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It was during the 60th
anniversary of the Scottish National Party in 1994 when it was first put
to me that, as one who was with the Y.N.A. from its start to finish,
1936 - 1946, I should write a biographic account of the Group, as far as
my memory and of those members still alive, could garner.
With great trepidation, I
have dared to disturb this ghost, with the help of various diaries and
files, i.e. The Scottish Secretariat, and the files on Scottish
Nationalist History. These all gave impetus to my efforts. However, if
there seems, on occasions, a lack of final detail this is because of
respect for the privacy of individuals and organisations concerned
My own nationalist
background was fed by a very Scottish school teacher, in my primary
years, at a central Edinburgh School ( Castle Hill ). Cockie Laidlaw was
a man after my own heart. His constant reference to the history of
Scotland, and his interpretation, made me seek further information at
the library adjacent to my home. The great Scottish historians,
including Sir John Stirling Maxwell, gave me all the information I
wished to know. I was convinced, even then, that Scotland should be
free.
I was also deeply moved
by the extreme poverty existing at the time in the High Street of
Edinburgh. Through my playmates I was invited into their homes and
found, with a tinny of tea, sitting on an orange box, with a tea chest
for a table, that despite this, a kindness, all on its own, still
existed. Their fathers had all returned from World War I to a "land
fit for heroes to live in", to find it was 14 bob’s worth of
"Buroo" money, and "get on with it". This further
convinced me that Scotland’s destiny must be in her own hands. |
