Sir Sean Connery: Why Edinburgh should honour 'Big Tam' with a statue in his home city – Angus Robertson

Despite decades as a global movie icon, working and living internationally, Fountainbridge’s favourite son was regularly in the city of his birth and supported the causes he cared about most: educational opportunity, the film industry and Scottish independence.

Having left school at 13, Connery was passionate about extending educational chances to young people and set up the Scottish International Educational Trust (SIET) with his friend Sir Jackie Stewart. Generations of talented youngsters, like fellow Broughton High School pupil Tommy Smith benefitted from life-changing support. The trust was established when Connery donated his entire fee from ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ and to this day finding diamonds and helping them shine is what SIET is all about.

Connery was patron of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and did much to promote the festival and industry. He was a passionate supporter of new talents coming through the ranks and the delivery of a Scottish film studio. It seems fitting that his son Jason is currently developing the large-scale film and TV studio space in the “big blue shed” building in Leith. Hopefully, the studio will be named after his father when it is formally opened.

Throughout his lifetime, Connery was a passionate supporter of Scotland and Scottish independence. Long before it was as popular as it is today, he lent his celebrity and voice to the independence cause despite it earning him brickbats from its opponents.

Believe it or not, the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh was only finally awarded to him after overcoming opposition from unionists on Edinburgh Council. Similarly, his knighthood was blocked twice because of his political convictions. With independence now being backed by a growing majority of the population, it is a shame Connery didn’t live to see it come about.

Over the years, I was fortunate enough to meet Sean Connery a number of times while helping organising events he took part in, including an SNP election rally at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and a Tartan Day promotion at the US Capitol in Washington.

He was as charismatic in person as he was on the big screen and had a wicked sense of humour. Once when driving him through Edinburgh, we stopped next to a double-decker bus. Within seconds of noticing who was waving at them from the car, the bus passengers were star-struck, smiling, waving back and pointing. It made their day.

Connery was not just a global Scottish icon and the ‘Greatest Living Scot’, he was and is an Edinburgh legend. It is fitting that his place of birth is already marked in Fountainbridge however the city needs to think about how he is properly commemorated.

His causes of widening educational opportunity, promoting the Scottish film industry and delivering Scottish independence are all worthy of support. There should however be a permanent and personal reminder of “Big Tam” in the city of his birth.

I for one think a statue would be entirely fitting. No doubt there will be different ideas about where a Sir Sean Connery statue should stand, but I’m sure public support for a life-size statue or bust would be overwhelming.

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