August 23
ENGLAND/SCOTLAND:
Wallace pilgrimage ends on road to execution
He has trekked 450 miles, won the support of Sir Sean Connery and slept
above William Wallace's "coffin".
As the 700th anniversary of Wallace's execution is marked today, the
pilgrimage to retrace the hero's death route will also come to an end for
David Ross.
The writer and convener of the William Wallace Society set out nearly 3
weeks ago from Robroyston in Glasgow, where Wallace was captured.
After walking about 25 miles daily, Mr Ross arrived at Westminster Hall in
London on Sunday. That was where Wallace, who led the Scots to a victory
over the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297, was tried for treason.
Crossing the border was a particularly poignant moment for Mr Ross.
He said: "When Wallace got to that point, he knew he was going to his
death and that he would never see his beloved Scotland again."
The 47-year-old added: "And then, when he got to London he died in the
most hideous circumstances in front of a baying mob."
Wallace was stripped and dragged to Smithfield Market by a horse the day
after his trial.
He was hanged, but released near death to be drawn and quartered and
beheaded. His head was impaled on a pike on London Bridge and his limbs
displayed in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling and Perth.
Today, with the support of friends and family, Mr Ross will walk the same
6 miles through the streets to Smithfield. The journey will end at the
Church of St Bartholomew the Greater, which overlooks Wallace's execution
spot.
The church, the oldest in London, will then host an invitation-only
commemoration of Wallace. After the service - that will include a
rendition of Flower of Scotland by Ronnie Browne, of the Corries fame - a
symbolic coffin will be carried through the city's streets.
"This is the mourning that Wallace never had. It may have taken Scotland
700 years to hold a funeral service for him, but I wanted to do something
to show that people in Scotland have long memories and we don't forget,"
said Mr Ross, who kept the coffin under the bunk bed in the van in which
he slept during his journey.
Accusing political leaders in Scotland of doing too little to commemorate
the centenary, Mr Ross added: "I'm not anti-English, I'm just pro-Scottish
and I don't think the leaders are doing enough to commemorate this. I
think they're scared of Wallace because he is a figurehead of Scottish
independence.
"I know that, through doing this, I've got him the public recognition he
so deserves. I wanted to give tribute to a man who hasn't had a tribute
for seven centuries," said Mr Ross, who was called regularly by Sir Sean
Connery during his journey.
A Nationalist MSP, meanwhile, last night called for the Saltire to fly
over Edinburgh Castle to mark the anniversary of Wallace's execution.
Christine Grahame said such a move today would be the 1st time the Saltire
has been flown from the highest point of the castle since the 1707 Treaty
of Union.
A Scottish Executive spokesman declined to comment.
(source: The Herald)
