THE 1820 SOCIETY

SCOTLAND FREE OR A DESERT

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ANNUAL SIGHTHILL COMMEMORATION - This year's Commemoration Rally at the restored MARTYRS MONUMENT in SIGHTHILL CEMETERY, GLASGOW - where BAIRD and HARDIE are buried - has been arranged for SUNDAY 6th SEPTEMBER, 2009. Members and Friends should assemble at the cemetery gates in Springburn Road, Glasgow, G21 1SE, at 2.00 p.m, and proceed thereafter - at about 2.30 p.m. - to the Monument where the usual wreath-laying ceremony, followed by some commemorative speeches will occur. Thereafter we will gather around the corner in the Sighthill One Stop Shop, 40 Huntingdon Square, G21 1RL, for tea, coffee, sandwiches and a wee bit of a blether. PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND.

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Come along and hear the history of Thomas Muir of Huntershill in the Thomas Muir Cafe car park at 2.00pm, on Saturday 5th September, 100-102 Crowhill Rd, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 1RP. There is also a Farmers Market, so bring the family and friends along for a good day out.

Founded 1984

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About The 1820 Society

Originally founded in 1969 as "The 1820 Commemoration Committee", the society exists precisely in order to publicise and commemorate the Scottish Radical Insurrection of 1820.

It carries out its commemorative function by holding Annual Rallies at the three 1820 Monuments at Sighthill Cemetery, Glasgow, burial ground of John Baird and Andrew Hardie; at Strathaven. home town and last resting place of James Wilson. and at Woodside Cemetery - Paisley.

Throughout the 1970's the society was kept going by its principle founding father. . John Murphy, who was an honorary Vice-President. In 1984 it was re-constituted - with Jack Fuller as Chairman, Ian Bayne as Secretary, and Renfrew district Councillor, Jim Mitchell, now also an Honorary Vice-President, as Press Officer.

In 1985 the new Committee launched a financial appeal for the Renovation of the sadly dilapidated Sighthill Monument. It raised almost " £5,000 ", a sum matched by a further " £5,000 " from Glasgow District Council.

In October 1986 the renovated Memorial was unveiled by pupils from the nearby Sighthill Primary School - in the presence of invited civic dignitaries and political and Trade Union representatives.

In 1989 the Society welcomed the publication of the paperback edition of the only full-length account of the Rising: "The Scottish Insurrection of 1820" by Peter Berresford Ellis and Seumas Mac A'Ghobhainn. Its surviving co-author, Peter Berresford Ellis was elected Honorary President. In the same year the society also purchased a new banner.

In 1990 - the 170th anniversary year of the Rising - as a culmination of extensive representation made by the Society a new headstone was erected by East Kilbride District Council at the probable site of James Wilson's hitherto unmarked grave in Strathaven Cemetery.

And in 1992 Glasgow City Council erected a plaque on the Sighthill Memorial in memory of the 19 Scottish Radicals transported to Australia for their part in the 1820 Rising - with The Society itself bearing half the costs.

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Membership Secretary: William Douglas

The 1820 Society

252 Nether Auldhouse Road

GLASGOW

G43 1LS

Feedback is welcome by e-mail:

e-mail: the1820society@aol.com

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Chairman: Ian Bayne

Glasgow

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Secretary: Lily Love

195 Copland Road

Govan

GLASGOW G51 2UT

Tel: 0141 427 3034

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN 2009

1) Bonnymuir Saturday 4th April @ 2.00pm for 2.30pm

2) Strathaven Saturday 13th June @12.00pm for 12.30pm

3) Woodside Saturday 8th August @11.30am for 12.00 noon

4) Sighthill Sunday 6th September @2.00pm

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Our Commemoration will take place this year on Saturday 4th April at 2.30pm The Memorial is located at the roadside to the East of the Rollo Engineering, St Andrews Works, High Bonnybridge, FK4 2EJ, on the B816 Bonnyhill Road. The Rollo Works manager Mr Cameron MacBeth has kindly allowed us to use their car park. For the benefit of Members and others travelling from Glasgow to attend the commemoration, the committee has organised a mini-bus. To book a place at a subsidised fare, contact our secretary, Lily Love (Tel. 0141 - 427 3034). This bus will leave from North Hanover Street, George Square, Glasgow, at 12.45pm. Please make a note in your diary, and make every effort to attend.

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NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2007

1.

ANNUAL W00DSIDE COMMEMORATION

This years commemoration at the Martyr's Memorial in Woodside Cemetery, PAISLEY will take place on SATURDAY 11th AUGUST, 2007.

