King of the Woad

Little Steven's Scot the heart and Will to be hero Wallace By SARAH WOLSTENCROFT PROUD dad Steven Aitchinson knew he had a super Scot on his hands when his son begged: "Will you call me William Wallace from now on?" The five-year-old, also Steven, is so crazy on the Scots hero he's seen Braveheart 100 TIMES and tests schoolmates on big chunks of the script in the playground. His dad said: "I know he's too young to watch it but we fast forward all the bloody bits. I felt I was something he should see from an early age. Kilts "The only trouble was, when we told him he was going to have a wee baby sister, he insisted we called her Mirren, afier Mel Gibson's wife in the film. It meant so much to him we went along with it."

HERO WORSHIP ... Steven looks the part with painted face, sword and shield

Unemployed Steven saw our story on Tuesday about five-year-old Caledonia Moss from Falkirk who sleeps under a giant Sun Saltire and claimed on St Andrew's Day to be Scotland's youngest super-patriot.

Steven, 24. said: "My wee boy sleeps under a Saltire too, but he's so mad about Scotland he makes us all call him Little William Wallace."

Since cheering like mad at Braveheart from the age of two, he decided to answer only to the name William, paints his face with blue woad and wears miniature kilts.

Steven Snr, from Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, said: "He's my wee mad boy. He's always wearing his kilt or waving his St Andrew's Flag, he's just mad on Scotland.

"He gets dressed up in his little kilt and paints his face blue and white to watch it. He's even got a little sword he waves around when it's on.

"My mum and dad have taken him up to the Wallace monument three times now and he loves it.

"His bedroom walls are covered in Scotland flags and Scotland football posters and he's got a big Scotland flag on his bed too."

Mum Valerie, 34, said: "He just doesn't like being called Steven and he's known round here as Little Wallace or Young William."

Steven added: "Mirren is two now and she's probably going to grow up the same. When Steven sits and watches Braveheart she sits with him and he shows her who Mirren is.

(c) The Sun

The above story appeared in the Scottish Sun newspaper on 4th December, 1998.