The Moonlighter

On Friday night we had the pleasure of presenting the Founders Story at Dumbarton Masonic for the Vale Rangers Football Club. At the end of the presentation our Restoration of Rangers Graves bucket was sent around the hall which raised a wonderful amount of 78.12. We'd like to thank the organizers for a memorable event and everyone who attended for their generosity as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

Back in 2015 our research, gleamed from the records at the Mitchell Library, confirmed that a James Wilson who was trainer at Rangers from 1897 until 1914 and a respected individual who also worked tirelessly with the building process of our great Club, had died suddenly after a bout of double pneumonia in 1914 at 21 Princes Street in Govan aged 52 , and was buried at Craigton Cemetery. Bill Struth who was trainer at Clyde at this time was actually offered Mr Wilson’s job at Rangers but he refused to take another man’s place at our Club, that was to change upon the sudden passing of Mr Wilson. The Club had actually organised a benefit match for Mr Wilson against Everton at Ibrox only a week before he passed. While James Wilson was trainer at Rangers our Club won: 7 League Titles 2 Scottish Cups 8 Glasgow Cups 6 Glasgow Charity Cups. We were to discover Mr Wilson’s stone at Craigton Cemetery and were incredibly fortunate that although sadly it was off it’s plinth it was lying on the grass inscription side up. A real chill went through us as we cleared the earth and moss from James Wilson’s stone and the words ‘’Trainer of Rangers’’ emerged. Since then our Restoration team placed new foundations, put the memorial back in place, cleaned and re-lettered the stone. James Wilson played a very important role in the success of Rangers and we thought it would be appropriate to place a plaque at the base of his stone highlighting his achievements at our Club. That work was carried out yesterday. The plaque was funded by our Restoration of Rangers Graves Project. James Wilson. Gone but not forgotten.

£10 on the door tonight folks.

It will be an honour for us to present the Founders Story at Dumbarton Masonic this Friday 22nd March at 7.30pm. The Hall is at 18 Church St Dumbarton G82 1QQ Tickets are £10 which includes a buffet, these can be purchased on the door on the night. The presentation will also provide an insight into The Restoration of Rangers Graves Project and The Founders Trail. We hope to see a few of you along.

Get yourself wrapped up in Rangers with one of our popular scarves which are designed on the original colours of the Club and in turn support the Founders Trail. They are only £13.00 (+ £3.00 P&P) and can be purchased directly here on our website https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/shop

A few seats have become available on this Saturday’s Founders Trail and Ibrox Stadium Tour. Adults £28 Child/Concession £19. If you’d like to join us please reserve your seat here on our website https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/ Further information 0790 2855536.

A few places have just become available for this unique event on Friday night. If you’d like to join us for this special event please purchase your tickets using the link below. https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/

On Saturday night we had the pleasure of presenting the Founders Story at the Carmelite Hotel in Aberdeen for our fellow Rangers supporters. It was a wonderful event superbly organized by Ian and Avril Nicol. A special mention goes to our friend Wilf Marshall for assisting us on the day. At the end of the presentation our Restoration of Rangers Graves bucket was sent around the hall which raised the astonishing amount of.£128.91 . the proceeds from a raffle will also be donated ( £475) which will give us a grand total of £603.91. We'd like to thank the organizers for a memorable event and everyone who attended for their overwhelming generosity as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

Before Wednesday night’s match at Ibrox the Restoration Project received a wonderful donation of £200 from the Kings Park RSC. We'd like to thank the members of the Club for their overwhelming generosity as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

A few tickets remaining for this Saturday's Presentation.

