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4th October 2016 - The Scottish Wars of Independence Russell Hannah President Brian Swaine opened the Winter Season on Tuesday 4th October with flourish and due attention was given to apologies for absence and mention by name of those of our members who are not quite so well at the moment. A joining member was identified and welcomed into our midst together with a visitor for the day. Committee member Ian Dewar brought the members up to date on the plans for our New Year Lunch at the Tinto Hotel on Thursday 5th January and Junior Vice President Alastair Pate on our visit to Hopetoun House at the end of April. Finally, a minutes silence was observed on behalf of one of our number who has passed over. Russell Hannah, needed little introduction given that he is so well known to visitors at both Edinburgh and Stirling Castles as a guide and proclaimer on many aspects of Scottish History, more particularly on his favourite subject ‘The Scottish Wars of Independence’. A gifted speaker, his audience became entranced as we followed the life and times of our own dear William Wallace to his death on the gallows in London. Our imagination was fired up when we joined with Robert the Bruce in his struggle to rally an army fit to face King Edward 11 as he marched North with a mighty army of mounted Knights of the Realm and the feared English longbow men who it transpires were mainly Welsh. The pace quickened with Bruce training his men in a type of guerrilla warfare, arming them with long spears and placing them in a nearly impenetrable square formation to deal with the Knights. We see at first hand replicas of the mighty Claymore, Akaton and Bodkin all designed to inflict the most horrendous damage to your adversary in hand-to-hand combat. Russell confided that on visiting schools throughout Scotland to give this talk he was always amazed by how much the children seemed to enjoy the ‘gory bits’! After a lively Q and A session it was time to give him a hearty vote of thanks for what was a Master-class in Scotland’s Fifteenth Century life and times which helped form the Nation we are today. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 18th October with a talk on ‘Mary’s Meals-making the difference. Members and non-members will be made most welcome with light refreshments.
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