Veteran charity fundraiser Tom Gilzean MBE died on Monday. There have been many tributes paid to him since by those who knew him and the great work he did.
The Rt Hon Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh Frank Ross said : ” “Tom Gilzean was the star of the Royal Mile and Princes Street. Nothing would dampen his spirits or stop him going above and beyond to raise fantastic amounts of money for charity.
“Come rain or come shine, good health and bad, there Tom would be wearing his trademark tartan trousers selflessly shaking his tin for charity. When he was selected to receive the eighth Edinburgh Award, he was the first person to receive it for local charity work. He received more nominations than anybody else. He really was an astounding veteran so this Sunday, please wear your poppies with pride. Let’s do it for Tam.”
Here is our own wee tribute to him made in 2015
Councillor Donald Wilson and former Lord Provost remembered him fondly.
He said : ““The Capital has lost one of its greatest local treasures in Tom. He was truly one of a kind. I feel very fortunate to have known him and it was a real honour to present him with the British Empire Medal in 2013 and the Edinburgh Award back in 2014.
“That was when I was Lord Provost and they were very well deserved accolades. It wasn’t long after I’d held a Garden Party to celebrate the city’s volunteers and I had asked Tom to join us.
“A few weeks before the big day, however, he had a bad fall. He ended up in hospital and the family sent his apologies for the party. You can imagine our surprise when, against all odds, Tom managed to make it! I turned around and there he was, covered in bandages from head to foot and shaking his tin instead of resting up in bed. He must have been 96 then. Nothing would stop him from missing out on a chance to help charity and the funds he raised were simply incredible.
“Thank you, Tom.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
