Wilson was born in Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth Murray and Robert George Wilson, a butcher's van driver.[1] He was educated at Douglas High School for Boys on the Isle of Man, and the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree.[2] Following graduation, Wilson qualified as a solicitor, and worked for T.F. Reid Solicitors in Paisley from 1963 until his election as an MP in 1974.[3]
Political career
Wilson joined the Scottish National Party in 1959, on his graduation from university.[4][5] He was "controller" of the political pirate radio station Radio Free Scotland, which broadcast on a frequency used by BBC between 1956 and 1965, moving the location of the transmitter to avoid being caught.[2] Wilson served as Assistant National Secretary of the SNP from 1963 to 1964, as National Secretary from 1964 to 1971, and was vice-chairman of the SNP Oil Campaign Committee, which was responsible for the party's iconic It's Scotland's oil campaign.[6] It was Wilson who coined the slogan.[4][7]
Wilson was Executive Vice-Chairman in 1972–1973, and while Executive Vice-Chairman he had a responsibility for oil.[8] Wilson stood as the SNP parliamentary candidate at the Dundee East by-election in March 1973, where he was narrowly defeated by Labour's George Machin. He did however clearly out-poll the Lord Provost of Dundee, William Fitzgerald, who stood as a Conservative and was thought to have had a good chance of winning the seat.[9][10] Machin was a native of Sheffield and some thought Labour made a mistake by selecting an Englishman for a Scottish seat.[10] Anti-English feeling was reported to be shown during Machin's victory speech which was reportedly disrupted by 'angry shouts of Scottish Nationalist supporters', with 'chants of "Go back to Yorkshire" and "Go home, Englishman"'.[9] Wilson was reported to be disappointed by losing narrowly, but was pleased by the considerable increase in the SNP vote since the last general election.[9]
When Robin Cook MP moved an amendment to legalise homosexual acts to the Bill which became the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, he stated "The clause bears the names of hon. Members from all three major parties. I regret that the only party represented among Scottish Members of Parliament from which there has been no support for the clause is the Scottish National Party. I am pleased to see both representatives of that party in their place, and I hope to convert them in the remainder of my remarks."[17] When the amendment came to a vote, Wilson and the SNP's other MP Donald Stewart both voted against the decriminalisation of homosexual acts.[18]
In the early 1980s when the party was in internal turmoil, and he was a key mover in condemning both Siol nan Gaidheal and the 79 Group.[19][20] At the SNP's conference in Ayr in June 1982 he announced in the middle of his keynote speech that there would not be "parties within the party".[2][21] Using his executive position he was able to force an emergency motion and a vote on his proposal.[22] He received the backing he needed.[23]
Wilson led the party through two poor general election performances in 1983[24] and 1987.[25] In 1987, Wilson lost his seat to Labour's John McAllion.[26] After his defeat at the 1987 general election he returned to legal practice.[2]
In September 1998 he was selected by delegates at the SNP's conference as a candidate for Scotland in the 1999 European Parliament elections.[31] He was placed fourth on the SNP's list and with the SNP only winning two of the eight seats, he was unsuccessful.[32]
He wrote three books that were published between 2009 and 2014 which detailed aspects of his political life.[2]
He had retired to Broughty Ferry, Dundee and sailed his boat Saorsa on the Firth of Tay.[5]
Wilson died from a pulmonary embolism at the Roxburghe House hospice in Dundee on the morning of 25 June 2017, at the age of 79.[1][36] His funeral was held at Saint Peter's Free Church in Dundee on 5 July 2017. His party colleague John Swinney and David Robertson gave eulogies.[37]
Wilson's papers are held variously by the National Library of Scotland,[39] Archive Services at the University of Dundee[40] and the Scottish Political Archive at the University of Stirling.[41] His collection of historical nationalist pamphlets is held by the Macartney Library at SNP headquarters in Edinburgh.[42]
