A RACECOURSE is set to mark the centenary of a poignant event held there for soldiers departing for the Western Front.

Ripon Racecourse will show a film made at the track on St George's Day 1916 on a big screen at its second meeting of the season on Saturday (April 23).

The film shows what is believed to be the first Highland games south of the Scottish border, with footage of crowds and soldiers from a variety of regiments attending the event, the closing stages of a number of sprint races, soldiers on horseback carrying sacks leaping over fences.

The 14-minute Yorkshire Film Archive movie, which was shot near the large Army training camp in the city and was later screened at the city’s Palladium Cinema, shows the soldiers in relaxed moods.

It features footage of a man dressed up like Charlie Chaplin, sprinting across the racecourse as a group of horses charge by and women showing their ankles and stockings to the soldiers.

James Hutchinson, managing director of the course, said: “As well as the racing, the chance to honour and remember troops who were stationed in Ripon 100 years ago, before heading off to fight at the Somme is such an important moment.

"It is astonishing that we can actually see the racecourse stands in the film, and that our race-goers on Saturday will be standing in exactly the same spot where those troops stood, 100 years ago.”

The seven-race programme, featuring two £25,000 races and a brass band, starts at 1.50pm.

For details, visit ripon-races.co.uk