Members and Friends should assemble outside the Cemetery gates in Broomlands Street at 1130 am. and proceed thereafter - at about 12noon - to the Memorial - where a wreath-laying ceremony followed by some commemorative speeches will occur. (Please note that the cemetery entrance should be kept clear as there could be other traffic at this time.)

Guest speakers from RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL have been invited to address the gathering - including Provost CELIA LAWSON of the SNP as well as Councilior DEREK MacKAY the SNP Group leader and the LABOUR Group leader. Ex-councillor lAIN HOGG has been invited to speak on the SSP's behalf, and JOHN MacNAUGHTON will speak on behalf of Paisley & District Trade Unions' Council. (We are also hoping that one of our two Honorary Vice-Presidents! the veteran SNP councillor. JIM MITCHELL, himself also a Past Chairman (1986-88) of the Society will be able to attend.)

After the ceremony committee member MARION McMILLAN & Secretary LILY LOVE hope to be able to provide some Light Refreshments in the nearby scout hall.

SO PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND.

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ANNUAL SIGHTHILL COMMEMORATION

This years Commemoration Rally at the restored MARTYRS MONUMENT in SIGHTHILL CEMETERY, GLASGOW - where BAIRD and HARDIE are buried - has been arranged for SUNDAY 9th SEPTEMBER, 2007.

Members and Friends should assemble at the cemetery gates in Springbum Road, Glasgow at 2 p.m., and proceed thereafter - at about 2.30 p.m. - to the Monument where the usual wreath-laying ceremony followed by some commemorative speeches will occur.

Invitations to address the Rally have been extended to Glasgow's new LORD PROVOST, BOB WINTER (or his representative) as well as to the newly elected Councillor BILL KIDD, MSP of the SNP and to the newly elected SOLIDARITY councillor, RUTH BLACK.

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND.

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BONNYMUIR MEMORIAL - UNVEILING CEREMONY

The Society's committee has at last been able to arrange a date for the formal unveiling ceremony of the new Bonnymuir Memorial whose erection and installation was completed at the end of April, as reported in our previous (May/June) Newsletter. With the necessary permission of Mr. Ronald Pollock of Bonnyhill Dairy Farm who owns the field in which the battle occurred back in April, 1820, this will now take place on SATURDAY 15th SEPTEMBER. 2007 at about 2.30 pm.

PAT REID, the LABOUR Provost of FALKIRK COUNCIL (or an appropriate substitute) will be invited to perform the unveiling ceremony and say a few words. We also hope to have some additional speakers, including Councillor JOHN CONSTABLE, the Opposition SNP Group's Spokesman on Environment & Heritage and perhaps also Councillor BILLY BUCHANAN the local Independent Councillor as well as a local historian.

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NEW SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT MINISTER ADDRESSES STRATHAVEN RALLY

Once again this years Strathaven Commemoration was blessed with brilliant sunshine, and as usual coincided with the final day - Saturday 9th June - of the town's annual Gala Week Prior to the commemoration, a faithful few of the Society's members participated in the official Gala Day Parade through the town, headed by Membership Secretary WILLIAM DOUGLAS & Treasurer RICHARD QUINN who together carried the Society's banner, while the others distributed 'fliers' to by-standers publicising the ensuing ceremony and local hero JAMES WILSON's role in the 1820 Rising.

The highlight of the actual commemoration was an address from the new SNP Government Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture - none other than LINDA FABIANI who in her previous capacity as a 'mere' MSP had of course already been a regular speaker at our annual Strathaven commemorations. This was the first occasion on which any 1820 Society event had ever been addressed by an actual Government Minister, and in consequence we fear we might be in danger of becoming too 'respectable' In a marked departure from the authentic Scottish Radical tradition! But Linda brought us all back down to earth in her usual stimulating contribution, reminding us that throughout history the Scottish Establishment had been uniformly hostile to the cause of Freedom not least in the year 1820.

She was ably supported by her former MSP colleague CAROLYN LECKIE of the SSP , and while STEPHEN SMILLIE of UNISON sent his apologies for absence, there was a further spontaneous and thoughtful contribution from BOB DUNCAN, Chair of the Scottish Labour History Society and a Strathaven resident The wreath-laying ceremony was performed by another Strathaven resident, KIRSTEN HOLMAN a daughter of the newly elected local SNP Councillor, William Holman , and Chairperson IAN BAYNE concluded the proceedings by combining a Vote of Thanks & a Financial Appeal which raised about " £40.00 ".

