May the Force Day: The Scottish Star Wars villains costuming group doing good

On ‘May the Fourth’, a day for celebrating all things Star Wars, members of the Imperial Scottish Garrison will put their trooper helmets on to raise funds for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

As their website reads, the legion might have been born out of a penchant for the Star Wars villains, but their motto is - fittingly - “Bad Guys Doing Good”.

We spoke to troopers to find out what this means for them.

Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper on a ward visit at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

Daft for Stormtroopers

When he is not busy working on new costumes, Ian Macpherson attends events like comic-cons and parades, but most importantly, he helps bring a smile to the faces of terminally ill kids.

Some of his earliest memories of his childhood in Springburn are of watching sci-fi movies.

So, when Star Wars came out in America in 1977, he was desperate to see it.

Unfortunately, the UK had to wait eight months after the US release, but for Ian it was definitely worth the wait.

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“I was desperate,” he said.

“I remember seeing it at the Odeon Cinema in Renfield Street, just seeing the opening scene blew my mind, and I’ve been a fan of stormtroopers since.”

In 2006, a chance encounter with real-life stormtroopers in an East Kilbride comic shop led to Ian joining the tens of thousands of members of the 501st Legion, the largest Star Wars costuming organisation in the world.

Ian MacPherson with Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in the Star Wars franchise. The actor is from Glasgow.

Scotland's own troopers

Created a couple of years ago from the ashes of the Imperial Scottish Squad, a subdivision of the UK Garrison, the now independent Imperial Scottish Garrison has 38 acts and counting.

Besides being daft for Star Wars, the only other requirement to join is acquiring a screen-accurate costume of your chosen character.

After 15 years and 280 events, Ian, who works as an apprenticeship officer, still gets excited at the prospect of wearing one of his costumes, which include a stormtrooper, a TIE pilot, a biker scout, a java, and his absolute favourite, Boba Fett.

Ian (right) in his Boba Fett costume.

'Bad guys doing good'

Now an event coordinator for the group, the 57-year-old helped set up ward visits at the former Royal Hospital for Children in Yorkhill, which then moved to the new Govan hospital.

He also ensured more fundraising events would happen in Scotland, with donations going directly to local charities.

“People are always blown away,” he said.

“It’s always funny when they see Darth Vader just standing in front of them.

“Putting a smile on faces is one of the main aims of what we do.

“The kids are just amazing, and the work the staff do is really touching.

“At work I got slagged off, people said ‘you dress as a plastic spaceman at the weekend’ but when you start explaining, they realise you’re doing a good thing.

“I think most people appreciate what we do.”

Darth Vader and his troopers at the former Royal Hospital for Children in Yorkhill.

Everyone's welcome

For document controller Jenn Mair, who is based in Bo’ness but frequently travels to Glasgow to attend events in her scout trooper costume, being able to “troop” again has been uplifting.

“It's the best feeling ever,” she said.

“It really does lift your mental health and seeing smiles on kids' faces and even adults.”

For the 32-year-old, who joined in 2019, the garrison was the natural continuation to a childhood marked by completely wearing out the Star Wars VHS cassettes.

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Jenn is not intimidated by being one of the few women in the garrison and trooping at public events was actually a confidence-building experience.

“I love that when you wear the armour people can’t tell if there’s a boy or a girl in it,” she said.

“It’s always so much fun when I’m trooping and I say hi to people and they’re like ‘oh my god, it’s a girl, it’s a woman.’ “Their faces just look so shocked. There are more guys than girls in our garrison at the moment but everyone’s welcome.”

Star Wars characters waiting outside Glasgow City Chambers to take part in a Glasgow Parade

'May the Force be with you'

However, there is an emotional side to costuming as well.

She explained: “We went to Robin House Children’s Hospice in Alexandria to visit kids there that had oxygen masks and everything on.

“They were just smiling and we were almost in tears because the families were coming up to us and saying 'this is first time they smiled in a while' or 'we're really happy you're here'.”

Some of Jenn’s trooper colleagues were even invited to a little fan’s funeral.

“They said it was one of the hardest things they've ever done,” said Jenn.

“They were honoured to go but they just wish they weren't having a funeral.

“It can be difficult. There are times when we're exhausted but you see these kids coming over and you do it for them.

“And to be honest, I would do it every day if I could.”

Members of the Imperial Scottish Garrison at Robin House Children's Hospice, Alexandria.

Members of the Imperial Scottish Garrison will be collecting donations for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity between 3pm and 6pm today at Braehead Shopping Centre.

All the money raised will go to the charity, as the group does not charge for appearances.