A Moray war veteran returned home “one last time” for Remembrance Sunday, to pay his final respects to the friends he lost in battle.
For most, the names etched on Keith’s war memorial statue represent distant echoes from the past.
But James George, 94, recalls them as friends and neighbours from his youth in the town.
The Chelsea pensioner visited Keith for the first time in 15 years this weekend – for what he described as a final visit to honour his brothers in arms.
After enlisting in 1942, aged 20, Mr George survived the D-day landings and helped wage successful campaigns in Africa during World War II.
When he was demobbed, he found employment and started a family in England.
But a part of the decorated Gordon Highlander has never left Keith – and younger relatives helped him arrange a final trip north.
Mr George was guest of honour during the town’s Remembrance parade – and took the salute from the hundreds that marched down Church Road.
Dressed in the ceremonial scarlet of the Chelsea Pensioners, and proudly sporting his medals, he placed a poppy wreath at the foot of the statue and performed a solemn salute.
He said: “I will never forget the day I left for war in January 1942, there was snow on the ground.
“I know most of the names on the war memorial, because I went to school with them – and I knew the families of those killed in World War I.
“This will be the last chance I get to honour them, it’s something I feel lucky to be able to do.”
Mr George won seven medals during his time as a Gordon Highlander, and was awarded France’s prestigious National Order of the Legion of Honour this year.
He worked as a joiner prior to entering service, and recalls laying flooring in Keith’s Longmore Hall in the 1930s – a venue he frequented for dances.
His life took an extraordinary turn after leaving the Army as he put his carpentry skills to use at the Pinewood Studios in London, creating movie sets.
He helped in the production of James Bond and Star Wars films, and rubbed shoulders with star names like Sir Sean Connery.
Mr George settled in England with wife Molly, who died last year after 71 years of marriage.
But when he stepped off the train at Keith on Friday evening, Mr George told his family members “I’m hame”.
