The loss of shinty players during World War One is being marked by a show telling their story.

Shinty’s Heroes will tell the story of the impact players of the game had on the war.

Set to music and photography, it will be performed during the BLAS festival 2013 in the Highlands this September.

During the war, the shinty teams of Skye Camanachd and Kyles lost the equivalent of two teams each and Beauly lost 25 players.

The show will also tell of the “missing five” of Kingussie who never received their commemorative Camanachd Cup winning caps from 1914 because they were killed in battle in France.

The story of Dr Johnnie Cattanach of Newtonmore Camanachd, the only shinty player to be inducted into the Scottish Sport’s Hall of Fame, will also be told. Dr Cattanach died in the Dardannelles in July 1915.

Director Hugh Dan MacLennan said: "The impact shinty players had in the Great War and vice versa is a fascinating tale that deserves to be told. Not a lot of this stuff is known.

"Many Shinty playing communities lost generations of men; soldiers who took their sport with them proudly to the frontline.

"I have a letter from the 5th Cameron Highlanders from Earl of Seafield, a commander of one of the companies, to stick supplier John MacPherson in Inverness requesting 3 dozen camans and balls to be sent to France. They made it all the way there because there is a letter of thanks from the 'French Camanachd Club', made up of soldiers from different highland shinty teams.

"One of the Beauly team members that won the Camanachd Cup in 1913, Donald Paterson, became corporal piper in the 4th Cameron Highlanders and died at Festubert in 1915. His blood stained pipes were returned home to his family. They found a pipe tune written by Donald called The Beauly Shinty Club and that song will be played as part of the show, which will be fitting."

Article Originally Published at http://news.stv.tv/