WELCOME TO THE SOCIETY OF WILLIAM WALLACE |
|
"I have brought you to the ring, now dance the best you can!" |
Words shouted by Wallace to the Scottish army at the Battle of Falkirk on the 22nd of July 1298 as the English cavalry began to charge. |
 |
"This statue of William Wallace that flanks the entrance to Edinburgh Castle was the statue that inadvertently gave the inspiration to the movie Braveheart". The scriptwriter Randall Wallace visited the castle while on vacation in Scotland, and noticed this statue, and was intrigued as the subject had the same second name as his own. He asked one of the staff who this famous Wallace was, and was quite simply told "that sir, is our greatest hero!" This sent Randall on a quest to discover all he could about this man called William Wallace, and resulted in "Braveheart" being released in 1995. |
DAVID R ROSS MEMORIAL FLAG AND HOW TO DONATE |
|
 |
This is a design that one of our members has put together with a view to commissioning a tribute flag for David R Ross which we could carry proudly at future marches, parades and Society gatherings throughout our social calendar each year. I hope you will all consider my proposal with a favourable outcome. I have thought very long and very hard about how David’s untimely death has had an impact on everyone who met and knew him, both here at home and also abroad in the USA. Thank You, William Ballantyne |
Click On Photo To Donate. |
ROBROYSTON COMMEMORATION 7th AUGUST 2PM |
|
 |
The Robroyston Commemoration is at 2pm on the 7th of August this year, it's always been a nice wee intimate occasion but we'd love to see as many people there as possible this year because we'll also be officially unveiling the David R Ross memorial plaque. |
THE WALLACE SAFE CONDUCT LETTER INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR BARROW |
|
FALKIRK COMMEMORATION 2010 |
|
 |
The Falkirk Commemoration 2010 took place on Saturday the 17th of July this year and was very well attended by people of all ages. |
Click On Photo |
WALLACE SOCIETY USA |
|
 |
The Society has just embarked on a very exciting new venture by launching our first overseas chapter in America. |
Click On Photo |
WALLACEWELL PRIMARY SCHOOL FUN DAY 2010 |
|
55.jpg) |
The Society Of William Wallace were once again invited to attend the Wallacewell Primary School fun day to tell the kids of all the rich history on their doorstep. As you can see by the photos, we came armed to the teeth to show the children and adults all the weapons of the era. We even brought along a Viking for good measure!! We'd like to thank all our members and friends who attended and helped make this day one of the best yet, yer all stars!! Also a big shout out to Duncan Fenton for the fantastic photos, thanks pal. |
Click On Photo! |
AVOCH COMMEMORATION 2010 |
|
 |
On the 3rd Saturday in May (Saturday the 15th) the annual North Rising commemoration takes place at Avoch (pronounced Auch) to celebrate the raising of the standard by Andrew de Moray at the Castle of Avoch (Ormond Castle). This standard was raised in 1297 as the focal point of armed revolt by those patriots of Northern Scotland against the occupation of Scotland by English forces under the command of Edward the 1st, Longshanks. With the day breezy but dry, an enjoyable day was had by all who attended. |
Click On Photo! |
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS |
|
 |
In this section we're attempting to gather some older photographs of various sites and occasions that are connected to Wallace. We've been sent a few photos since our website's been up and running and we'd like to share them with you here. We'd like to thank everyone who has contributed. Where possible we've given full credit to the contributor and all photos are displayed assuming consent has been given. If you have anything you'd like to send us, please feel free to get in touch. |
Click On Photo! |
ELDERSLIE OR ELLERSLIE |
||
 |
Over the last few years, one or two writers have made claim over Wallace hailing from Ayrshire. As this data seems to be receiving more and more credit, I, on behalf of the Society of William Wallace, would like to lay down some sort of semblance of the truth for interested parties to peruse at leisure. Many Ayrshire claims have been based around Craigie Castle, or various documents pertaining to that establishment. The ruins of this edifice stand near the village of Craigie, which lies between Kilmarnock and Ayr, close to the A77. |
|
|
||
WALLACE TRIAL |
||
 |
William Wallace was victorious at the battle of Stirling Bridge. However, his co-commander Andrew Murray died soon afterward, leaving Wallace alone as Guardian of the Kingdom to face a superior English force under Edward I himself at the battle of Falkirk in 1298. He lost. His credibility ruined, Wallace resigned the Guardianship, but did not give up the fight. He never surrendered to Edward and Edward always excepted him from any offers of clemency. Having served Scotland abroad by diplomacy in France, Wallace returned to Scotland. |
|
|
||
AMERICAN TRIBUTE TO DAVID R ROSS |
||
 |
Some of our American friends decided to make their own mark on our wee country by building a cairn for David. It was an ancient Celtic custom to erect a cairn, or a pile of stones, as a memorial of the good fame or infamy of the person buried underneath it. In either case, it was considered the duty of every passer-by to add a stone to the cairn. A common saying, referring to cairns erected in testimony of respect is: |
