On 11 November 2018, gather as a community on Ayr Beach, to say thank you and goodbye.

Please note: this is a drop in event, there is no pre-booking or registration. Suitable for all ages.

Ayr Beach, Ayr, KA7 2XW

Sand Portrait

Walter Tull was Britain’s second black professional footballer, and the first black officer in the British Army. In 1914, he began negotiations to transfer to Glasgow Rangers, however, the First World War broke out before he could play a game for Rangers. He enlisted as a private in the Footballers’ Battalion of the British Army, where he was quickly promoted to be a sergeant.

He took part in and survived the Battle of the Somme, after which he was sent to England to recover from illness. He then went to train as an officer cadet in Gailes, Ayrshire. Although black officers were not allowed in the British Army at this time, he was commissioned in May 1917, thus becoming the first black combat officer in the British Army. He died in battle in France in 1918, during the last major German offensive. His body was never found.

On The Day

In addition to the large-scale sand art, the public will be asked to join in by creating silhouettes of people in the sand, remembering the millions of lives lost or changed forever by the conflict.

Carol Ann Duffy has written a poem especially for the moment, to be read by individuals, families and communities on the day

Location Details

Time: 8.30 – 11am

Access: Adjacent to Low Green via Pavilion Road

Parking: On street parking

Public Transport: The first train departing from Glasgow will be at 9am, arriving to Ayr at 9.53am.

The earliest bus from Buchanan Bus station is the 923 service departing at 8.30am arriving at 9.25am.

The number 4 bus service from Kilmarnock bus station to Ayr will be running each hour starting at 7.01am. This service takes approximately 40 minutes.

Toilet Facilities: Public toilets behind playpark, 30p charge

About Pages of the Sea

Film-maker Danny Boyle invites you to join him in marking 100 years since Armistice and the end of the First World War. Pages of the Sea is a unique moment to say goodbye, together, to the millions of men and women who left their shores during the war, many never to return.

You’re invited to beaches across the UK where, over the course of several hours, a portrait of an individual from the First World War will emerge from the sand. And then, as the tide rises, watch as it’s washed away as we take a moment to say a collective goodbye.