70-year mystery of the real Oor Wullie solved
He is Scotlands most famous son, a dungaree-wearing, spiky-haired scamp who has sown mischief in Auchenshuggle for 70 years.
Now the real-life inspiration of Oor Wullie can finally be revealed. He is Ron Low, the son of RD Low, former editor of The Sunday Post, in which the comic strip first appeared.
Staff at the DC Thomson headquarters in Dundee were struggling for inspiration for a new character when eight-year-old Ron, dressed in dungarees, strode into the office clutching a bucket of potatoes.
Dudley D Watkins, the creator of Oor Wullie and his comic stablemates The Broons, immediately set about sketching him sitting on the upturned bucket. The iconic image, drawn in 1935, defined the character who has remained unchanged ever since.
Although Oor Wullies true identity has remained a closely guarded secret, his family and friends believe that as the character enters his eighth decade the time is right for Ron to take his rightful place in comic strip history.
Young Ron Low walked into the building to see if his dad was coming home for his tea, recalled Donald Owens, a close friend of Rons. He had tousled hair, was wearing dungarees and carrying a bucket of tatties that he got from his fathers allotment. The moment he stepped into the room everyones jaw dropped and they said, This is the character we are looking for.
Low senior promptly dispatched the artist Dudley D Watkins into an adjacent room with wee Ron. He emptied the bucket and started sketching the young lad wearing dungarees sitting on his bucket. There and then everyone agreed they had found Oor Wullie.
While Oor Wullies interests were restricted to fitba, kartin, fishin and hidin from PC Murdoch, Ron went on to study medicine at St Andrews University before emigrating to Canada.
There, he served as a squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) before embarking on a distinguished career as a surgeon in the medical department at RCAF Gimli in Manitoba.
Low returned to Scotland in the 1980s, settling in Inverness. Despite the fame of his alter ego, Low, who died of lung cancer in 1992, was reluctant to talk about his brush with stardom.
Ron was very modest and didnt like to boast about being the real-life Oor Wullie, said Owens, who befriended Ron when they were both members of the Highland branch of the Aircrew Association.
But his transition from being a wee Dundonian rascal in dungarees to being a decorated airman and a highly respected surgeon in Canada before returning to spend his final years in Scotland is a fascinating story and one that now deserves to be told.
Owens said that Low had confided his secret to him shortly before his death. Myself and many other members were very proud to know that we had the real-life Oor Wullie as one of our comrades, he said.
Mary Leishman, Rons step-daughter, added: Ron was a lovely man with a great sense of humour and the fact that he was the inspiration for Oor Wullie was often talked about in the family.
I can imagine that he had a mischievous side when he was a boy. With his wonderful head of blond hair and lovely smile, you could see the resemblance to Oor Wullie.
Thanks tae Rubber John for drawin my wee profile pic - check oot his space at www.myspace.com/rubber_john
I'd like t'meet the Broon Twins coz a think me and them wud get on like a hoose on fire, an they'r always gettin up to mischif, like me.
The Annuals 1940 - 2004
Facts aboot Wullie.
Wullie first appeared in the Sunday Post on 8th March 1936.
He was created by Dudley D Watkins who also illustrated The Broons, Korky Cat and Desperate Dan. Born in 1907 Dudley moved to Scotland in 1925. He started to work for publisher D.C. Thompson for a trial period of six months, and remained at this publisher until his death in 1969.
Wullie was based on Ron Low, the son of RD Low, former editor of the Sunday Post.
It's thought that Wullie's surname is Russell. A strip in 1939 featured his uncle Watty, whose surname was Russell, although it was never explained if he was his mothers or his fathers brother
The early years clearly place Wullie and The Broons in Glasgow with a few mentions of Glasgow (or Glesca) appearing in the strips. Also, from May to October 1938, the characters made frequent visits to the Empire Exhibition which was held in Bellhouston Park, Glasgow.
The real life inspiration behind PC Murdoch, is thought to be Sandy Marnoch, a burly reserve constable who pounded the streets of St Andrews during the second world war, and a friend of Dudley D Watkins.
In the early years Wullie had a wee brother but he mysteriously dissapeared never to appear again.
In September 2005 the first Oor Wullie annual from 1940 sold at auction for £4,015. Only five copies are known to exist.
A survey conducted in 2004 named Oor Wullie as Scotlands Top Icon beating William Wallace and Sir Sean Connery into 2nd and 3rd place.