A granite memorial to five Aberdeen brothers who died as a result of World War I has been unveiled in Aberdeen.
The stone has been erected in the city’s Trinity Cemetery, close to the final resting place of one of the young soldiers.
Peter Tocher was buried in a pauper’s grave, following his death from tuberculosis at Aberdeen City Hospital in 1923.
He contracted the disease in a German prisoner of war camp, where he was imprisoned for the duration of the conflict following his capture in August 1914 at the Battle of Le Cateau.
At the time he was not considered a war casualty, because of Commonwealth War Graves Commission rules which stated that individuals could only qualify for a headstone if they died between August 4 1914 to August 31 1921.
Now he and his four brothers have finally been given a memorial worthy of their sacrifice.
As well as Peter, it commemorates George Tocher, who died on May 8, 1915; John on July 18, 1916; James on July 31, 1916, and Robert on November 15, 1916. All five brothers served in the Gordon Highlanders.
Hazel Greig, who is a great-great-niece of the brothers, attended the unveiling ceremony.
She said the was glad to see a lasting memorial to the boys.
“We met Colin Johnston, a retired history teacher who had been doing a lot of research on the brothers, and went to Belgium with him to visit the graves,” she said.
“People didn’t realise what these people went through – it was really horrific seeing the trenches and things.
“It was the Great War and no one should be allowed to forget, because they fought for us to live.”
Mr Johnston worked closely with Aberdeen City Council bereavement services officer Ian Burnett to discover more about the Tocher family.
The pair also attended the cemetery to witness the unveiling of the memorial by Depute Provost John Reynolds.
Based on a Commonwealth war grave headstone, it has been created by granite memorial specialist Barry Mackland.