A secret society dating back more than 260 years has gone public to protest at disrespect being shown to the dead who fell at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
The Circle of Gentlemen was greatly disturbed when one of their members reported that some tourists were using the graves as a picnic area.
Alasdair MacNeill, an Inverness member of the circle, said he felt that some visitors would be ignorant of the area’s sensitivity, and it was up to the battlefield owners, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), to ensure it did not happen.
Mr MacNeill, 41, an IT worker of Culduthel Park, said that last Saturday while visiting the battlefield with his mother Anne from Livingstone he saw a family with two dogs taking their alfresco meal on one of the grave mounds.
He said: “The father was leaning against the headstone eating a Scotch egg and smoking a cigarette, while the dogs were sniffing around the graves.
“We would not expect such behaviour to be acceptable at World War I battlefields such as Flanders or Ypres, so it shouldn’t be tolerated at Culloden.
“If it was not for the wise words and strong arms of my mother I would have given that family a piece of my mind.
“This was an act of crushing disrespect to the fallen which simply should not be permitted to happen.
“However it is clear that the National Trust for Scotland, the battlefield’s owners, have failed in their obligation to advise visitors that the area is a war grave and should be treated as such, with the appropriate respect.”
Now the circle’s complaint to the trust has led to prompt action.
An NTS spokeswoman said: “This is an issue we are aware of and we are having signs made which explain that the battlefield is a war grave and asking visitors to behave accordingly.”
The Circle of Gentlemen began as an underground group in Edinburgh which remained loyal to Charles Edward Stuart – Bonnie Prince Charlie – following the Jacobites’ defeat at Culloden and continued to meet late into the 18th century.
Culloden was the last battle fought on mainland Britain, and it brought an end to a major military campaign by Bonnie Prince Charlie to claim the British throne.
The Battle of Jersey in 1781 against the French is considered the last battle on the British Isles.