|
“Cuiridh mi clach ‘ad charn.” “I’ll add a stone to your cairn.” |
||
|
||
OPENING OF NEW BRUCE CENTRE IN RENTON |
||
 |
Members of the Society of William Wallace gave their support to the Strathleven Artizans, who opened their Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre in Renton on Saturday, 27th March 2010. They took part in the march along the main street to the new Bruce Centre, where Andrew Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine welcomed everyone & officially opened the new centre. The weather was great and ensured a great turn out to join in the celebrations, well done guys |
|
|
||
IN REMEMBRANCE A POEM BY MELISSA SPEAR |
||
 |
While on tour with our American friends I had the pleasure of sitting next to a lovely lady called Melissa Spear. We got talking about Scotland and David and later on that day she gave me a piece of paper but told me not to read it 'till later. She thought I might like it given our conversation about Scotland. She was wrong, I loved it!! Now Melissa told me that she's not much of a poet, well I think she's wrong, so we'll let you guys be the judge. Here's what Melissa wrote on that piece of paper, and no it wasn't her phone number!! |
|
|
||
AMERICAN VISIT AND THE DAVID R ROSS FUNDRAISER |
||
 |
David R Ross was to accompany a large group of American visitors on a week long tour of his beloved Scotland, alas it was not to be but it was decided the tour should go ahead in honour of David. It was a whirlwind tour to say the least but so much was packed into their week that I'm sure they will have been glad to get home for a rest!! The Society was keen to be involved and played host to them at Elderslie and joined them at the Three Sisters fundraiser in honour of David in Edinburgh. |
|
|
||
ROBROYSTON DEDICATION TO DAVID |
||
 |
What a great wee day we had at Robroyston. When we got there, there were a couple of lads tidying up the monument and surrounding area, they'd even rebuilt the wall at the back of the monument, well done guys the Society's proud of you!! We had a good wee crowd of helpers and once we'd established what we wanted to do we quickly got to work!! We're sure you'll agree that it's a lovely tribute to David and one well worthy of the man. Special thanks to Andy who brought this idea to fruition, well done mate. |
|
|
||
RETURN OF THE WILLIAM WALLACE SAFE CONDUCT LETTER |
|
 |
|
| One of the causes that David championed was for the return of the Wallace safe conduct letter, to join the cause and sign the petition please just click the above photo. This artefact belongs to Scotland, it belongs in Scotland, and we're determined to get it back. It is part of our history, not London's, and it should be on public display here in Scotland. As you know, Davie Ross was pushing hard for this letter’s return, and we would love to complete the work that he had begun as a tribute to his memory. Details will also be supplied soon of an e-petition to the Scottish Parliament on this subject. As an e-petition only runs for four weeks, it is imperative that we get as many signatures as possible as quickly as possible. Here's what David had to say about the letter in December 2008: Dear Patriots, There have been reports in the press that there are moves afoot that a Member of the Scottish Parliament will ask for the return of the Lubeck Letter. This was one of many letters sent out in the name of Wallace and Murray on Scotland’s behalf, after the victory at Stirling Bridge, telling European traders that Scotland’s ports were once again “open for business” after the ousting of a vicious invader. The Lubeck letter is the only one, which has survived the centuries. Lubeck, incidentally, is a port near Hamburg, Germany, that was an important place in Wallace ‘s day. The letter still bears Wallace’s seal, and it is this seal, which allowed us to identify the name of Wallace’s father, as it bears the motto “William fillius Alan” (William son of Alan). I can understand calls for this letter to be returned, important is it is to the history of our country, but the hard fact remains that this letter was “sent” to Lubeck, and so, I think of it as their property. If any of us received a personal letter from, say, a Hollywood star, we would think of it as something sent to us, and so therefore our property. Lubeck has looked after this letter admirably, through everything the centuries have thrown at it, including the heavy allied bombing raids of World War II! While other Wallace documents and letters have vanished, this one has survived, due to the care that has been lavished on it. Lubeck were good enough to loan the letter to Scotland a few years ago, and it was on display in the Museum of Scotland- I know as I travelled through to Edinburgh twice to look at it. There were other Wallace related documents on display with it too. The court ledger that was used at Wallace’s trial, and a little letter that was on Wallace’s person when he was captured. This little letter was a personal one to Wallace from the King of France, introducing him to his envoys at the Vatican. This letter has become known as the “Safe Conduct”. Now, this “Safe Conduct” was an item given to Wallace. The English in Scotland captured