A former solider who fought in Iraq is about to undertake an epic trek to honour a fallen hero who died in the Battle of the Somme.

Piper Evan Finnegan will journey 800 miles on foot and by bicycle to play his bagpipes at the graveside of Private James Farr - 100 years to the day since the young lad was killed in one of the bloodiest battles in British military history.

"James was just 18 years old when he died, just 20 days off of his 19th birthday," says 37-year-old Evan.

"His is one of only three known graves out there from the regiment I belonged to, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, which is why his story stood out to me."

Evan, who served in the Kings Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) for more than eight years, will start his challenge from Edinburgh Castle on June 27, cycling to Dover via Berwick and Cardiff.

He will then get off his bike and run from Calais to Peronne Road Cemetery in Maricourt, arriving on July 9 to mark the 100th anniversary that Private Farr was killed at the Somme.

Also known as the Somme Offensive, the First World War conflict was fought by the armies of the British and French against the German Empire on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France.

One million soldiers were killed or wounded at the battle site between July 1 and November 18, 1916, making it one of the most horrific battles in history.

"I'll be on foot in France to get there, because that's what it would have been like for James," says Evan, who lives with his wife and daughters in Falkirk.

"This is a way to commemorate those who fell but also to keep the story of the regiment alive."

The police officer has been closely involved with commemorations of the Great War and frequently returns to the battlefields in France and Belgium.

An established piper with a keen interest in World War One history, the father-of-three has frequently been called to played at graves and memorials as a tribute to the fallen.

His father, Gerry, will act as his support crew in the family camper van for the trip and has also been actively helping Evan to raise funds through donations to the challenge for Poppy Scotland and the Kings Own Scottish Borderers Association.

"I've been given a lot of abuse and support from the lads I used to serve with," says Evan, "but I think they're really behind it.

"Through my research, I've also been able to track down James' surviving relatives and they've got behind it too."

Evan was able to discover, through various forums and online research, that Private James Farr had a younger brother though which the bloodline survived.

Now in touch with a nephew of James, Evan has been able to arrange to meet his descendants in Wales during his journey to France.

"They've got his medals so I'm going to meet them and see where James worked," Evan says. "His family knew very little about him and only one photograph of him survived."

The picture shows James smiling, wearing his school cap, a few years before he went to war.

As a young teenager, James had left school to work in Cardiff as a clerk in the district managers office of the goods department at the Great Western Railway, before signing up to fight.

Like James and many of those who fought in France, a lot of records were lost, but Evan has been able to discover that James was only 17 years old when he enlisted in the KOSB in March 1915.

While more than 16 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of the First World War, the four-year conflict produced some of the greatest pipe music ever created by pipers, including Willie Lawrie's 9/8 march The Battle of the Somme.

"When I arrive at the grave, I won't be playing a lament or that though," says Evan. "I'm going to play an original charge. It's normally used as a get up and go rousing piece.

"I figured there's nothing more fitting than that."