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'PURLIE' WILSON's PORTRAIT ON SHOW AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

In her new role as CULTURE MINISTER LINDA FABIANI was recently being shown around the National Portrait Gallery by its Director, JAMES HOLLOWAY when he proudly pointed to a new acquisition - a portrait of JAMES 'PURLIE' WILSON no less He further explained that the said 'Purlie Wilson' was a character from a little known episode In Scottish history and that Linda would probably know little about him. As an 1820 Society member herself and a regular speaker at our annual Strathaven commemorations (see above tern) Linda was speedily able to put him right on that point, but in turn was sorry to hear that Mr Holloway himself had never heard of The 1820 SOCIETY The Chairperson will be writing to him soon to bring him up to speed.

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2006, at Sighthill.

The confirmed speakers for Sunday's rally at Sighthill were as follows:- Bailie Jim Todd - Lord Provost's deputy, Bob Doris - SNP, and Bill Speirs - ex STUC Leader, and Graham Campbell - SSP.

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2006, at Paisley.

Guest Speakers from RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL had also been invited to address the gathering. While Provost RONNIE BURNS from the ruling LABOUR Group was unable to attend and had already sent his apologies, the Opposition SNP Group was represented by Councillor DEREK MacKAY. In addition ex-councillor IAIN HOGG represented the SSP, while JOHN MacNAUGHTAN spoke on behalf of Paisley & District Trade Unions Council. (We were also hoping that one of our two Honorary Vice-Presidents, the veteran SNP councillor, JIM MITCHELL, himself also a past Chairman (1986-88) of The Society, would also be able to attend.)

Thanks to the initiative of committee member, MARION MacMILLAN we had booked a nearby scout hall for a reception for all those attending the commemoration - with Secretary LILY LOVE providing LIGHT REFRESHMENTS.

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Come along and pay your respects to the workmen, who were executed by the British State in their fight for freedom, and the others who were sentenced to be forcibly transported to do hard labour in Australia.

At the Battle of Bonnymuir on 5th April,1820, a band of working class Scots Radicals fought for their democratic rights against a troop of horse from the British Army.

The Radicals took cover behind a five foot dry-stane dyke, later known as "The Radical Dyke".

They were quickly over-powered and taken prisoner. Their two leaders - JOHN BAIRD from Condorrat and ANDREW HARDIE from Glasgow - were executed.

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OUR BRAND NEW MEMMORIAL AT BONNYMUIR 2007

BONNYMUIR

Click here to access BONNYMUIR

To see a map of where our new Bonnymuir Monument is located, click on: Bonnymuir site,

BAIRD, HARDIE, WILSON,

Without their sacrifices where would we be today ?

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We commemorate today not merely JOHN BAIRD and ANDREW HARDIE, the two working-class Scottish Radical martyrs, publicly executed in STIRLING on 8 SEPTEMBER, 1820 , allegedly for 'leading' the Rising but in reality for their outstanding commitment to the Cause of FREEDOM and (SOCIAL) JUSTICE, but also JAMES WILSON , the 'Strathaven Martyr' who on 30 August, 1820 suffered a similar fate for the same glorious cause.

In addition we commemorate their 19 Radical 'comrades' whose initial death sentences were commuted to sentences of transportation to Botany Bay in New South Wales - and in whose memory a plaque was erected on this monument.

On the erection of this SIGHTHILL MONUMENT itself in 1847 the remains of BAIRD and HARDIE, initially buried after their execution in a pauper's grave in STIRLING, were re-interred with honour - but without attendant publicity - in this cemetery - where the remains of another Bonnymuir Radical, ANDREW WHITE were also buried in 1873 after his return from exile in Australia.

In 1987 the remains of the 1820 historian and Gaelic scholar, SEUMAS MAC A GHOBHAINN were also scattered here - with the erection of his memorial in the year 2000. So we are treading on ground that is hallowed to all who continue the struggle for human - and Scottish - freedom.

