Parade safety worries

Members of the Scottish National Party were at odds with the police over arrangements for the 1959 annual Bannockburn Day parade through the town.

Convener of the SNP’s national demonstration committee Mr RC Campbell wrote to Stirling Town Council seeking permission for a march through the town and a political demonstration in Corn Exchange Road, in front of the Municipal Buildings. The proposed event on June 20, 1959, was to replace the annual demonstration in King’s Park.

However, police said staging a demonstration in Corn Exchange Road would cause considerable congestion and was ‘not conducive to road safety’.

Senior officers also felt the parade through the main streets of the burgh would cause traffic jams and increase the potential for accidents.

Provost W Macfarlane Gray agreed with police and said King’s Park should be used for the event.

Council treasurer Dr Robert McIntyre, one of the leaders of the SNP, said it was difficult to find a place in Stirling where such events could be held.

However, he disagreed with police opinion regarding the parade, adding: “This has been going on for longer than the traffic. I think it would be extremely ill-advised and would show a lack of consideration for a large body of opinion throughout the country if the parade was stopped after 30 years.”

Councillors decided to refer the SNP requests to magistrates along with Dr McIntyre’s point about the lack of a focal point for an assemble in the centre of the town.

Binos line-up Stirling Albion team which played Third Lanark at Annfield. Back row: T Pettigrew, J Hailstones, G Stewart, J Sinclair, J Pierson and J McKechnie. Front row: J Ryce, I Spence, R Gilmour, W Benvie and R McPhee.