'I'm selling signed Oasis guitars to fund memorial for 1,500 buried in paupers' graves'

Two signed Oasis guitars are being put up for sale by a Falkirk councillor who hopes the cash will definitely maybe help to fund a special project.

Baillie Billy Buchanan – a former Provost of Falkirk – is an avid collector, who owns guitars that have been signed by superstars including Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Brian May.

But he is prepared to sell the precious instruments to help realise his dream of creating a memorial for nearly 1,500 people who are buried in Larbert Cemetery.

Baillie Buchanan was shocked to discover that 1,466 bodies were interred in a corner of the cemetery on Muirfield Road, Stenhousemuir, in common land, once referred to as a “pauper’s grave”.

The guitar is signed by the members of Oasis. LDRS

And while he’s still at the early stages of research, Baillie Buchanan has been working with Falkirk Council to discover more about the cemetery’s history, in particular those who were buried with such little ceremony.

He hopes to create a memorial to respect their memories, although he will need permission from the council before anything is done.

He will also need funding and feels selling his guitars – signed by Noel and Liam Gallagher and the rest of the band – would be a good start.

Speaking in the cemetery, he said: “People come into the cemetery every day and have no idea this is here!

“I want to see something as a memorial to the 1466 souls who have been buried here throughout the years.

“I just feel the time is right now to sell the Oasis guitars but I’d be happy to sell any of the others if anyone was interested.

“I don’t know what will be put in place or what a memorial would cost – I’ll need to speak to local stonemasons and see what they would suggest.”

Baillie Billy Buchanan is an avid collector of signed guitars. LDRS

While the long-serving councillor is perhaps best known for his interest in UFOs – which saw him hit the headlines in the 1990s in particular – he is also a passionate amateur historian.

He hopes that the current interest in Oasis’ reunion tour will spark interest in the two guitars that have been signed by Noel and Liam Gallagher and other band members.

Over many years, Baillie Buchanan has built up an impressive collection.

The other guitars he owns are: AC/DC signed by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams and Brian Johnson; Pete Best, original drummer in The Beatles; Led Zeppelin; Pink Floyd, signed by Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Dave Gilmour and Richard Wright.

The Rolling Stones guitar has been signed by Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and saxophonist Bobby Keys – best known for the sax solo on Stones’ hit ‘Brown Sugar’.

A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “We have met with Baillie Buchanan on site and have shown him the location of the common ground (previously known as paupers’ graves).

“We have also supplied him with some historical background information that hopefully will prove to be useful for his project.”

While all the guitars have been signed by the artists, they have not been played by them and were bought as collectors’ items. Each has a certificate of authenticity.

If anyone would like to bid for the guitars, either separately or as a lot, you can contact Billy Buchanan at ufocouncillor@aol.com