The multi-faith service featured hymns, readings from the work of war poets and extracts from letters sent by soldiers at the front, and was held on August 4.

A special candle was lit by Lieutenant Colonel Neil Russell at the start of the service. It was extinguished at exactly 11pm by Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall, to mark the moment when Britain’s ultimatum to Germany expired and a state of war existed between the two countries.

The symbolic candle represented the words of Sir Edward Grey, the then Home Secretary, who said: “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.” Germany invaded Belgium as part of its plan to capture Paris. Britain was bound by the 1839 Treaty of London to guarantee Belgium’s neutrality and come to its aid if the country was attacked. Britain declared war on Germany at 11pm on 4 August 1914 after the Germans refused to withdraw their forces from Belgium.

The service was preceded by a wreath laying at the Paisley Cenotaph. The cenotaph was unveiled in 1924 to mark the sacrifice of the 1,953 Paisley men who were killed in the conflict.

Provost Anne Hall said: “The First World War had an enormous impact of every part of Britain. Over the next four years we will commemorate and reflect on that impact. Every community suffered but standing at the cenotaph in Paisley brings home the scale of the losses at a local level. From Paisley alone one man in every 20 lost their lives in the First World War.” Renfrewshire Council is taking part in a national programme of commemorative, educational, cultural and community events to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War.

The events will honour and remember the lives of those who served in the First World War and those who were affected by it. The commemorations will span a four-year period from 2014 to 2018. They will focus on the impact of the war and on marking the significant events of the conflict.