Winston Churchill called him Scotland’s greatest ambassador, while others blame him for caricaturing us as a nation of penny-pinching, kilt wearing sentimentalists. The life and career of Sir Harry Lauder is celebrated in a major exhibition at Low Parks Museum in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
Lauder (featured below) worked in the mines before launching a show-business career that eventually brought him great wealth and worldwide recognition. He rarely appeared on stage without his trademark kilt, bonnet and walking stick, and wrote dozens of songs, including “I Love a Lassie” and “Roamin’ in the Gloamin’”. On his death in 1950, aged 80, shops in Hamilton closed for his funeral, which was filmed for cinema audiences by Pathe News.
The exhibition, which runs until April, is designed to appeal to all ages and includes costume, objects, photographs, film and music.
T 01698 328232.
