Respected SNP councillor Beth dies in Strathcarron Hospice

Few residents of Bo’ness would not have known Beth Eaglesham, who served the town as a councillor for the best part of 30 years before retiring from office in 2007.

Beth was a lifelong Nationalist and served on both Falkirk District Council and later Falkirk Council.

She formed the famous Bo’ness trinity with John and Harry Constable and was the member who provided quiet authority within the trio and always commanded respect from her peers. Their image hangs in the Bo’ ness Town Hall in celebration of over 110 years public service to local government, their community and the cause of independence.

Tribute was paid by Councillor David Alexander, who had been the SNP Group Leader for most of the time Beth spent on the council.

He said: “Beth was one of the most honest and committed individuals I have had the pleasure of working with and I am desperately saddened by her passing. However, the family can take comfort from the esteem she is held in both within the local community she loved and served but also within the wider political circles.”

Falkirk East MSP Angus MacDonald, who once served as a councillor, said: “When I was first elected to Falkirk Council in 1992 it was Beth I always went to for assistance and advice, She seemed to know everything and everyone and always had time for less experienced members.

“It was only when I became an MSP that I could fully appreciate Beth’s contribution to the promotion of Bo’ness and the love she had for the town.”

Bo’ness Councillor Ann Ritchie added: “It was Beth Eaglesham who took me under her wing when I was first elected and there isn’t a day passes but I think of her. I appreciated that following in Beth’s footsteps is a daunting task which is in itself is a tribute to her record of community service and the wider legacy she leaves behind – a legacy that will never be forgotten.”

Beth’s funeral will take place at the Albert Gospel Hall in Grangemouth at 10.30am on Wednesday, October 18, before moving to Carriden Old Cemetery and refreshments at the Corbie Inn, Corbiehall, Bo’ness.