It's with great sadness and a heavy heart that the Society announce that our ex Convenor and secretary for over 40 years, Willie Douglas, passed away yesterday morning at 2am. With losing Andy and Chris on Sunday this is not a great time for the Society. Willie was also a committee member of the 1820 Society for over 40 years and knows where the two Societies would be without him, and for that alone I take my hat off to him.

Even although Willie had taken a back seat at The Society he was always at events, especially Wallace Day, and it will never be the same again not seeing Willie there with his wee glass of red wine and his Society T-shirt on having a great time. He may have retired from the Society but his passion for all things Scottish never left him.

I was having a wee chat with him last year when he just said, "nothing major Gary, but you're doing a great job". Now for me coming from a man I had the utmost respect for meant so much to me. When Willie retired and Davy took over with Duncan as Vice Convenor it became very clear to all the amount of work that Willie had been doing to keep the Society going. It's all the back ground work that people don't see and take for granted.

Will miss you at Wallace Day my friend and sure you're up with all your fellow fallen patriots having a cheeky wee glass of red in Tir Nan Og, rest easy my friend till we meet again, Gary.

The day before Christmas Eve, a few Society members attended the funeral service of Sean Donnelly, who over recent years was one of our most active members and who, along with Cha Halliday, found and helped save the Port Glasgow Wallace Oak - something I hope all of you know about.

Sean was a massive patriot, very knowledgable about his nation's history, and very active in the Independence Movement. A Greenock boy, of course there was only one league football team for him - Greenock Morton, and naturally our national team, Scotland. Sean was the local man to go to, to get things organised, regularly sorting out buses and accommodation for bus-loads of Scotland supporters, both home and away. He was very active too in support of Morton.

A proud and attentive father of two children, and a doting grandad to three loving grandsons. A great friend to have, always helpful, great company and someone we will all miss. We in the SOWW would like to express our sincere and heartfelt sympathies to Jay, Sean's wife and all his family.

GK

It was with the deepest shock and regret that The Society of William Wallace learned about the death (from Covid 19) of one of the Society's few Lifetime Membership Award holders, Konstantina Ritsou in Athens on 11th January. Dina (as she was known) was a very special lady, and a wonderful friend to the Society, leaving behind many lasting friendships she made in Scotland. She travelled from Greece to speak passionately at Wallace Day at 2010 and 2013, and her words were spoken on her behalf at Wallace Day 2012 and at the Avoch Commemoration in 2019.
The Society of William Wallace was featured on one of her hour long Greek radio station broadcasts, interviewing a number of members of the Society and introducing the Society to the Greek public. She spoke with a deep conviction and passion for Scottish independence and her dramatic speeches, in what was not her native tongue, will never be forgotten by those in attendance.
All the more remarkable is the fact that Dina had survived a massive aneurysm in 2009, and encountered haematological problems in the years that followed. This serious medical condition forced Dina to retire as a doctor of cytopathology in 2010, but it did not quell her drive for life: amongst other things, she wrote three novels and a number of plays including one about Shakespeare that she brought to London; she starred in a number of theatre and television productions; she ran her own theatre company; she was a decorated academic and classical scholar; and she was a translator of of classical and modern plays. Her intention was to live out her life in an independent Scotland.
But even above all of that impressive CV, Dina was a wonderful, warm, generous, inspirational and loving person who believed in the welfare and equality of all human beings, and the right to a respectful life. She aligned herself with the oppressed. Her uncle was Yannis Ritsos, known by his peers as "the best European poet of the 20th century", many of whose words were put to music by the seminal Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. Dina wrote a very special book in 2011 entitled "The Boy and The Well of Memory" (the Kindle edition only is still available on Amazon), which is a novel with a Greek classical and metaphysical influence written predominantly from the perspective of Andrew de Moray about the quest for Scottish Independence during the days of Wallace, and also in the 21st century. "The Boy and The Well of Memory" was inspired by the young Glen Wood, whom Dina had seen in a SOWW photograph standing by Wallace's Well at Robroyston while she was researching Wallace and De Moray. She travelled to Scotland in order to meet Glen and members of the SOWW, and the warm welcome and encouragement she received led to the writing of the book.
Dina is survived by her mother and her sister, to whom the Society of Willaim Wallace send our deepest respects and condolences. It was an honour for the Society to bestow our Lifetime Membership Award to Dina in 2015 and to see how much it meant to this truly remarkable lady. Not only the Society, but the world is a poorer place for the loss of such a talented and good hearted person. Dina, it was the Society's great privilege to have known you. You were a proud Greek and a proud adopted Scot. To paraphrase your "co-author" Andrew de Moray on the last page of "The Boy and The Well of Memory" - Dina, the bells will sound for you......

Neil Lochiel