleish Pollock and John Crawford Buchan, who received the Victoria Cross for their service on the field of battle in WW1.