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SIGHTHILL 2004

SIGHTHILL

Click here to access SIGHTHILL

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2004 Memorial service at Sighthill Cemetery,

Click here to access Sighthill Cemetery,

SIGHTHILL COMMEMORATION SPARKS SPONTANEOUS TRIBUTES,

Despite the absence of some invited guest speakers last year's annual SIGHTHILL Commemoration produced some fine tributes to the martyrs and their Radical comrades. Following formal addresses from two Glasgow city councillors - Bailie ALLAN STEWART, representing the Lord Provost and the ruling Labour Group, and Councillor JOHN MASON, Leader of the Opposition SNP Group (as well as from the redoubtable DONALD ANDERSON of the SSP, a literally last-minute substitute for his absent leader, Tommy Sheridan), there were a number of spontaneous contributions which chairperson PHIL McGHEE coaxed from the 'body of the kirk'. EDDIE McGUIRE, from the well-known folk group, THE WHISTLEBINKIES, stressed the cultural and educational importance of preserving the memory of the distinctive Scottish Radical tradition which his old History teachers had failed to emphasise.

In addition the Society's Secretary, LILY LOVE reminisced about her childhood visits to James Wilson's Monument in Strathaven which had awakened her respect for the struggles of our Radical forebears for Freedom and Social Justice, continuing down until the present day ... La Lutte continues. The struggle goes on...,

GRAHAM CAMPBELL of the Sighthill Community 'One Stop Shop' who was patriotically draped in the Jamaican flag - stressed the international appeal of the Radicals ideals, while simultaneously applauding their local historical legacy, as safeguarded by the Society, and a young Argentinian piper played us a few laments and Highland Cathedral, while veteran member JIMMY WILSON expressed a desire for great or cross-party co-operation in contemporary Scotland if the Radicals democratic ideals were ever to be realised in their own land. Following vice-chairperson IAN BAYNE's Financial Appeal - which raised " £52.00 " - Jimmy then led the gathering in the singing of "A Man's A Man For A' That" to conclude the proceedings.

Earlier in the short march from the cemetery gates to the Monument, bag-piper TONY DONNELLY, led the Society's banner, which had been carried by ERIC NELSON & JACQU1 QUIGLEY. MORAG McLAREN laid the Society's wreath at the start of the ceremony.

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REMEMBER THOMAS MUIR OF HUNTERSHILL...,

Following the Commemoration most participants managed to find their way to the Thomas Muir Cafe in Bishopbriggs, where they were first refreshed by ample supplies of sandwiches etc. washed down by a variety of refreshments, generously laid on by the management, before listening to an enthralling half-hour Talk on THOMAS MUIR, the founding-father (back in the 1790s in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution) of Scottish Democracy and the Scottish Radical tradition. This Talk was given by the owner, JOHN WATSON, aided and abetted by his friend, the guitar-playing DAVID WATERSTON, who also sang some appropriate Radical songs including Burns's SCOTS WHA HAE, and Adam McNaughtan's modern folk ballad, REMEMBER THOMAS MUIR OF HUNTERSHILL.

Subsequently members inspected the fine Memorial to Thomas Muir, which in recent years Mr Watson and others had campaigned to have erected outside the cafe in Crowhill Road, Auchinairn, itself located across the road from Muir's old family home of Huntershill House.

The Society's resident unofficial photographer, BILL MEJURY was on hand with his camera to record the occasion.

DEMOLITION THREAT TO HUNTERSHILL HOUSE

According to a news item in the Kirkintilloch Herald in late June 2005, East Dunbartonshire Council is apparently considering the 'option' of demolishing Huntershill House, the family home of THOMAS MUIR, the great 18th century founding-father of the Scottish Radical & Democratic tradition, on the specious grounds that it has fallen into a state of disrepair which the council presumably (?) cannot afford to remedy. Members should not hesitate to voice their protests against such an act of obvious historical vandalism.

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We would also like to thank John Quinn for kindly giving us the use of the photographs which he has taken

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Click here to access Woodside 2004

An extract from The Paisley Daily Express, Friday, August 20, 2004

POPULAR ACTIVIST REMEMBERED AT SPECIAL CEREMONY

Bench to be unveiled in memory of historian

By DEREK PARKER

A PROMINENT Paisley community activist will be remembered at a poignant ceremony in the town tomorrow. A beautiful bench will be unveiled in the grounds of Woodside Cemetery as a memorial to proud Buddie John Murphy, who passed away two years ago.

The ceremony takes place at the annual commemoration of three men executed for their part in the 1820 Radical Rising, which was actively supported by the Paisley weavers. The evocative event has been organised by the 1820 Society, which keeps alive the memory of the three martyrs - John Baird, Andrew Hardie and James Wilson -who are commemorated by a monument at Woodside Cemetery.

Mr Murphy was a founding father and passionate member of the 1820 Society, and he financed it single-handedly during periods of difficulty in the 1970's and 80's when it struggled to get off the ground.

