LOCAL HEROES

While cycling home from the dentist this morning I stopped at these sculptures which are part of a national artwork celebrating local heroes. Communities across the UK chose characters to represent them. These three people made a difference to Falkirk and beyond.

On the left we have Dr Harold Lyon who was born and educated in Edinburgh. By the late 1970’s Dr Lyon was a consultant in geriatric medicine at Falkirk Royal Infirmary. Through his work he knew the value of palliative care and wanted to establish a special centre to serve central Scotland. Strathcarron Hospice opened in 1981 and is considered a leading provider of palliative care.

In the centre we have Reginald Adams. A qualified timekeeper, judge, starter and referee, Reg dedicated fifty years to Scottish swimming. This Grangemouth man coached numerous Scottish champions and record holders, finally retiring at the age of eighty in 2009. He won the Sunday Mail Scottish Sports Hero Award and in 2010 was awarded an MBE for services to sport.

And on the right we have Robert Barr who in 1875 expanded his family’s business by selling carbonated soft drinks from premises in Burnfoot Lane, Falkirk. It proved so successful that soft drinks production quickly became the company’s sole activity. By 1904 the company had launched ‘Iron Brew’, subsequently renamed Irn-Bru, ‘Scotland’s other national drink’.