Last Friday night we had the pleasure of presenting the Founders Story at Lodge Nethan St.John 1289 Kirkmuirhill. At the end of the presentation the Lodge, Kirkmuirhill RSC and friends donated the proceeds from their raffle , the Lodge also made a donation, and it all came to a grand total of £500! An incredible gesture. We'd like to thank the organizers for a cracking event and everyone who attended for their overwhelming generosity as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

After years of disappointment the Rangers eventually got their hands on the Scottish Cup on 17th February 1894 after beating Celtic 3-1 at Hampden. They were presented with the Cup in the Alexandra Hotel which stood at No. 148 Bath Street which today is the Pure Gym Centre. We have to bear in mind that the winning of the Scottish Cup in 1894 was still the pinnacle achievement for all Clubs, as the Scottish League was still very much in its infancy Rangers legend Tom Vallance( who is pictured standing on the back row) had this to say on the milestone reached by the Club, he wrote in the Scottish Sport. “It is with a true sense of delight that those who have followed the varying fortunes of the Rangers since their formation can now see their triumph, their name and fame shining throughout the land with a luster that they never before approached”. Tom presented each Rangers player with a gold scarf pin to commemorate this milestone in the Club’s history. Tom is pictured here with the proud Rangers Committee. Pictured with the victorious Rangers team is trainer John Taylor who’s unmarked grave we recently located in Craigton Cemetery. Mr Taylor’s plot will be restored as part of our Restoration of Rangers Graves Project.

On the 16th February 1935 Rangers legend Tom Vallance died at the family home at 83 Pitt Street Glasgow aged 78. Tom is buried in Hillfoot Cemetery in Bearsden and his funeral was attended by Mr. Struth, Chairman James Bowie and his old team-mate James McIntyre who both took a cord. Incredibly, players from the Vale of Leven team whom Tom had faced 60 years earlier in 1877 were also in attendance. That will give you an indication as to how highly regarded Tom Vallance was. Tom was paid the ultimate accolade by the Club in May 1898 when he was made a life member of the Rangers. In 2012 we had Tom put on to canvas by way of a painting by artist Helen Runciman which was unveiled at Ibrox Stadium at the end of our Founders Trail. Tom Vallance took his rightful place at the top of the Marble Staircase alongside his friends and fellow Founders. Some facts on Tom Vallance: Tom had an incredible 60 year association with the Club. He was a master oarsman, a champion athlete (he set a Scottish long jump record of over 21 feet), he studied at the Glasgow School of Art, had paintings accepted by the Royal Scottish Academy and was Rangers Club Captain and President for many years. While President of the Club it was not uncommon to find TomVallance working the turnstiles on match day at First Ibrox. In 1890 he owned the Club Restaurant at 22 Paisley Road Toll which today is the Viceroy Bar. We have recorded details of Tom Vallance being present at the ceremony held on 1st January 1929 which saw the opening of the Main Stand at Ibrox and also at a Dinner held in the old St.Enoch’s Hotel after a Rangers match in 1933, he was also a guest of the Club that year for the New Year’s day game against Celtic. So, the lad who was present at Fleshers Haugh in 1872 was still attending Ibrox some 60 years later where the Club that he’d helped form and nurture were now playing in front of crowds touching 100,000. Today we remember Tom Vallance.

The Founders Trail Roadshow is heading north!

On Sunday afternoon we had the pleasure of presenting the Founders Story at Lodge 1282 Alexandra in Dennistoun. At the end of the presentation our Restoration of Rangers Graves bucket was sent around the hall and the wonderful amount of £252.76 was raised. The Lodge also donated £100 which gave us an incredible grand total of £352.76 We'd like to thank the organizers for a cracking event and everyone who attended for their overwhelming generosity, including Lodge Scotia, as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

It was a pleasure yesterday to take three Danish representatives from Hummel around on our Founders Trail and share our wonderful and unique story. They said that they thoroughly enjoyed their day, were blown away with the sheer scale of Rangers and were complimentary about the Founders Project.

On Friday night we had the pleasure of presenting the Founders Story at Kilwinning Orange Hall. At the end of the evening our Restoration of Rangers Graves bucket was sent around the hall and the wonderful amount of £224.85 was raised. We'd like to thank the organizers for a cracking event and everyone who attended for their overwhelming generosity as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

It will be an honour for us to present the Founders Story at Kilwinning Orange Hall on Friday 1st February at 7.30pm. The hall is situated at Kyleswell St, Kilwinning KA13 6BJ Tickets are £5 which can be purchased on the door. The evening will also provide an insight into The Rangers Graves Restoration Project and The Founders Trail. We hope to see a few of you along.