it. It was a Scotsman’s possession, and was taken south like its owner, and when he was murdered, it, and the other documents that were on his person were kept in London. It is currently in the keeping of the Public Records Office at Kew. The other documents that were on Wallace’s person have all been lost over the centuries. I feel it would be better if the onus on returning a Wallace document was concentrated on the Safe-Conduct. It is a Scottish possession, and should be returned to Scotland. I am proud to say that Scotland has not been lax in returning items that are important to indigenous people. The ghost shirt of the Lakota people to name one. Wouldn’t it be brilliant to be able to go to the Museum of Scotland as look upon a letter that was a personal possession of Wallace’s? Something that was given to him on the 7th of November 1300, and remained in his possession till his capture on 3rd of August 1305. It was something he was familiar with, something he looked upon, and something Scots should be able to look upon too in this day and age. Kew have been approached many times regarding this matter. They get very evasive when this matter is raised. The wording on the letter is clear and it refers to William Wallace. They have even gone so far as to question whether it is the same William Wallace, why do we think it is connected etc? I get the distinct impression that they do not think we are capable of looking after such an artefact in Scotland, and it is better where it is, behind closed doors in a locked drawer in England. They have managed to lose the other documents that were on Wallace’s person, letters that could have enlightened us to much that is unknown about the man. I do applaud motions such as that asking for the Lubeck letter to be returned. They keep Wallace’s, and therefore, Scotland’s struggle to the fore of the public imagination. But my personal view is that the Safe-Conduct has relevance, and a very valid claim to be returned, due to the fact it is a Scottish possession. It is the one that the pressure should be on to be returned. Lubeck, as said, have looked after their letter and have looked after it admirably. I feel that the people in charge of our museums should be doing much more. I think they are of the feeling that they can basically turn up at Kew and ask to see such an item. They can don white gloves and look upon it, so what is the problem? But the time has come when our museum staff should be pressurising for the return of the many thousands of documents kept elsewhere in the world that are Scottish, and as what makes us Scottish is our shared history and experiences, much of the missing “brickwork” of that should be being put back in place. I hope you have all had a good New Year, and I look forward to catching up with many of you at this year’s meetings and commemorations. I remain, yours for Scotland, David R. Ross, Convenor. |
|
POLITICAL STORM OVER THE WILLIAM WALLACE SAFE CONDUCT LETTER |
 |
| Here's details of an e-petition to the Scottish Parliament on this subject. As an e-petition only runs for four weeks, it is imperative that we get as many signatures as possible as quickly as possible. CLICK HERE to sign. |
IN MEMORIAM DAVID R ROSS |
||||||||||
 |
Our great friend and Society Convenor David R Ross was laid to rest on the 11th of January 2010. We cannot fully express how we all feel at David's passing. To try and help us all carry on David's dreams for Scotland we've decided to celebrate David's life in this section of the website. Please feel free to add to any section of it if you so wish. David may be gone but his spirit will live on through each and everyone of us and everyone at the Society will try our very best to carry on the excellent work that David started and hopefully we can finish the job. Rest In Peace Sir. |
|||||||||
We've just received details of the bank account which has been set up for anyone wishing to donate to a Memorial Fund for the late David R. Ross, our Society’s Convenor. This will be used towards Davie's plans for 2014, 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn.
|
||||||||||
David had planned to tour with Albannach and over forty American Albannach fans in March this year to show them the sites and explore our wonderful country's history with them, alas it was not to be but everyone on the tour agreed that it should go ahead and be dedicated in David's honour. Our American friends would very much like to meet up with like minded people, especially those who knew David and have arranged an evenings entertainment with the wonderful Ted Christopher and Albannach at the Three Sisters in Edinburgh's Cowgate on the 14th March. Apologies for it being on a Sunday but it was all arranged at very short notice. This night will be in memory of David and donations will be gratefully accepted with all monies going to Bannockburn 2014 and the Wallace Coffin fund. The evenings entertainment will be free as the bands have waived their fee but there will be a £10 entrance fee so hopefully we can raise a serious amount of cash for this most worthiest of causes! |
||||||||||
WALLACE ITEMS ON DISPLAYAT THE MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND EARLY 1999 |
||
 |
This is a photo of a display in early 1999 at the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, there were several items on display.
