Family’s hopes for a memorial in Sir Sean Connery’s beloved home country

Sir Sean Connery’s family hope a lasting memorial to the icon will be created in Scotland.

The actor best known for playing James Bond lived in the Bahamas but has always spoken of his love for his home country.

Sir Sean’s younger brother Neil Connery, 83 – who still lives in Edinburgh where they were born and brought up – was devastated by his brother’s death.

He was too upset to speak yesterday, but his wife, Elinor, said: “Neil is very sad and distressed at losing his older brother.”

Elinor said she and Neil plan to talk to her sister-in-law and nephew about a memorial in Scotland.

Elinor said: “It’s too soon to say, but we’ll be speaking to Sean’s wife Micheline and Jason, Sean’s son, about that. It would be lovely but it’s for his immediate family to decide upon.”

Sean Connery’s granddaughter Saskia Connery posted pictures of them posing together on Instagram along with an emotional tribute.

In one picture the pair are swimming together and in another Saskia is kissing Sir Sean on the side of his face as he smiles.

She said: “A surreal goodbye to my best friend, mentor and dear grandfather.

“Thank you for all the wishes and we will get back to you all soon.

“Heaven has gained the most legendary angel today.”

Meanwhile, there were tributes from a football club and dairy which Connery had been involved in as a young man in Edinburgh.

The store which first employed Connery when he was just a teenager also paid tribute to the man it called “undoubtedly our most famous employee”.

Connery worked in the dairy of the St Cuthbert’s Co-Operative Society, now Scottish Midland (Scotmid) Co-operative, delivering milk around his home city of Edinburgh.

The company posted an image on Facebook of a young Thomas S Connery’s employment record, which showed his start date as July 20 1944 and the date he left as January 7 1950.

The caption read: “Deeply saddened to hear the news that Sir Sean Connery has died.

“Undoubtedly our most famous former employee, in 1944 Thomas Sean Connery, 13, started work as a barrow worker in the St Cuthbert’s dairy.

“He left his role as a milk horseman in 1950 to pursue his acting career.”