Search just our sites by using our customised search engine

Unique Cottages | Electric Scotland's Classified Directory

Click here to get a Printer Friendly PageSmiley

Robroyston 6th August 2005



Duncan Fenton giving the introduction to the meeting

I’d like to welcome everyone to the annual commemoration of the betrayal & capture of Scotland’s greatest patriot, Sir William Wallace, who was taken by stealth on this spot on 3rd August 1305.  After being taken to London, &  dragged through its filthy streets, he died a horrifying death, which we can barely begin to imagine.  This took place 700 years ago. 

700 years -  I don’t think Wallace himself could have entertained the idea that his name would have been remembered for more than a generation or two after his death.  Yet here we stand, still celebrating the life and exploits of this great man – such is the stature of this true Scottish hero.

Wreath laying

Times of adversity & hardship often produce heroes.  Ordinary mortals, who, through a combination of time & circumstance, prove worthy of their country.  Foremost in that category is Sir William Wallace, whose feats instilled a belief in a nation under the yoke of overlordship – a belief that they could seize the moment to shape their own destiny & drive the English occupying forces back over the border.

I would challenge anyone who has read of the life of Wallace to claim that they have not been affected by it, nor influenced by it.

I feel a strong empathy with Wallace & the men who stood shoulder to shoulder with him  -  who fought & died to free this land, & it causes a fierce pride to burn within me.

From the days when Scotland’s sons and daughters had to wrest their freedom from the mailed fist of the English oppressor, up to the present day when we still have to fight to retain our own heritage, our own identity, we owe it to our children, and our children’s children, to provide them with the future that our ancestors fought and died for.

It is sometimes hard to reconcile the values of today’s Scotland with the brutal reality of medieval life – but some things are ephemeral, timeless, like the ideal of freedom, the thought in the minds of people of Scotland then, as now, they resonate through the ages to the present day; the ideal of freedom that has been fiercely fought for, & bravely won. Remember your past & help to influence your future.

Scotland is still haunted by the spirits of all the brave heroes who gave their lives so dearly only for her sovereignty to be given away so cheaply many years later. That freedom which Wallace & Bruce fought for was sold, as our national bard put it by “a parcel of rogues in a nation”.

Blind Harry vilified Menteith for betraying his own countryman, & says that Wallace was godfather to two of Menteith’s children. 

Modern historians have tried to vindicate Menteith & excuse his actions, but that just doesn’t work for me.  Even in an age when loyalty was a sparse commodity, Menteith’s role is still a singularly spectacular piece of betrayal. That will never be forgotten.

I said at the beginning that times of adversity & hardship often produce heroes.

Scotland is crying out for another hero.  But this is not Hollywood. An all-conquering hero will not come charging out of the mist.

 Instead, the answer lies within all of us – in all of you.  People like yourselves who have Scotland close to your heart.  You have a birthright & a lineage, & an easily identifiable image that many countries of the world envy.  Be proud of it.  Use the media – TV & newspapers to voice your opinions on what you feel strongly about.  It's no use thinking "“Someone else will do it” – we all must do it.  This image that the rest of the world has of Scotland – that of the bagpipes & the tartan are instantly recognisable, but it seems that our politicians are embarrassed by it.  So much so, that on a visit to America, the First Minister chose to wear, not our national dress, but a black skirt.  How embarrassed by your own country do you have to be before you consider it less embarrassing to stand on a stage in a black skirt, than to wear your national dress.

Recently I have been writing to TV companies & the press about their portrayal of Wallace.  He is invariably described as a rebel or a traitor or both.   We know he wasn’t a traitor because he pledged allegiance only to King John Balliol, & never signed the ‘Ragman’s Roll’ for Longshanks.  He wasn’t a rebel because he was fighting against a foreign invader, in order to free his country.  This makes him a freedom fighter, not a rebel. 

So in future I would like to see all media articles refer to Sir William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland & freedom fighter

Introduce the authors of the MacBraveheart website, John & Lynn Anderson.

The Spirit of Wallace has been kept alive for the past 700 years.  You have all played your part in some measure in keeping it alive.  And now David Ross, the Convenor of the Society of William Wallace, after retracing Wallace’s journey from Robroyston to London, will bring Wallace’s Spirit home where it belongs – on his native soil.

Rabbie Burns was a great fan of Wallace, & he wrote;

“The story of Wallace poured a Scottish prejudice into my veins which will boil along there until the floodgates of life shut in eternal rest.”

And it was Burns who penned the lines to the age-old marching tune “Hey Tuttie Tatie”  which was known to have been used during medieval times.  We know it now today of course as “Scots Wha Hae”, &  as is customary at these gatherings, I’d like to close the proceedings by asking Lynn Anderson to sing it, & please, everyone join in.

 “Scots Wha Hae”


Lynn Anderson leads singing of “Scots Wha Hae” while crowd joins in

I’d like to thank everyone for coming here today to remember and reflect on the life of Sir William Wallace.  Everyone is invited to the Fort Theatre, Bishopbriggs, for tea or coffee & sandwiches.

Thank you all again.

Summary

  • Proceedings were opened with a welcome by the vice convenor.

  • The wreath was then laid by Heather Cassidy.

  • Speech by vice convenor.

  • Introduction of guest speakers, John & Lynn Anderson, co-authors of MacBraveheart website.

  • Lynn spoke about the impact that the film Braveheart still has on the public, 10 years after its first release.

  • Lynn Anderson leads singing of “Scots Wha Hae” while crowd joins in.

  • Vice convenor thanks every one for taking part, & to the crowd for coming, & invites all to buffet at Fort Theatre, Bishopbriggs.

Photos taken by members John Quinn & Ian Logan


Return to our page on William Wallace


 


This comment system requires you to be logged in through either a Disqus account or an account you already have with Google, Twitter, Facebook or Yahoo. In the event you don't have an account with any of these companies then you can create an account with Disqus. All comments are moderated so they won't display until the moderator has approved your comment.

comments powered by Disqus

Quantcast