Stacy F. Kaufeld, M.A.
While watching the coronation of King Charles III last month, you may have noticed a large stone at the ceremony for the newly crowned King. This is the Stone of Scone (also known as the Stone of Destiny) and it has quite an intriguing history – including an admittedly small connection to Alberta. This Alberta connection has absolutely nothing to do with the Stone’s historical significance. But if you’re a history “nerd”, as I am, it is one of those interesting, anecdotal legends one might tell over after-work beverages with co-workers.
Full disclosure, I know very little about the history of the monarchy let alone the history of Scotland. The information I based this post on was gathered from the Internet (yes, including Wikipedia).
Wikipedia
The history of the Stone of Scone is in-and-of-itself an interesting tale. I say tale because like any good legend, there is fiction interspersed with fact. From what I gather, the 150 kilogram (335 pound) block of red sandstone is approximately 1,200 years old. Several legends have dated its origins any where from biblical times to the second century. Although an exact date cannot be pinpointed, historians are certain it originated in Scotland, specifically a place called Scone.
Until 1296, when Edward I of England seized the Stone during the first Scottish War of Independence, it had been used in Coronation ceremonies for Scottish kings at Scone Palace on Moot Hill in Perthshire.
After bringing the Stone to England, Edward I fitted it into a wooden chair that became known as the Coronation Chair on which many subsequent English and British sovereigns have been crowned. It remained in Westminster Abbey until Christmas Day 1950 (although it was temporarily relocated during World War II to prevent damage from bombing or having it fall into Nazi possession).
On December 25, 1950, Ian Hamilton and three other students from the University of Glasgow broke into Westminster Abbey, took possession of the Stone, and after a circuitous venture through Kent returned the Stone to Scotland.
The Stone remained in Scotland until it was retrieved by London police in April 1951, and was used in the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It was permanently returned to Scotland in 1996 with the understanding it would be used in future Coronations, including King Charles III.
You may be asking yourself…what is the connection to Alberta?
Nearly thirty years after the first repatriation of the Stone to Scotland, Ian Hamilton made inquires about being admitted to the Alberta Bar. In a letter dated December 2, 1979, Hamilton wrote Law Society Secretary, W.B. Kelly, seeking membership to the Law Society of Alberta. In what had been a recent trip to Calgary, Hamilton wrote, he had an informal meeting with the Attorney General’s Department about the possibility of working as a lawyer in Alberta. He was willing to serve any requisite job to complete his Articles of Clerkship for admission to the Law Society of Alberta.
In May 1980, he informed the Law Society that he was able to find Articles with Elliot W.N. (Skip) Macdonald Q.C. (1935 – 2010), a lawyer in Medicine Hat. Following his year of Articles and passing exams to meet Alberta’s educational qualifications, Ian Hamilton was admitted to the Alberta Bar on January 13, 1982, by Justice L.D. McLean. However, his time at the Bar was short-lived as he moved to the non-practicing list on March 15, 1982, and was subsequently transferred to the non-pay list two years later after returning to Scotland.
Hamilton was a successful criminal defence lawyer in Scotland. Little is known of his practice the short time he was in Medicine Hat. He seems to have worked in the criminal law area, taking legal aid work including
The Times
bail hearings, speaking to sentence and summary trials all in the Provincial Court of Alberta. The summer student employed by the Legal Aid Society of Alberta in Medicine Hat recalls Hamilton as very able advocate with a thick Scottish brogue and the use of a monocle to review his notes in court.
Shortly before the summer student left for law school at the University of Saskatchewan in September of 1981, he was fortunate to take a flight with Ian Hamilton in his small plane viewing southern Alberta during harvest time on a beautiful late summer afternoon. The legal aid summer student was Dallas K. Miller, who completed his law degree in 1984 and went on to practice in Medicine Hat for over twenty years. By the time Miller returned to Medicine Hat with law degree in hand, barrister Hamilton had already returned to Scotland and the local bar had lost track of him. Recent news articles from the BBC and CBC concerning the stone have served to jog the memory of now Justice Dallas K. Miller (a long serving member of the LASA board) to the short time in 1981 when he was able to observe and learn from Ian Hamilton – the main character in the movie Stone of Destiny! A very brief stint as an Alberta barrister amidst an incredible long life just adds to the lore that is certainly attached to Ian Hamilton.
