IN the wake of the UK Supreme Court’s rejection of the Scottish Government’s case for holding a referendum next October, thousands of independence supporters took to the streets waving the flag that commemorates a first century Christian martyr, but which is now and forever the symbol of Scotland.

As with a great deal of Scottish history, how many Scots know the story of the St Andrews Cross, the Saltire? Thankfully a bunch of hard working people at the Scottish Flag Trust are creating a facility to promote the Saltire and its history.

As we approach St Andrews Day on Wednesday I thought it would be a good idea to keep readers informed of the marvellous project to develop a centre to celebrate our national flag.

Simple, plain, memorable and beautiful the Saltire, or St Andrews Cross, is one of the oldest national flags in the world and has been in use by Scots since the ninth century.

The national flag centre is based in the East Lothian village of Athelstaneford, long credited as the birthplace of Scotland’s flag as it was there in 832AD that a white saltire appeared above an army of Picts and Scots that inspired them to victory against an army of Angles and Saxons.

The Pictish King Angus swore that he would adopt St Andrew as his kingdom’s patron saint if granted a win, and he kept his word.

That victory was a turning point for this nation, and just over a decade later Kenneth McAlpin united the Picts and Scots under his reign and what is now recognisably Scotland took shape.

With St Andrew as patron, the Saltire gradually became adopted as the national flag and has remained so for a thousand years and more.

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In June, The National reported on the completion of the £100,000 first stage of the project by the Scottish Flag Trust which involved renovating the Flag Centre in the famous Hepburn Doocot itself, standing close to the Memorial plinth commemorating the battle.

Now I can report that the Trust is unveiling designs for the next phase of work and having seen the plans for myself, I am truly excited by what they are proposing.

This next stage will see the current network of uneven gravel paths and steps replaced with new accessible paths suitable for all with an interpretive timeline explaining the adoption of the Saltire as Scotland’s national symbol from the battle of Athelstaneford through to the re-opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

The late great writer and historian Nigel Tranter lived locally and he considered Athelstaneford to hold a particularly significant place in Scotland’s story, stating that: “It can be given to few, if any nations, other than Scotland, to be able to point to a locality where its nationhood was conceived, if not yet quite born, its patron saint adopted, and its national flag established.”

What is the Trust now planning? Well let them tell you for themselves…

“An initial planning consent was issued in 2021 for the re-surfacing of key sections of the pathways with a resin bonded aggregate finish.

“The Trust is currently progressing designs to install a timeline of 10/12 stone roundels into the resurfaced pathway leading to the Heritage Centre, depicting key dates and events in the development of the Saltire from 832AD up to the present day.

“The roundels are being finalised by designer Ian Macintosh, and include the Saltire in the Seal of the Guardians (1286), the Saltire in the Douglas Standard (1388), the Saltire found in the Blue Blanket (1460), the Saltires flying on the Great Michael (1511), the yellow/blue saltire of the Appin Standard (1746) and the reverse Saltire of the flag of Nova Scotia (1929).

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“The costs of the upgrading of the pathways and the production of the timeline roundels will be known early in 2023 once the works have been out to tender, but it is anticipated that this will exceed £40,000. Contributions towards meeting this total have already been received from East Lothian Council and from the East Lothian Community Rail Partnership, and fundraising will continue to meet the balance.”

The Trust held a successful promotion of the development at Musselburgh Racecourse on Monday, and East Lothian Provost John McMillan spoke of the importance of the project.

Future plans include a comprehensive upgrade of the audio visual installations on the site, and a possible resetting of the Memorial.

The Trust explained: “Erected in 1965 to a design by local architect Eric Stevenson, the Memorial consists of a massive concrete plinth with a granite inset depicting the two armies facing each other beneath the cross in the sky. Attached to the Memorial is a tall flagpole, where a 5ft by 4ft Saltire flies constantly, floodlit at night, to mark the historic event.

“Landscape designers have been commissioned by the Trust to progress concept drawings of how the setting of the Memorial might best be enhanced, and a planning application is currently with East Lothian Council.

“The Memorial itself is in need of an uplift, and the options could involve a thorough cleaning, or a re-cladding in stone, with a new battle scene in bronze installed.”

I couldn’t leave this column without giving a history writer’s view of the Supreme Court judgment. As I have often pointed out, the Acts of Union contained no clauses on how one partner or other can leave that Union. But as the Saltire shows, the nation of Scotland was not subsumed entirely, merely our government, so that we ceased to be a separate state.

It is time for all supporters of the cause to realise that we we are not gaining new independence but re-gaining the independence that we had for centuries. We must convince our fellow Scots that we were once equal to England in status and that it is best for modern Scotland to go back to our historic past as a nation state in our own right.

How we do that is as yet undecided, but do it we must.