AS part of a new monthly feature focusing on the Yes movement of years gone by, The National has been asking readers submit photographs and memorabilia from pro-independence campaigning which took place long before the 2014 referendum.
We found many younger readers understand the independence conversation through the lens of the indyref onwards, but it is important to celebrate the people who put the work in for decades prior to the vote.
For the YESterday feature we’ve also been highlighting incredible old footage of people who were key in fighting for independence in politics and the media, starting last month with a popular selection of clips of Margo MacDonald’s work during the 1970s.
For those who’d like to submit their own memories – whether they are pictures of people at marches, old flags, badges, T-shirts, flyers, whatever you have – there will be a link at the end of this article.
READ MORE: Margo MacDonald's best moments fighting for Scottish independence in the 1970s
For today’s piece reader Stephen Malloy submitted this photograph of his brother Jeff, aged around 10, wearing his “Home Rule for Scotland” T-shirt during the early 1970s.
“My younger brother Jeff Malloy is aged approximately 10 in this photo. My mum, 90 and still going strong, is a lifelong SNP supporter and bought this for him,” he told The National.
“Sadly, we lost Jeff just months short of the 2014 referendum. He would have been devastated at the failure of Scotland to vote for indy but I’m sure he’s still there, somewhere, wishing and hoping for independence.”
Stephen said his brother’s enthusiasm for independence inspired those who knew him at a time when it “wasn’t a popular view”.
The reader, who has been pro-independence for decades, explained how the movement has changed in recent years.
READ MORE: SavantaComRes independence poll: Support for Yes and SNP sky-high
For him the best memory of the independence movement was “discovering the many sources of information that the explosion of social media unleashed”.
“For so many years the country had been subject to carefully tailored and slanted media advising Scotland that we would fail hopelessly as an independent nation,” Stephen explained.
“Suddenly, we had a raft of intelligent commentators, tweeters, bloggers, FaceBookers explaining, with facts, that the mainstream narrative of ‘too wee, too poor, too stupid’ was nonsense.
“The genie was finally out of the bottle.”
If you would like to submit your story and photographs for next month’s YESterday feature, follow this link.
YESterday: Send us your pictures from the indy movement of days gone by
The National is running a new monthly feature focused on the independence movement of years gone by. The independence conversation is often limited to 2014-now, freezing out the decades of campaigning that came before the referendum. We would love to see photos of pre-2014 marches, rallies and events - as well as pictures of old pro-independence or SNP badges, T-shirts, flyers, posters, or other merchandise. Help us tell the stories which are too often left out of the mainstream independence narrative! We'll be publishing the best submissions once a month online and in the newspaper.
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