Paisley SNP councillor, Jim Mitchell, an honorary vice-president of the society, will perform the unveiling of the bench.

There will also be a tribute to Mr Murphy given by Ian Bayne, the society's past chairperson. The bench, which will be placed beside the 1820 Martyr's Memorial, will be inscribed with the simple message 'In Memory of John Murphy of Paisley (1926-2002), Founder of the 1820 Society'.

Other speakers at the event will include Renfrew SNP councillor, Derek Mackay, former Seedhill Scottish Socialist councillor, lain Hogg, and local UNISON trade union representative, John McNaughtan.

Hunterhill resident Mr Murphy was a keen amateur historian. And he was well known for producing books about Paisley's Covenanting martyrs 'James Algie and John Park' and the Reverend Patrick Brewster, the 19th century Paisley Abbey minister who championed the town's working classes and fought for better living and work opportunities for poorer people.

A member of 'The Old Paisley Society', 'Paisley Photographic Society' and 'Lochfield and Hawkhead Community Council', Mr Murphy was 75 when he died after a long illness just over two years ago.

"John Murphy was a modern Paisley Radical and was very proud of his native Paisley," said Mr Bayne. "He certainly deserves to be commemorated in his native town"

Those attending tomorrow's ceremony should meet outside the cemetery gates in Broomlands Street at 11.3Oam for the wreath-laying ceremony at noon. The commemorative speeches and the unveiling of the John Murphy Memorial Bench will follow this.

We would also like to thank John Quinn for kindly giving us the use of the photographs which he has taken.

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THE INSURRECTION

1820 is the year of the so-called Scottish Insurrection. The events, which were to culminate in the execution of three weavers for high treason, were, however, in large part the expression of the resentment many in Scotland felt for having fought for Britain against Napoleon only to return home and find themselves treated as seditious rabble and industrial scrap.

Attempts had been made by the authorities, after the Napoleonic War, to relieve the hardship caused by unemployment. The Town Council of Glasgow, for instance, employed 324 workless to restyle Glasgow Green. Relief centres were also opened up in the town; but charity did little to ameliorate what was seen as the root of the problem. If the disaffected, as the government called them, were to continue to be intransigent, there was but one solution, namely to create a head-on collision that would put the radical movement in its place.

In 1820, government spies once again were ordered to infiltrate the radical ranks. They encouraged the radicals to form a Committee of Organisation for Forming a Provisional Government, and on 1st April placards appeared on the streets of Glasgow, calling for an immediate national strike and a rising on 5th April:

"To show the world that we are not that lawless, sanguinary' rabble which our oppressors would persuade the higher circles we are but a brave and generous people determined to be free."

The Proclamation, making reference, as it did, to the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights, was probably written by a government spy. Throughout Scotland some 60,000 stopped work on 1st April. Yet unknown to the rank and file of the radical movement, twenty-eight members of the so-called provisional government were in Glasgow jail and had been since 21st March when they had been quietly arrested.

On April Fool's Day 1820, the streets of Glasgow were lined with troops. The government had called out the Rifle Brigade and the 83rd Regiment of Foot, together with the 7th and 10th Hussars, under the command of Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, the government's leading expert in cavalry tactics and expressly sent north by the Duke of York in case of disturbances. Samuel Hunter's Glasgow Sharpshooters were also on hand, under his personal command. There was a brief encounter in the evening when three hundred radicals skirmished with a party 'of cavalry', but no one came to harm that day.

At Fir Park, now Glasgow's Necropolis, seventy radicals had been directed by government agents to go to Falkirk, where English sympathisers, it was said, would join up with them and help take the Carron Iron Works. When the small band got there, they found nobody and half of them dispersed. Thirty radicals were resting at Bonnymuir, near Castlecary, when a troop of the 7th Hussars advanced towards them. Andrew Hardie, one of the radicals, recalled the scene:

"Some of our men were wounded in a most shocking manner, and it is truly unbecoming the character of a soldier to wound, or try and kill any man whom he has it in his power to take prisoner, and when we had no arms to make any defence."

Forty-seven radicals were ultimately rounded up and taken to the military prison at Stirling Castle. Twenty-four were tried and sentenced to death. One of the three hanged was a sixty-year-old weaver, James Wilson. A special English Court of Oyer and Terminer, a royal commission court with power to hear and determine criminal causes, was set up in Glasgow. Wilson made an impassioned speech to the court:

"You may condemn me to immolation on the scaffold, but you cannot degrade me. If I have appeared as a pioneer in the van of freedom's battles - if I have attempted to free my country from political degradation - my conscience tells me that I have only done my duty. Your brief authority will soon cease, but the vindictive proceedings this day shall be recorded in history".

