Ian Hamilton 97 Who Stole a Scottish Relic From Westminster Abbey Dies Robbery - Obituary HEAD TOPICS

Ian Hamilton 97 Who Stole a Scottish Relic From Westminster Abbey Dies

10/22/2022 9:27:00 PM

In an audacious caper he and three other Scottish nationalists liberated the Stone of Destiny nearly 700 years after England had seized it from Scotland

Robbery Obituary

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New York Times World

In 1950, Ian Hamilton and three other Scottish college students broke into Westminster Abbey with a crowbar and stole the massive Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scottish sovereignty taken during England’s conquest of Scotland in 1296. In an audacious caper he and three other Scottish nationalists liberated the Stone of Destiny nearly 700 years after England had seized it from Scotland “The jimmy!” Mr. Vernon cried, demanding the only tool that they had brought with them, a crowbar.Mr. Hamilton ran back to the car to retrieve it.They moved swiftly into the darkness of the abbey and found their way to the Coronation Chair. They pried off a wooden retaining bar across the front of the chair, but freeing the stone was more difficult. They pushed and jimmied it until they were able to lift it and carry it for a yard before realizing that it was too heavy to take any further. Read more:
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With Swift in London , JOSH DUBOFF hears about the strength they’ve given her, the terrifying four A.M. decision to send her now famous letter to Apple, and her new attitude toward men Gavin Vernon began to attack the pine door at the Poets’ Corner entrance to the abbey.Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington Try High-Low Fashion A La Sharon Stone by 10.Archaeologists in northern Germany have unearthed 10,000-year-old cremated bones at a Stone Age lakeside campsite that was once used for spearing fish and roasting hazelnuts, major food sources for groups of hunter-gatherers at that time.October 19, 2022 The museum’s Vice President of Marketing & Business Development Noah Cruickshank said the support is meaningful to the museum in a moment when anti-Semitic rhetoric is widespread. No one saw or stopped them. “Gavin put his shoulder to the door,” Mr.22 Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images It’s still over a week until Halloween, but Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington have their joint costume sorted out. Hamilton wrote in a 1952 book, “No Stone Unturned,” but it barely budged. The campsites changed over time, the research shows. “The jimmy!” Mr. Not particularly timely costumes, but definitely fashionable ones. Vernon cried, demanding the only tool that they had brought with them, a crowbar. “We are always welcoming folks to interact with us whether that is online or in person,” he said. Mr. Theron, who plays Lady Leonora, the Dean of the School of Evil, in the film, dressed the part at the premiere, wearing an all-black ensemble courtesy of Dior. "Because the sausages were not ready, Bokelmann told his students that if they found anything [in the bog nearby], then he would give them a bottle of Champagne," he said. Hamilton turned to Mr. Stuart: “The jimmy!” “What?” said Mr. On top, she opted for a sheer black button down with a black bra visible underneath, and a trio of flowers decorating the neckline. Stuart. The first sites investigated by Bokelmann in the 1980s were on islands that would have been near the western shore of the lake, which has completely silted up over the last 8,000 years or so, and formed a peat bog, called a"moor" in Germany. “I thought you had it. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images Theron was joined on the red carpet by her costar Washington, who fittingly portrays Professor Clarissa Dovey, Dean of the School for Good, in the film. ” Mr. Hamilton ran back to the car to retrieve it. The ensemble was courtesy of Ralph Lauren, and resembled similar high-low looks the designer just presented at his spring 2023 collection last week. Unlike during the later Mesolithic era, when specific areas were set aside for the burial of the dead, at this time it seemed the dead were buried near where they died, he said. Soon the door’s woodwork and padlock gave away. “You sort of know that when you take a crowbar to a side door of Westminster Abbey and jimmy the lock that there really isn’t any going back, don’t you?” Mr. On top, Washington wore a cropped polo with the designer’s monogram stitched onto the left chest. Hamilton told British newspaper The Telegraph in 2008. In any case,"burning the body seems to be a central part of burial rituals at this time," Lübke said. They moved swiftly into the darkness of the abbey and found their way to the Coronation Chair. But one has to imagine that either way, they both had Stone and Zendaya in the back of their minds when discussing these looks. They pried off a wooden retaining bar across the front of the chair, but freeing the stone was more difficult. They pushed and jimmied it until they were able to lift it and carry it for a yard before realizing that it was too heavy to take any further. As a reminder, Zendaya