The Life Of A Hyndland Pupil Jimmy Laird The Life Of A Hyndland Pupil Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Our Centenary As you know this is a very important year for our school, for this year marks the centenary for Hyndland Secondary in this very building. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Our Centenary Tens of thousands of kids have passed through the corridors of our school, but today we will be focusing on only one. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Our Centenary This one Hyndland pupil has achieved so much, after a tragedy left with him with so little. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Jimmy Laird Jimmy Laird was born in Hyndland on the 22nd of January, 1931. Here we see him in the doorway of the Post Office on Clarence Drive with his brother David. The year was 1937 and Jimmy was six. Later he attended Hyndland Senior Secondary school. He attended classes in this very building, as so many of us have. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Jimmy Laird He left school in 1947 and started his job as apprentice cabinet maker. On completion of his apprenticeship in 1951 he was called up for National Service. Jimmy was sent to Korea in the spring of 1952. He was severely wounded there when a piece of shrapnel hit him in the spine. Jimmy was paralysed from the waist down. He was twenty one. He was sent to a large veteran’s hospital in an English town called Stoke Mandeville.

Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital was home to the National Spinal Injuries Centre, which was run by Dr Ludwig Guttman. Guttman was a very talented neurosurgeon. He fled Nazi Germany in 1939. He began work at Stoke Mandeville in 1943. He believed that sport was hugely important for spinal injury victims. It would help them physically, and it would give them confidence and motivation. Guttman organised the first “Stoke Mandeville Games” in 1948 with over 130 international competitors. It was here that Jimmy Laird first took up sport as a paraplegic athlete. Jimmy was a natural—he was athletic, competitive and a great team player. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Paraplegic Games The Stoke Mandeville Games led to The Commonwealth Paraplegic Games. This was an international multi-sport event that involved athletes with disabilities from British Commonwealth Countries. The event was first held in 1962 and later became the world-wide competition now known as the Paralympics. Because of the sports he mastered at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Jimmy Laird was asked to participate in the 1962 games in Perth, Australia. In 1966 he captained the Scottish team at the games in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1970 he captained Scotland again at the games, which were held in Edinburgh. In Edinburgh he won three gold medals and one bronze medal. Over these three games, Jimmy represented Scotland in several events: archery, table tennis and even Arts and Crafts events such as sculpture. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Jimmy’s Life and Work For his athletic achievements, Jimmy was awarded the “Loving Cup”, which is an award given annually for the person who brings honour to Glasgow. It was presented by Glasgow’s Lord Provost. Jimmy Laird took a great interest in arts and become a talented sculptor. He was asked to make a sculpture for the opening of the new Stoke Mandeville stadium in 1980. The statue was 4’ 6” tall and was called “The Pursuit”. Jimmy went on to become a founding member of the Scottish Paraplegic Association. He was also a leader of Spinal Injuries Scotland—or SIS. For twenty seven years he campaigned to improve the rights and conditions of physically handicapped people in Scotland. He had a reputation for being willing to take on anyone in the name of a good cause, and he was a champion of people who wanted to live with dignity. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Jimmy’s Legacy Jimmy Laird dedicated his life to helping people with problems like his. He inspired them through his success in the paraplegic games. If you have switched on your television in the last two weeks, you will have seen London’s Paralympics. You have seen all the athletes on the track, in the pool, and on the streets of London. When you see them, remember that a boy from Hyndland Secondary School helped inspire them to be there by being one of Scotland’s first ever paraplegic competitors. It is amazing to think that the little boy standing in front of that Hyndland Post Office, the same boy who walked the corridors and classrooms of our school, could go on to achieve something so great. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012

Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012 Thank you. Hyndland Secondary School Centenary 1912-2012