Wallace Sword is discovered in Clyde

Paddlers found rusty bit of iron at Bothwell Bridge

A three-year mystery over the whereabouts of the Wallace Sword came to an end in October, 1939, when what appeared to be a rusty piece of iron was found in the Clyde at Bothwell Bridge, near Hamilton.

Four masked men stole the sword from the Wallace

Monument on November 8, 1936. Caretaker Mr William Kidd said the thieves declared themselves to be Scottish Nationalists.

The sword was found by men and boys paddling in the Clyde at Bothwell Bridge.

They saw what they thought was a large and rusted piece of iron, about five long, and handed it in to Bothwell Police Office where it was placed in the lost property department.

A prominent Stirlingshire police official and another man later visited the station during a quest to find the sword.

They were informed of the find, four weeks earlier, and identified it as the sword. It was then taken into the possession of Stirlingshire Police.

The Wallace Sword was placed in the monument in 1888 after being transferred from Dumbarton Castle where it had reputedly lain since 1305 following the betrayal and capture of Wallace at Robroyston.

However, experts have cast doubt on whether it was the weapon wielded by Wallace at the Battle of Stirling in 1297 and the Battle of Falkirk,1298.

It suggested the sword is an amalgam of others and similar to two-handed swords commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In 1912, during a visit to the monument, suffragette Ethel Moorhead smashed the glass in which the sword was displayed.

She was arrested and spent six days in prison but achieved her goal of drawing attention to rights for women as the matter was reported in the press.