attended the 2022 Academy Awards in a Valentino ensemble featuring a silver, sequin-covered column skirt with a train, paired with a cropped white button down. The Mesolithic sites at Duvensee are about the same age as the Mesolithic site at Star Carr in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, and some of the artifacts found there are very similar, Lübke said. They then heaved the stone onto Mr. Hamilton’s coat, hoping to slide it to freedom. Clearly, as it is still being referenced to this day. But as he pulled at one of the stone’s iron rings, it came apart, one chunk of about 100 pounds, another more than double that weight. related stories—See a stunning, life-like reconstruction of a Stone Age woman —Pottery, swords and jewelry: Rich Stone Age and early medieval graves found in Germany —Old Stone Age culture discovered in China Ulf Ickerodt (opens in new tab), head of Schleswig-Holstein's State Archaeology Department, said the latest find at Duvensee is of global significance. Mr. Hamilton ran outside, almost giddily, lugging the smaller piece. The fourth member of the group, the getaway driver, Kay Matheson , drove up, and Mr." But he noted that the preservation of organic finds in the Duvensee region is threatened by climatic changes that could result in heavy rain and flooding, or dry periods. Hamilton laid it on the back seat. As he did so Ms. Matheson urgently told him that she had been spotted by a police officer. Mr. Hamilton hopped in the car, and when the officer approached, he and Ms. Matheson pretended to be an amorous couple. Arousing no suspicions, they drove away. The two other students fled, leaving the rest of the stone behind. Mr. Hamilton returned later with the other car, dragged the remaining stone to it, and drove off. The audacious caper captivated Britain for months. The British police began a manhunt. Cars were stopped at roadblocks. Bodies of water were dredged. The border between Scotland and England across the Cheviot Hills was temporarily closed. Image British police retrieving the stone from Arbroath Abbey in Scotland in April 1951. Credit... PA Images via Getty Images Ian Robertson Hamilton was born on Sept. 13, 1925, in Paisley, Scotland, just north of Glasgow, to John and Martha (Robertson) Hamilton. His father was a tailor. His mother fired his nationalism with stories about the Stone of Destiny. Ian served in the Royal Air Force as a flight mechanic, enrolled at the University of Glasgow in 1948 and became one of two million Scots to sign the Scottish Covenant, a petition to Britain demanding home rule. Mr. Hamilton found a patron for his raid on the abbey in John MacCormick, a leading advocate of Scottish autonomy, who gave the group 50 pounds for their expenses. Radio programs reported the theft on Christmas. For the students, every passing police car prompted concern. Fearing capture, they hid the stone — at least the larger portion of it — in an overgrown rural area in Kent, England. A day or so later, they moved it to a wooded area in Rochester. Ms. Matheson had hidden the other piece in Birmingham. On Dec. 30, the group issued a letter to King George VI, offering to return the stone if it were repatriated to Scotland, but promising to make it available for future British coronations. Mr. Hamilton and a crew of new recruits dug up the stone and ferried it to Scotland, anointing it with a splash of Scotch whisky as they crossed the border. This time it was hidden in the cellar of a factory outside Glasgow by a local politician who arranged to have the two pieces rejoined. The four plotters were interrogated by a Scotland Yard detective in March 1951, but they denied any involvement and none were arrested. In April, deciding that he had done all he could to advance Scottish nationalism, Mr. Hamilton decided to surrender the stone anonymously. He, the politician who had repaired it and another nationalist friend laid it at the altar in the ruins of the Abbey of Arbroath, about 100 miles northeast of Glasgow. A week later, the British government announced that it would not prosecute. Hartley Shawcross, the attorney general of Britain, scorned the group’s “vulgar acts of vandalism” but chose not to charge them and risk turning them into martyrs. Assured of their freedom, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Stuart and Mr. Vernon handed out statements to reporters in Glasgow identifying their roles in the stone’s liberation. Mr. Hamilton finished his legal studies and became a renowned criminal lawyer and an active member in Scottish National Party politics. Ms. Matheson became a teacher, Mr. Vernon an engineer, and Mr. Stuart a businessman. Mr. Hamilton was the last surviving member of the crew. His survivors include his wife, Jeanette (Stewart) Hamilton; his sons, Jamie and Stewart; and a daughter, Aileen. In 1996, Mr. Hamilton’s goal was fulfilled. Prime Minister John Major of Britain agreed to return the stone to Scotland, and it was taken to a new permanent home at , with the provision that it would be returned to London for coronations. And so it will be next year for the crowning of King Charles III. Image Mr. Hamilton in 2008. “Am I proud? You bet I am,” he said. Credit... .