Sentence was passed by Lord President Hope. Wilson was to be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, hanged, then his head severed from his body and his corpse quartered. Twenty thousand people witnessed James Wilson's execution on Glasgow Green. His remains were spared quartering and were ultimately allowed to rest in Strathaven, the village of his birth, where in his younger days, it is said, he had invented the purl stitch.

Two other radicals, John Baird a thirty-two year old weaver from Condorrat, and Andrew Hardie, a weaver from Glasgow aged twenty-eight were executed in Stirling, watched by a crowd of 2000. The night before Hardie wrote to his girlfriend:

"I shall die firm to the cause in which I embarked, and although we were outwitted and betrayed, yet I protest, as a dying man, it was done with good intention on my part... No person could have induced me to take up arms to rob or plunder; no, my dear Margaret, I took them for the restoration of those rights for which our forefathers bled, and which we have allowed shamefully to be wrested from us."

The authorities had trouble in finding someone who would chop off the heads of the two radicals at Stirling. Nine days before the execution two town clerks were sent to 'engage an executioner'. One went to Glasgow, where he witnessed James Wilson's execution and noticed he was first hanged by an executioner and then had his head severed by another masked man 'in a long robe'. Glasgow's hangman demanded ten guineas per victim and, grudgingly, the Stirling Town Clerk agreed to pay it. The decapitator was found in Edinburgh. He demanded twenty guineas per victim for what was regarded as a more dangerous job as the crowd would almost certainly react to his gory task.

The sentences of nineteen other radicals captured after Bonnymuir were commuted to transportation to New South Wales, seven for life and twelve for fourteen years. Peter Mackenzie, a Glasgow journalist, campaigned to have them pardoned. He published a small book en-titled, "The Spy System, including the exploits of Mr Alex. Richmond, the notorious Government Spy of Sidmouth and Castlereagh."

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Extract from:

SCOTTISH LABOUR HISTORY REVIEW

Page 14

(Winter, 1994 / Spring 1995)

Scottish Democracy's First Martyrs

A Visit To The Political Martyrs Monument, Edinburgh.

By IAN BAYNE

On a late November afternoon last year, while attending Democracy For Scotland's re-call rally on the Calton Hill, I slipped off to visit the monument to the Political Martyr's of the 1790's, erected in the Old Calton cemetery 150 years ago this year.

As I wasn't quite sure where it was, I had to ask an Edinburgh policewoman for directions. She hadn't a clue, though she kindly suggested that I would be as well to 'ask a tourist', a sad commentary on our collective lack of respect for the political struggles of our Radical ancestors.

Fortunately, the young man at 'Democracy For Scotland' stall beside the 'Vigil' caravan was able to point me in the right direction to the cemetery on the other side of the road, and within a couple of minutes I was confronting the Imposing memorial stretching 90 feet into the Edinburgh skyline in the style of Cleopatra's Needle. It's main inscription states simply:

"TO THE MEMORY OF THOMAS MUIR, THOMAS FYSSHE PALMER, WILLIAM SKIRVING, MAURICE MARGAROT AND JOSEPH GERRALD.

Erected by the Friends of Parliamentary Reform in England and Scotland 1844"

The most famous of these men was of course the Glasgow advocate. THOMAS MUIR of Huntershlll, a founding father of the Scottish Society of the Friends of the People, an organisation set up in the aftermath of the French Revolution to campaign for parliamentary reform as well as separate parliaments for Scotland and Ireland. It held Its first Convention-attended by 160 delegates mainly from the towns and villages of the central belt - in Edinburgh from 11th to 13th December 1792, almost exactly 200 years to the date before the 'Democracy March' at the Euro-Summit on 12th December 1992.

In perhaps an unwise excess of Radical enthusiasm Muir read out to the Convention fraternal Address from the revolutionary and republican Society of United Irishmen; and at his subsequent rigged trial for sedition in August 1793 he was sentenced - by the Infamous 'hanging judge' Lord Braxfield - to 14 years transportation. Although he escaped from Botany Bay and survived to become an honorary 'citoyen' of Republican France, Muir never again returned to his native land and had to settle instead for a purely supportive role In the ensuing agitation of the Society of United Scotsmen, seeking the support of the French government, already at war wlth England, for the establishment of a Scottish Republic.

