Edinburgh man in search for lost school football trophy that was in memory of his young brother
Hunt for forgotten football trophy in memory of former Edinburgh primary school pupil
An Edinburgh man is appealing for help to find a lost school football trophy that was played for in memory of his brother.
Retired motor industry worker Stephen Stuart, 64, is on the hunt for the sporting memento, which bore the name of his late sibling, Gary Stuart, who died aged just 11 due to a hole in his heart.
Following Gary’s very sudden and shocking death in 1970, the Doo’cot pub in Drylaw raised funds to purchase a football trophy in memory of the former Muirhouse Primary School pupil, as well as other academic trophies in his name.
School football teams under the Leith jurisdiction competed for the Gary Stuart Memorial Trophy in an annual one-day five-a-side tournament in Goldenacre after Gary’s death.
Stephen is keen to track down this forgotten school football trophy and possibly resurrect the competition in his brother’s name.
The search is further complicated by the fact many schools, including Gary Stuart’s old school, Muirhouse Primary, have closed down since the 1970s. Muirhouse Primary and the nearby Silverknowes Primary were replaced by Craigroyston Primary School, which opened in 2002.
He said: “I have never seen it advertised for a long time. Some schools who competed for it have closed, changed or moved. So that makes it more difficult to find.
“I believe it started in 1971 or 1972, and was played for every year after for a long time by local schools, with Muirhouse winning the first one.
“I have been trying to track it down for some time, from when he would have turned 50 in 2009. But I got nowhere.”
“I reckon it will be lying in maybe a janitor’s office, it might have been melted down, or simply lost. I’m not even sure when it was last played for. It would mean a lot to me and my family to find the trophy and get this cup competition in his name going again.
“I’m involved with Civil Service Strollers, so I would like to organise a competition for this trophy, maybe with just local youth clubs like Spartans and Edinburgh City, but I’d be happy if it was for schools again. I’d have no problem with that either.
“It’s not my trophy, so I don’t want it back for me, I just want to see kids playing for it again. Get it regenerated, to keep Gary’s name and memory alive.”
Stephen recalled that the trophy in his brother’s memory was quite impressive, and ”two inches bigger than the Scottish Cup”, and he remembered the impact Gary’s death had 56 years ago.
He said: “Gary was mad keen on his football. He was a Hibs fan, so Pat Stanton presented the trophy to my mum and dad before it was first played for.
“It got a lot of coverage at the time, what with Gary’s death so young, and the fundraising efforts by the local pub to put forward the trophy.
“It was traumatic for his pals and fellow pupils at Muirhouse when he died, but they loved this trophy as it kept his name alive, and they were so chuffed to win the first one.
“I’m not even sure who ran the Gary Stuart Memorial Cup, if it was the local schools, the local league, or the council. But somebody must know.
“And hopefully somebody out there knows where this great trophy is now. I would just love to locate it and maybe get it going again.”
If you can help Stephen locate the Gary Stuart Memorial Trophy, please email [email protected].