William Wallace

📍Elderslie, Renfrewshire PA5, UK

“Tradition says I was born around 1270 at Elderslie, a village near Paisley in Renfrewshire, the son of a minor landowner — the old poem about me names my father Sir Malcolm of Elderslie, though my own seal names him Alan. I grew up in the lands around the Clyde, learning to ride and fight, when Scotland was still a kingdom at peace. When King Edward of England seized control of Scotland, I took up arms. In 1297 our army crushed the English at Stirling Bridge, below the rock of Abbey Craig, where the great National Wallace Monument now stands. For a time I was Guardian of Scotland. I was betrayed, captured and taken to London in 1305. In Elderslie a memorial was raised in 1912 on the spot where the house of my birth was said to have stood, and an ancient yew there carries my name. Every August, people still gather in the village on Wallace Day to remember me.”

Sources: nationalwallacemonument.com Wikipedia: Elderslie,_Scotland ichscotland.org paisley.is