History-making Stone of Destiny raid daredevil dies in Wester Ross
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A WOMAN hailed as a great patriot by Scottish nationalists the world over for her part in seizing the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey has died in Aultbea.
Kay Matheson, who was the only woman in the group of students who removed the iconic Scottish relic on Christmas Day,1950, was a staunch nationalist until her death on Saturday, at the village’s Isle View Nursing Home, aged 84.
A former teacher of Gaelic, domestic science and physical exercise, she had lived at the care home for 20 years.
Ms Matheson reached notoriety when she and fellow conspirators Ian Hamilton, QC, Alan Stuart and Gavin Vernon, all Glasgow University students, raided the abbey in a bid to return the stone – on which Scotland’s kings were traditionally crowned at Scone Palace – to Scotland.
The snatch led to a nationwide police hunt in which the border was closed for the first time in centuries, but she always insisted it involved the “recovery” and not the “theft” of the stone..
The stone was split in two during the raid and, after Mr Hamilton repaired the pieces, it was found in Arbroath Abbey in 1951. While three of the four admitted to taking the artefact, police did not pursue charges with the case.
The Stone of Destiny had originally been taken from Scone by King Edward 1 of England and later placed in London.
It is now in Edinburgh Castle, where it sits with the crown jewels of Scotland, after the Queen released it back to the country. A special covenant now determines that it will be returned to Westminster Abbey for coronations.
Her relative Iseabail Mackenzie was a former owner of the Isle View Nursing Home and cared for Miss Matheson for a number of years.
She said: “Kay was a wonderful person who loved children and was passionate about education and the Gaelic language.
“She lived for a good number of years in a cottage in the grounds of the Isle View with her spaniel-collie cross.
“She was great fun and gave him the name Dubh air toin, which more or less means “Black spot on the bottom” because he had a dark patch at the base of his tail.
“She was greatly loved and respected by many in Wester Ross whom she taught at Gairloch High School.
“In her later years she was cared for very lovingly by staff at the care home who had been pupils of hers.”
A spokeswoman for SNP Leader Alex Salmond said: “Kay Matheson is one of the giants of the SNP’s story.
“Her daredevil actions as one of the four students who liberated the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey made headlines around the world, but she was also a lifelong advocate for Scotland’s independence.”