The Restoration of Rangers Graves Project and the Townhead Young Defenders. On Friday night we had the pleasure of presenting the Founders Story at the Townhead Young Defenders Band Hall in Glasgow. At the end of the evening our Restoration of Rangers Graves bucket was sent around the hall and the wonderful amount of £88.74 was raised. The Band also donated £150 from their raffle which was an incredible gesture. The grand total donated was £238.74 We'd like to thank the organisers for a cracking event and everyone who attended for their overwhelming generosity as this will help to ensure that our restoration work continues over the coming months. Thank you.

Would all who are booked on tomorrow’s Tour please note that there will be a Founders Trail welcome desk available within the Ibrox Megastore from 11.15am prior to our 12pm departure directly across from the Megastore This will give us an opportunity to greet you, check you from our loading chart and distribute our travel packs. Parking is available throughout the day around Ibrox Stadium. If you have any questions before the tour please don't hesitate in contacting us on 0790 2855536.

The Founders Trail was formed in the autumn of 2009 when we took a group on a walking tour of Glasgow visiting a few sites relating to our Founders that our research had unearthed….this was to crash in spectacular fashion when a refreshment break was had at a West End Pub! In 2010 we operated a total of three Founders Trails,2018 saw this escalate to an incredible 25! We celebrated our 100th Trail in March of 2018. Our first eight Tours of 2019 are sold out. Since 2010 we’ve taken almost 9,000 people around Glasgow on the Founders Trail then through the front doors of Ibrox for the Stadium Tour,many for the first time. An increasing amount of our Supporters Clubs are booking the Founders Trail which is extremely important as it’s vital that the education process behind the project reaches as many people as possible.It’s today’s youngsters who will take our story forward. Many Charities have benefitted from the Founders Trail including The Beatson, Yorkhill, Erskine Hospital and Poppy Scotland. Our Board of Directors took the Founders Trail with us in November 2016 as did 32 Ibrox office staff in January of 2017. We have a close relationship with the Rangers Youth Development Company which we support by buying Stadium Bricks, these are used as prizes for our Trail raffle which we hold during our food and refreshment break, this is our way of putting your money back into the Club. Since 2009 the Founders Trail has generated almost £75,000 in revenue for the Club from our sales of Stadium Tours. The media team at the Club have assisted the project greatly by regularly posting updates on the Club website, the Founders Trail advert is a feature on the screens at Ibrox on matchday. The Founders Trail Roadshow was launched in 2014 which has seen us take our wonderful story out to supporters clubs, lodges and organisations all around the country and beyond. These events let us deliver our story to those who perhaps can’t come to Glasgow due to time constraint and cost. We have many Presentation events booked for 2019. We’ve also made great progress with our Restoration of Rangers Graves Project. It gave us a great sense of satisfaction to say that this year the final touch was put to the 34th plot that we’ve restored with many more to attend to. 2017 saw the Restoration Project extend into helping those bereaved by the Ibrox Disasters. As the curtain draws on 2018 we’d like to thank everyone who has helped and supported the Founders Project over the last nine years. We wish each and every one of you good health and a peaceful and prosperous 2019. Iain and Gordon. https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/

With Christmas fast approaching treat the Bluenose in your life to a seat on one of our popular Tours or perhaps something from our range of merchandise, all items are posted out within 24 hours. Final posting date is next Thursday the 20th. Tour tickets can be booked here: https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/ Merchandise purchased here: https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/shop

The final posting date to receive our Gift Vouchers and Merchandise in time for Christmas is Thursday 20th December. All items are posted out within 24 hours and can be purchased here on our website: https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/shop Founders Trail seats reserved here. https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/

Still plenty of time to order your scarf in time for Christmas. They are only £13.00 (+ £3.00 P&P) and can be purchased directly here on our website https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/shop

Once again due to overwhelming demand we're delighted to add yet another date to our 2019 Founders Trail programme. Sunday 14th April. Adults : £28 Children (under 16) and Senior Citizens £19. Please reserve your seat here on our website. https://www.thefounderstrail.co.uk/ For further information call 0790 2855536.