In September 1793 a fellow-delegate of Muir's at the Edinburgh Convention, the Rev. THOMAS FYSSHE PALMER, a Dundee-based (and English-born) Unitarian minister and~ prominent Radical pamphleteer, was sentenced to 7 years in Botany Bay where he served out his sentence before dying from dysentery on the voyage home.

In January 1794 W1LLIAM SKIRVING, the plodding Fifeshire farmer who had been appointed Secretary of the Convention and had organised a further two Conventions in 1793 was sentenced to 14 years ' transportation ' after being accused at his trial of seeking an independent 'Scottish Republic or Democracy.' Similarly vicious sentences were also meted out in subsequent show trials to both MAURICE MARGAROT and JOSEPH GERRALD, both actually English delegates to the third Edinburgh Convention, which had met intermittently in the face of the government's disapproval between late October and early December 1793.

Only Margarot survived his sentence to return to Britain where he died penniless in 1815; Gerrald, already suffering from T.B. before his arrest, had died in Botany Bay in March 1796, aged 36 - to be followed a mere three days later by the older Skirving, a devout Christian as well as a Radical, cruelly separated from his wife and large family.

A quarter of a century after this attempted brutal suppression of Scotland's infant Radical movement, another of the delegates at the third Edinburgh Convention, JAMES WILSON, a 60-year-old Strathaven weaver, was executed in Glasgow for his ultimately non violent role in the 1820 Rising.

Another inscription on the Old Calton Monument is the following quotation from Muir's speech from the dock, which is said to have Inspired Burns to write Scots Wha Hae:

"I have devoted myself to the cause of the People; it is a good cause; it shall finally triumph."

And there is a third inscription - from William Skirving's speech at his trial:

"I know that what has been done these two days will be re-judged."

We owe it to the memory of these brave men, the true founding fathers of the Scottish National and Democratic Movement, to continue the long struggle and complete their unfinished agenda. (Avanti populo!)

By IAN BAYNE

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Schedule of meetings for the 2006/2007 sessions:

Please note that the next committee meeting of the 1820 Society will take place at:,

and will be held at

No. 93 Hope Street

Glasgow

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Anyone who is interested is eligible to join the society. Annual fees for 2007/08 are: minimum "£20.00 " corporate, "£8.00 " waged and "£4.00 " for unwaged and students.

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Contact: -

Membership Secretary:William Douglas

The 1820 Society

252 Nether Auldhouse Road

GLASGOW

G43 1LS

e-mail: the1820society@aol.com

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Please note that the next AGM meeting of the 1820 Society will take place on:,

Sunday th October 2009

At 2.00pm

In The Woodside Halls

Glenfarg St

Off St George's Rd

St George's Cross

Glasgow

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BOOKS

RADICAL GLASGOW- a skeletal sketch of Glasgow's radical tradition by JOHN COUZIN,

The above 90-page booklet, published in August by Clydeside Press, is available at the author's request to members of the 1820 Society at a special 37.5% discount price of "£5.00 ".

It contains a chapter on '1820' (as well as an illustration of the Sighthill Monument on the front cover), a chapter on Thomas Muir, a chapter on the 1787 strike of the Calton weavers as well as chapters on the 1888 formation of the original Scottish Labour Party, on John MacLean, on the 1926 General Strike and - nearer our own time - on the 1971/72 " UCS WORK-IN." (It also includes a bibliography incorporating '1820' references.)

The Society's committee recommends it to members as a particularly good buy, and has indeed already purchased a dozen copies for resale - - members wishing a copy should send a crossed cheque or P.O. for "> £6.00 " (incl. p&p) made out to "The 1820 Society" to our Membership Secretary, WILLIAM DOUGLAS (address above).

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"The Scottish Insurrection of 1820" (2001 Edition) by P.B.Ellis & S. Mac A' Ghobhainn,

The Society has also taken delivery during the summer of a fresh batch of 10 copies of the above seminal full-length study of the 1820 Rising, co-authored - with a brand new Preface and an up-dated bibliography - by our Honorary President, PETER BERRESFORD ELLIS, and published for the first time in 2001 by a Scottish firm, JOHN DONALD (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd.) Hurry, hurry, hurry, to place your orders-while stocks last - with Membership Secretary, WILLIAM DOUGLAS (address above). Send crossed cheques or P.O.s for "£12.99 " (incl. p&p) made out to "The 1820 Society."

