Fitting tribute to William Lindsay is set in stone

William Fisher Lindsay was born in Edinburgh in 1928, but he spent most of his life in the Borders town.

He was educated at Loretto Nippers in Edinburgh and then Selkirk High School, before going on to Agricultural College. He then had a lengthy career in sheep shearing and forestry.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Mr Lindsay played rugby for Loretto Nippers and Selkirk RFC, but he soon realised his passion was in running and focused on this as his main sport, going on to represent Scotland in the International Cross-Country Championship in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1955.

He trained with both the Hawick and Gala Harriers and was very proud of the fact that he was one of the first Borderers to take part in the Ben Nevis Race, finishing in second place in 1956 and third in 1957.

He died in August 2016, and left substantial donations to many of the local clubs and organisations he had an association with during his life.

Selkirk Common Riding Trust, which was one of the beneficiaries of the estate, decided it wanted to make its own mark in recognition of the kindness and generosity shown by Mr Lindsay to his local community.

Provost of the Common Riding Trust, Keith Miller, said: “William Lindsay did so much for so many of the town’s organisations, helping people of all ages.

“So when Councillor Caroline Cochrane asked the trust if we wanted to donate to this cause, it was unanimously decided that we should just go ahead and pay for it.

“I think the finished piece is superb. It really does look good and it fits in well in the grounds.”

The new memorial was made by Selkirk stonemason Andrew Bunyan and was put in place earlier this year.

It had been hoped it would be unveiled by the Common Riding Trust at the annual appointment night in April, but the Covid-19 pandemic made this impossible.