A celebration has been held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the German fleet's surrender in Scottish waters.

Ten days after the Armistice ended the fighting in World War One, the British Navy took charge of the enemy's defeated fleet in the Firth of Forth on November 21, 1918.

To mark the centenary, visitors were welcomed to the Queensferry Crossing Contact and Education Centre on Wednesday to enjoy panoramic views of where the surrender happened.

Organised by WW100 Scotland, there was also talks and displays showcasing the sacrifices made during the war.

North Queensferry Heritage Trust has also unveiled an exhibition at the Forth Bridge Heritage Centre with images, artefacts and video clips.

The 1918 event, code-named Operation ZZ, was seen as the greatest gathering of warships the world had ever seen.

Nine German battleships, five battlecruisers, seven light cruisers and 49 destroyers - the most modern ships of the German High Seas Fleet - were handed over to the Allied forces.

Under the command of Admiral Sir David Beatty, the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet formed two massive columns six miles apart in the North Sea.

Although arrangements had been made in advance of Germany's surrender, more than 370 Allied ships and aircraft joined the operation to oversee the final rendezvous with their mortal enemy.

After sailing out beyond the Isle of May, the two Allied columns then swung around and formed an escort on either side of the Germans as they led them back into the Firth of Forth.

The 70 German ships were then escorted into the sheltered estuary north of Edinburgh without a single shot being fired. Led by British light cruiser HMS Cardiff, the German ships were anchored under guard east of Inchkeith, Fife, by early afternoon.

In a mark of the final surrender of the former enemy, Admiral Beatty issued the order for the German flag to be taken down at sunset and not hoisted again without permission.

Between November 25 and 27, the German fleet was escorted to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands where it was interned until June 1919.

Having learned of the possible terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which would have shared the ships among the Allies, German commander Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the order to scuttle the entire fleet.

Seacocks and flood valves were opened, water pipes were smashed, and portholes were loosened. Despite the efforts of the Royal Navy, 52 German ships were sunk, including all the battlecruisers and all but one of the battleships.

While the Allies were furious at the flagrant breaking of the Armistice, many Germans saw the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet as a reassertion of national pride.

German Admiral Reinhard Scheer declared: "I rejoice. The stain of surrender has been wiped from the escutcheon of the German fleet.

"The sinking of these ships has proved that the spirit of the fleet is not dead. This last act is true to the best traditions of the German navy."