Last minute plea for march cash
The organiser of the annual procession to commemorate the Battle of Bannockburn is in‘desperate need of funds’just a day before the event.
The walk, which takes place tomorrow (Saturday), is set to attract hundreds of marchers.
But the organiser is now looking for funds to cover the cost of staging the event which marks the 1314 victory of King Robert the Bruce’s forces over the English.
Donald Anderson, leader of the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement who organises the march, says that funds are needed to cover the cost of supply of stage and equipment, portable toilets, subsidised buses, stewards, medics, pipers and musicians.
Mr Anderson, who plans to retire from organising the event after this year’s march, has been locked in a bitter dispute with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), who operate the Battle of Bannockburn site, over a request to take out public liability insurance to stage the event.
A letter from NTS bosses in March requested a copy of Public Liability Insurance cover, with a minimum coverage of at least £2 million. They were also asked to make provision to pay for repairs to the grounds for any damage caused and provision of security for the car park to ensure it remains free for use by other customers. They have also been told that any form of abuse towards NTS staff will not be tolerated and any incidents will result in the event not being welcome again in the grounds and the police being notified.
The event two years ago was marred by ugly scenes when an ultra–nationalist group clashed with an Irish Republican flute band at the Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre. A short time after marchers arrived at the centre, members of Coatbridge United Irishmen Flute Band marched up the heritage centre drive to the rotunda. The arrival of the Irish Republican band led to an angry exchange of words between their members and activists and the group Siol nan Gaidheal.
Mr Anderson has set up a Just Giving page in a bid to claw back some of the expenses of hosting the march. He had set an initial target of £1000, but that had already surpassed £1400 more than 24-hours before the event.
Mr Anderson said: “We have tried to keep the event alive, against fierce opposition from some agency’s quarters, since the SNP gave it up, hoping they would take it over again. This is most unlikely.
“All we are asking of those who are willing and able to make a donation, if you can, to keep the Bannockburn rally going, at least until independence.”
Earlier this month, the NTS said it was happy to welcome a commemorative, non-political march marking the anniversary of the battle, but a spokesperson added: “However, the march organisers proposed to hold a wider event and erect temporary structures such as toilets, stalls and staging in the grounds of the battlefield - this is not something covered by statutory rights of access.
“Whereas a march through the site would be covered by the Trust’s insurers in the event of damage, injury or worse, a third party-organised event with temporary structures would not, leaving the trust and organisers exposed to any claims.”
They added:“We gave the organisers two options: to proceed with the march by exercising their legal access rights responsibly; or to proceed with a fuller event with structures erected and insurance cover in place.”
Mr Anderson will give up hosting the annual march after this year’s event and hopes that it will be taken over by Scottish independence pressure group, All Under One Banner in future years.
Saturday’s procession will set off at 1.30pm from King’s Park and take in; Park Terrace; Port Street; St Ninians Road; Newhouse; Randolph Terrace; Main Street; McGrigor Road; Craigend Road; Barnsdale Road; Newpark Road; Nailer Road; Borestone Place; and Bannockburn field.