The book on the left was The Wallace by Blind Harry, the one on the right was a list of Letters in Wallace's Possession when he was ILLEGALLY captured!! The two letters are a Letter to the Cities of Hamburg and Lubeck and of course the SAFE CONDUCT LETTER ISSUED IN FAVOUR OF WALLACE. Now when this was on display in Edinburgh they listed those as the documents Wallace had on him when he was captured. Now to me that means they believed this to be true when they sent it up!! However Kew are denying that this letter has anything to do with Wallace!! Now if anyone out there has any photos of this display if they could send them to it could really help us in our fight to get this letter back. To see the photo in a higher resolution CLICK HERE |
|
ELIZABETH BURTON |
||
 |
We got sent a couple of great poems by Elizabeth Burton, the first is a poem about William Wallace called Uilleam UallasIt which is to be included in her second book of poems which she is self-publishing. The second poem is Thomas of Ercildoune which is about Thomas the Rhymer who came from her home town of Earlston. Elizabeth is a life-time admirer of William Wallace and what he stood for but her other passion is Thomas the Rhymer and she's recently formed a 'Friends of Thomas Group'. It's believed that Thomas met William Wallace and told him he was destined to lead Scotland to victory over the English. We don't know if this is true or not but it makes for a nice story!! It's said that Thomas met Wallace and was told he was destined to be victorious over the English. |
|
|
||
THE SOCIETY OF WILLIAM WALLACE CONSTITUTION |
|
 |
The Society of William Wallace (henceforth to be known as “the Society”) is dedicated to preserving the memory of Sir William Wallace the great Scottish patriot, and has an interest in other aspects pertaining to Scotland’s history. Membership is open to all regardless of faith, nationality, sex or age and is a "not for profit" organisation. The Society is apolitical and is not influenced by any political parties whatsoever. Monthly meetings in Elderslie, Wallace’s birthplace, are intended for members to discuss Wallace and other historical related topics, and meetings occasionally have educational presentations. Committee members are openly and freely proposed and elected at the societies Annual General meeting, or Extraordinary General meetings and will not receive fees or |
| payments for duties relating to the Society.
The Annual General Meeting shall be held in the month of November. The Society organises an annual commemoration at Elderslie, and commemorations are also held at other Wallace related sites. |
|
TO SEE OUR CONSTITUTION IN ALL IT'S GLORY CLICK HERE |
|
WALLACE CONNECTIONS |
|
 |
We're always looking for your help!! There are monuments to William Wallace all over the world and we're looking for your photographs, the bigger the better!! A wee report on where the monument can be found would also be great. We had Society Convenor David R Ross show us the Wallace monument in Baltimore Maryland Usa now here Webmaster George Boyle presents the Wallace Monument at Loudoun Hill. Why not follow his example and send us your photos. We look forward to hearing from you. |
CLICK IMAGE ABOVE |
|
DEFINITIVE PROOF THAT WALLACE WAS BORN IN ELDERSLIE, RENFREWSHIRE!! |
 |
| Over the years we've had all sorts of people including historians (who should know better) claiming that William Wallace was born in Ayrshire and not Renfrewshire!! To knock this scurrilous rumour on the head the Society has commissioned a second edition of the hugely popular book "William Wallace, His Birthplace And Family Connections" read it and be assured once and for all where Scotland's favourite son was born!! |
WALLACE CONNECTIONS: BALTIMORE USA |
|
 |
We're looking for your help!! There are monuments to William Wallace all over the world and we're looking for your photographs, the bigger the better!! A wee report on where the monument can be found would also be great. Here's our first contribution from Society Convenor David R Ross presented us with these photos of the Wallace monument in Baltimore Maryland Usa. Why not follow his example and send us your photos. We look forward to hearing from you. |
HISTORIC ROYAL CHARTER RESTORED |
|
 |
Perth 800 is a year long programme of events which will celebrate the 800th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Burgh Charter to Perth by King William the Lion of Scotland in 1210. An ancient document that details the moment when King William the Lion of Scotland granted Royal Burgh status to Perth in 1210 has been restored. Experts at the National Archive of Scotland repaired and cleaned the historic parchment and reattached its official wax seal.
|
| An exciting and ambitious programme on the themes of heritage, sport, arts and culture and the local economy will see more than one event a week being held throughout Perth and Kinross during 2010. An exciting and ambitious programme on the themes of heritage, sport, arts and culture and the local economy will see more than one event a week being held throughout Perth and Kinross during 2010. |
 |
CLICK IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY |
CLICK PERTH LOGO FOR DETAILS OF EVENTS |
WALLACE DAY ELDERSLIE 2009 |
| We hope you enjoyed this video by John Macintyre we'd like to thank him and all the groups who attended the march including Siol Nan Gaidheal, Crann Tara, Strathleven Artizans, The 1820 Society and all the foreign visitors who made the day what it was, thank you!! |
 |
After a week of torrential rain it was a real surprise that the day was bathed in glorious sunshine, the Big Yin upstairs is obviously very fond of us Scots and our favourite son, William Wallace!! |
CLICK IMAGE ABOVE |
|
 |
 |
 |
To contact the webmaster CLICK HERE |
| © William Wallace Society 2007 |