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8
quintinshill rail disaster
On Sunday 23 May,
107 coffins were taken back to Edinburgh and were placed in
the Battalion’s Drill Hall in Dalmeny Street,off LeithWalk.
On the afternoon of Monday 24 May,
101 of these were taken in procession for burial
in a mass grave that had been dug in Rosebank Cemetery,Pilrig Street,about a mile
from the Drill Hall.
The route was lined by
3,150
soldiers,
thousands of citizens stood shoulder
to shoulder on the pavement; shops were
closed, blinds drawn and the traffic
stopped.
By comparison,the total figure on parade for Her Majesty’s Birthday Parade
in London in 2014 was given as 1,000,including street liners.