Carstairs Junction soldier is top of his class
At the age of just 16, a young soldier from Carstairs Junction has already been saluted by his officers for his obvious devotion to duty.
Second generation Army man Alistair Gauld has just completed his basic training course at Winchester College and has passed out with the trophy for being the best junior soldier in his intake; he also took another prize during training for his teamwork.
His obvious talents for soldiering also brought him a Junior Sergeant promotion even before he joined his regular unit, probably to be in the army engineering corps where he will, after Combat Engineering Training, become Sapper Gauld.
For more on this story pick up a copy of the Carluke and Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.