Why is the company named Thistle?
The Thistle is the Official Flower of Scotland, praised in songs such as “oh Flower of Scotland”.
Thistle Group was named after Tom Lapsley’s allegiance to his Homeland!
(None of us Americans had a say-so in that decision!!)
Quoting Tom Lapsley, CEO “Only in bloody Scotland would a raggedy, jaggedy weed become the National Flower".
But how did the Thistle earn its place in the heart of the Scots?
In truth, no-one knows, but legend has it that a sleeping party of Scots warriors were saved from ambush by an invading Norse army when one of the attackers trod on a thistle with his bare feet. The attackers cries raised the alarm, the roused Scots duly defeated the invaders, and the Thistle was adopted as the symbol of Scotland.
Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence for this, but Scots, like other nations, love a good story!