The lives of four more of Ayrshire's Heroes explored

And we'll start with the biggest name on the list...

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William Wallace

There is tremendous controversy over the actual birthplace of Scotland's famous freedom fighter.

For years it was widely believed that he was born at Elderslie, near Paisley, but there is a growing opinion that he actually first saw light of day at Ellerslie, near Kilmarnock. His family had strong Ayrshire roots and it was to Ayrshire he often returned while on the run from the English.

He was a supporter of John Baliol, the supposed puppet-king of Edward I, known as Longshanks. This would have placed him in opposition to Robert the Bruce, who also lusted for the throne.

Wallace’s bloody vendetta against the occupying English led him to being named Guardian of Scotland.

He won a victory at Loudoun Hill in 1296 , but it was at Stirling Bridge in 1297 that he and Andrew de Mornay, really pulled Edward Longshank’s war machine up short.

De Mornay was fatally wounded at Stirling and Wallace’s forces were defeated at Falkirk in 1298.

In 1305 he was betrayed by a Scots noble and arrested north of Glasgow. Convicted at a kangaroo court of treason, he was hanged, drawn and quartered in London’s Spitalfields and his head spiked for all to see.

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James MacMillan

Classical composer James MacMillan is the most pre-eminent writer of Scottish music of his generation.

Born in Kilwinning in 1959 and brought up in Cumnock he later became composer and conductor of the BBC’s Philharmonic Orchestra.

After coming to the attention of the classical establishment in 1990, with his witch hunt-inspired symphony The Confession of Isobel Gowdie.

MacMillan has gone from strength to strength and given some of the most prestigious commissions in the world.

At the re-opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, a fanfare composed by him was played to HRH The Queen and in he was knighted in 2015.

He composed the anthem to be played at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

But MacMillan never lost touch with his roots. He became the founder and patron of the long running Cumnock Tryst musical festival in the town where he grew up.

The mask of Alexander Peden (Image: Contributed)

Alexander Peden

Peden was one of the leading forces in the Covenanters movement.

He was born at Auchincloich Farm near Sorn and was educated at the University of Glasgow. Ordained minister of New Luce in Galloway, in 1660, after the restoration of Charles II, Peden had to leave his parish.

To hide his identity he began wearing a cloth mask and wig.

For 10 years he wandered far and wide, bringing comfort and succour to his co-religionists, and often very narrowly escaping capture.

In June 1673 while holding a meeting at Knockdow near Ballantrae, he was captured and condemned to four years and three months imprisonment on the Bass Rock and a further 15 months in the Edinburgh Tolbooth.

In December 1678, along with 60 others Peden was sentenced to banishment to the American plantations. On hearing the reason for their banishment the American captain released them.

Peden's last days were spent in a cave on the River Lugar in the parish of Sorn, near his birthplace and his brother’s farm in Auchinleck, and there he died in 1686, worn out by hardship and hunger.

He was buried in Auchinleck churchyard. Six weeks later his body was exhumed by troops from Sorn Castle, who planned to hang his corpse from the gallows in Cumnock. However William Crichton, 2nd Earl of Dumfries objected to the hanging, so the troops buried the corpse at the foot of the gallows.

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Jack McConnell

The Arran man would go onto become the most powerful politician in Scotland.

Although born in Irvine, Mr McConnell was raised on a sheep farm in Lamlash. After graduating he became a teacher in Alloa and was subsequently elected onto Stirling District Council, eventually becoming council leader in the early 1990s.

He took the step up to MSP, being elected to the first Scottish Parliament in 300 years in 1999.

He was immediately given the role of Finance Minister in the late Donald Dewar’s Executive. Jack McConnell was unsuccessful in the campaign for the Labour leadership in Scotland in the wake of Mr Dewar’s death, losing out to Henry McLeish.

After the resignation of McLeish, he led Labour to a victory in the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary Elections but would face defeat by the SNP in 2007.

The strong links forged with the African state were one of the most striking aspects of Mr McConnell’s term as First Minister.