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NEWS

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SOCIETY DONATES NEW SHIELD TO SIGHTHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL -

CHAIR, MAKES PRESENTATION AT SCHOOL PRIZE GIVING

At the end of June, Chairperson PHIL McGHEE, accompanied by Secretary LILY LOVE, attended the annual Prize-giving at Sighthill Primary School, where - after giving a short address - Phil presented the handsome new " Bi-Centenary Shield ", donated by the Society, to the top boy & girl pupils of the winning Baird House.

Older members will re-call that almost 20 years ago the Society had donated the initial shield to the school in recognition of the work done by the school's staff & pupils alike to preserve the memory of the 1820 Radicals, commemorated in the nearby cemetery where BAIRD & HARDIE lie buried - along with their comrade, ANDREW WHITE, initially transported to Botany Bay in 1820, but 'repatriated' to Scotland later in life, and prior to his death in Glasgow in 1872.

The school's four houses are named after these three 'Bonnymuir veterans' as well as after JAMES WILSON, the leading 'Strathaven Radical'. As the spaces for the inscription of the names of the winning houses had been exhausted on the original shield it was necessary for the school to have a new one, which the Society was delighted to provide. It has enough spaces to last the school until the year 2020, the bi-centenary of the 1820 Rising.

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STRATHAVEN COMMEMORATION FILMED FOR POSTERITY!

As usual this year's Strathaven Rally co-incided with the final day - Saturday 11th June - of Strathaven's annual Gala Week. Members in attendance first participated in the official Gala Day Parade through the town - with the Society's banner being valiantly carried through the streets by Membership Secretary WILLIAM DOUGLAS & RALPH LOWE. Simultaneously we also distributed 'fliers' publicising the ensuing commemoration ceremony and local hero JAMES WILSON's role in 'The Rising' as well as small 1820 Society pennants with the slogan "Scotland Free - or a Desert" and the names of the three executed 1820 martyrs inscribed on them.

These proceedings - together with the actual commemoration itself at the town's James Wilson Monument - were partially filmed (for posterity!) by a two-man film crew from the Media Studies Department of Glasgow's Cardonald College, headed by young GRANT CONNELL - who also conducted a live on-camera interview with the Society's chairperson PHIL McGHEE

STEPHEN SMILLIE of UNISON, already a veteran at these annual commemorations, led the tributes following the well-attended wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument. He was ably assisted by DOUGLAS EDWARDS, the SNP's candidate for EAST KILBRIDE at the recent Westminster Election, as well as by KEVIN McVEY, representing the SSP.

Our chairperson was also pleased to welcome the attendance at the event of Ms. HEATHER YOUNG, a Strathaven resident who is also a direct descendant from Mrs. LILLIAS WALTERS, a daughter of JAMES WILSON himself

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ANNUAL SIGHTHILL COMMEMORATION

The year's Commemoration Rally at the restored MARTYR'S MONUMENT in SIGHTHIILL CEMETERY, GLASGOW - where BAIRD and HARDIE are buried - has been arranged for SUNDAY 4th SEPTEMBER, 2005. (Apologies for change of date, as previously intimated in May/June Newsletter.)

Members and Friends should assemble at the cemetery gates in Springburn Road, Glasgow, opposite Costco, at 2.00 p.m.,and proceed thereafter - at about 2.30 p.m. - to the Monument - where the usual wreath-laying ceremony followed by some commemorative speeches will occur.

Invitations to address the Rally have been issued to Glasgow's LORD PROVOST, LIZ CAMERON (or her representative) as well as to BOB THOMSON ,the former UNISON official and ex-SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY Treasurer, the Glasgow List MSPs, SANDRA WHITE of the SNP and the SSP's ROSIE KANE, and to GRAHAM CAMPBELL of the Sighthill Community One-Stop-Shop.

As this is the main event on the Society's calendar, PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND.

Remembrance Goes On.

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LINKS,

Feedback is welcome by e-mail to THE 1820 SOCIETY

e-mail: the1820society@aol.com

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Click here to learn about our visit to the Weaver's Cottage in Kilbarchan with The Strathleven Artizans

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Click here to access The Ballad of Bonnymuir

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Click here to access an article on The 1820 Society, and other related information

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Click here to access information on forthcoming Scottish events Crann Tara's Website

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Click here if you are interested in Scottish Heritage

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Click here if you are interested in Debating

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Click here to access more information about The 1820 Rising

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Click here to access more information on the history of The 1820 Rising

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Click here to access The William Wallace Society

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