Image of bygone era on island celebrates the depth of Scotland’s history
St Kilda features on new banknote
Published: 16/11/2009
An image of a bygone era on the Hebridean island of St Kilda features on a banknote which enters circulation today.
The picture features ancestors of father and son Norman and John Gillies.
They appear on a new Clydesdale Bank £5 note, sitting outside a row of cottages on the island, which was last inhabited in 1930.
On the other side of the St Kilda note is an image of Sir Alexander Fleming, the Scot who discovered penicillin.
Hamish Boag, managing partner of Clydesdale Bank’s Highlands and Islands financial solutions centre, said: “Having St Kilda on the new £5 note reinforces the depth of the nation’s history.
“St Kilda is one of only 24 locations in the world to be awarded mixed World Heritage status for its natural and cultural significance.”
The £5 note is part of a series of updated notes launched by the bank, with other designs featuring Robert the Bruce, New Lanark, Elsie Inglis and the Antonine Wall.
Malcolm Maclean, of Gaelic arts agency Proiseact nan Ealan, said: “St Kilda is a very special place and was inhabited for 3,000 years until its evacuation in 1930.”
He added: “The remarkable history of the place and its people has even inspired its own opera.”