Permanent Civic Tribute to Scouting in Paisely
To celebrate over 100 years of Scouting in Paisley and District, the The Paisley and District Scout Council has gifted Renfrewshire Council with a statue of a bust of a Scout, which was recently unveiled at a civic reception in the town. Here, District Chairman Dan Harper tells the story of the project.
The late Prof. Roy Sinclair, former District Commissioner of Paisley and Area Commissioner of Renfrewshire, orginally had the idea of making a gift to the area that would appropriately celebrate our centenary.
He wanted the celebrations of the founding of the Scout movement by Baden-Powell to be marked by a tangible gift to the Town, that would commemorate the past and encourage ongoing interest and appeal for the future of the Scouting movement by erecting a monument in Paisley.
Commemorating Scouting's Contribution
Roy Sinclair was the inspiration behind many of the activities during the 2007 Celebrations, including running an exhibition of the past 100years of Scouting in the Paisley Museum illustrating the contribution Scouting had played in the Town's history which attracted many visitors.
Unfortunately Roy's health was in decline due to a serious illness and the last event he proudly attended was the Centenary Celebration Service held in Paisley Abbey.
Before his death at the end of May in 2007, Roy contacted Sandy Stoddart, the local sculptor and Royal Sculptor in Ordinary and asked if he would accept a commission from the District to cast an appropriate bust to represent the “Iconic Scout”, which, Sandy being a former Scout himself readily accepted.
Finding an 'iconic Scout'
The search was then on to find a model for the proposed bust and a visit to Oldhall Scout Troop by Sandy and District President Tom Nixon one Friday evening was fruitful.
Rory Hughes was eventually chosen, and after many sittings in Sandy's studio at the University of the West of Scotland, the clay bust was ready to be sent for casting.
On completion of the bronze cast, the first people to view the Bust in Sandy's studio, were Elen Sinclair (widow of Roy), Tom Nixon and Bill Duncan .
Words could not describe the feeling that day as they viewed the workmanship of Sandy, who seemed to have captured what Roy's vision had been., the “Iconic Scout”.
Finding the right site
Bill Duncan, then took on the task along with Sandy, of finding an appropriate site for the bust , and after many lengthy discussions with the Town Planners, a site was found outside the Library and Museum.
The money for the bust had been donated to the District and the only thing left to find money for was the plinth for the bust, which was also designed by Sandy.
We applied for various grants and was successful in obtaining a suitable funding from the Renfrewshire Environmental Trust, thus completing the project.
The Bust was unveiled by Elen Sinclair while I officially handed it over to Provost Celia Lawson, who accepted the gift on behalf of Renfrewshire Council.
The Council hosted a Civic Reception to mark the occasion of the gift from The Paisley and District Scout Association with many members present.
And now every time a member of the public visits the library or museum, they are reminded of the strong role that Scotuing has played in the Town's history.
