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Lord Cornet Elect 2004 Selected
This year's Lord Cornet will be William Wilson, for many years a stalwart of the biggest fund-raiser for the celebrations, the Silver Club.
The selection committee called at his home on Sunday, and he was proud to accept.
"I was very honoured," he said on Monday, "To be standard bearer for the town is a great honour, and I hope I will do it well."
William is originally from Chapelton - his family, farming stock, go back some 400 years there - but he worked all over the country, from Aberdeen to London before he and his wife Aileen decided to settle in Lanark.
"It is a nice place to bring your kids up," he said. "It is also the nicest town we have ever lived in - Lanark is a town with a soul, and I have always said that."
The couple have two daughters - 12-year-old Victoria who is at Lanark Grammar, and six-year-old Sarah who attends Lanark Primary and already has a place in the school Lanimer lorry this year.
William's working interests are diverse - he has his own property company, carries out joinery work, and is also an IT expert, now doing mostly graphics for websites. But it was his IT skills which took him into the Lanimer world.
He had been living in Lanark for only a few weeks in 1992 when the Silver Club newsletter came through his door, and he joined it. He then met the Silver Club organiser Ian Gray, and on learning that William had IT skills, Ian asked him to help with the club. By 1994 William had joined the Lanimer committee, and he went on to become treasurer of the Silver Club, joint convener of it with Ian, and then convener of it when Ian, who was also one of Lanark's Lord Cornets, stepped down.
Now William is looking forward to representing Lanark this year. With the European elections, the Lanimer celebrations are a week late this year and William has realised that he will be celebrating his 51st birthday during the Wednesday night rideout preceding Lanimer Day, June 17.
Lanark & Carluke Gazette
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Lanark's new Lord Cornet is to be William Wilson, the man spearheading Lanimers' largest fund-raiser.
Mr Wilson (51), who lives in Hyndford Road, is convener of the Lanimer Committee's Silver Club, the main fund-raiser for the June celebrations.
He was honoured and proud to be asked to be the town's standard bearer, adding: "Lanark is a town with a soul, it really is, with real community spirit and nice people."
Originally from Chapelton, he is married with two daughters, Victoria and Sarah, both of whom will be on Lanimer lorries this year.
Mr Wilson and his wife Aileen are both keen gardeners, and have tended to dominate South Lanarkshire's best gardens competition in the last six years, twice having the best ornamental garden in Clydesdale, and for the Lanark area having picked up five firsts and a second place.
An IT consultant, specialising mainly in website graphics, Mr Wilson also has a property development company.
But Lanimers is one of his driving passions, especially the Silver Club, which he says could practically make the annual spectacle self-supporting if only every Lanarkian would but a ticket.
"I just hope that this honour will prompt people to think about Lanimers, and persuade them to go out and buy a ticket, which would give them a chance of winning a valuable prize as well as helping safeguard Lanark's traditions," said Mr Wilson.
Lanark & Carluke Advertiser
Thursday, January 29, 2004