Robert Gray (1895 – 12 April 1975), often known as Bertie Gray, was a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into ...

politician. Gray worked as a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

and in 1928 was a founding member of the National Party of Scotland. In 1929, he made two copies of the

Stone of Scone The Stone of Scone (; , meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; ) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century, and thereafter in the coronation of Englis ...

, a

coronation stone A coronation stone is a stone which has taken part in the ceremony of a monarch’s coronation. These stones were primarily used in medieval Europe, but historical examples exist throughout the world. Stones believed to have been used as coronation ...

originally used by Scottish monarchs, but taken by

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

in 1296.Warwick Rodwell, ''The Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone'' Gray stood unsuccessfully for the National Party at the

1932 Dunbartonshire by-election The 1932 Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north ...

, then, when it merged into the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP) in 1934, became the Assistant Secretary of the new party. He stood for the SNP in

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

at the 1935 general election and a 1936 by-election in the seat, although he received less than 10% of the vote on each occasion. Disillusioned with the SNP, Gray joined the Progressives, an anti-Labour coalition, and in 1947 was elected to

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

, representing Blythswood. Gray retained his nationalist beliefs. In 1950, the Stone of Scone was removed from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist activists. It was damaged in the process and

John MacCormick John MacDonald MacCormick (20 November 1904 – 13 October 1961) was a Scottish lawyer, Scottish nationalist politician and advocate of Home Rule in Scotland. Early life MacCormick was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow, in 1904. His father was D ...

, who had been involved in the plot, delivered it to Gray's stonemasonry business, where he arranged for his head stonemason to repair it. The following year, Gray and Ian Hamilton left the stone at

Arbroath Abbey Arbroath Abbey, in the Scottish town of Arbroath, was founded in 1178 by William I of Scotland, King William the Lion for a group of Tironensian Benedictine monks from Kelso Abbey. It was consecration, consecrated in 1197 with a dedication to th ...

to be returned.John MacCormick, ''The Flag in the Wind'' Gray later refused to confirm whether this was the genuine stone, claiming that he had hidden a note in a brass tube inside the real stone, and that the text of this would be revealed to his wife, Marion, as part of his will. From 1949 until 1972, Gray was a governor of the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

, a member of the court of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, and, in the 1950s, was a member of the committee of the

Scottish Covenant Association The Scottish Covenant Association was a non-partisan political organisation in Scotland in the 1940s and 1950s seeking to establish a devolved Scottish Assembly. It was formed by John MacCormick who had left the Scottish National Party in 1942 ...

. In 1974,

Margo MacDonald Margo Symington MacDonald (''née'' Aitken; 19 April 1943 – 4 April 2014) was a Scottish politician, teacher and broadcaster. She was the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Govan from 1973 to 1974 and was D ...

persuaded him to rejoin the SNP, but he died the following year. Following his death, Marion claimed that he had not confirmed whether the Stone of Destiny was genuine, and that she was happy for the secret to die with him. However,

Warwick Rodwell Warwick James Rodwell (born 24 October 1946) is an archaeologist, architectural historian and academic. He was lately visiting professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, and is Consultant Archaeologist to Westminster Abbey ...

argues that a copy made by Gray would not have fooled experts, and that the claims of a forgery did not appear until the 1970s, making the story unlikely.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Robert 1895 births 1975 deaths Councillors in Glasgow Scottish National Party politicians Scottish stonemasons Stone of Scone