[3] McLaren was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire, in 1923, to a knitwear salesman from Loch Lomond-side who had moved down to the area.
He served with the Royal Artillery in Italy during the Second World War,[2] including the Battle of Monte Cassino.
He was used as a forward spotter, and on one occasion was confronted by a mound of 1,500 corpses in an Italian churchyard, an unpleasant experience which never left him.
[2] He coached several Hawick youngsters who went on to play for Scotland, including Jim Renwick, Colin Deans and Tony Stanger.
He had particularly endeared himself to his many Welsh admirers with his comment "They will be singing in the valleys tonight"[9] After retirement, McLaren wrote the book Rugby's Great Heroes and Entertainers in 2003.
[16] A statue was unveiled in Wilton Park in Hawick in February 2013 followed in November that year by a bust of McLaren in the main reception area of Murrayfield Stadium.
[17][18][19] The Bill McLaren Foundation, a charity which exists to develop and promote rugby union and sporting opportunities, was launched at Murrayfield Stadium on 4 March 2010.