Are you calling us quackers? Duck fanciers fight for legacy of man behind the Mallard

The statue representing Sir Nigel Gresley at London’s King’s Cross station was supposed to be a joyous commemoration of one of Britain’s great railway pioneers.

But a bizarre disagreement over including a mallard in the sculpture has now erupted into a vicious row within the society that bears his name after its chairman accused “unbalanced duck fanatics” of going against the wishes of the acclaimed engineer’s surviving relatives.

The Gresley Society, which has about 500 members, commissioned artist Hazel Reeves to create a sculpture of Sir Nigel to be unveiled in King’s Cross next April to mark the 75th anniversary of his death.

Ms Reeves included a duck at the engineer’s feet as a reference to his greatest engineering achievement, the Mallard locomotive that hit speeds of 126mph in 1938 – still a record for a steam engine. Sir Nigel was also known to enjoy feeding the ducks at his home, Salisbury Hall near St Albans in Hertfordshire.

Last November the design was unveiled to wide acclaim. But subsequent complaints from the engineer’s grandsons that the duck “demeaned” the engineer prompted a U-turn from the society’s council, who conceded that they should have consulted the family before publishing the design. The duck was removed from the plans and three council members, who had been working on the project, resigned.

But now the pro-duck campaign has received a shot in the arm after the patron of the Gresley Society, construction magnate Sir William McAlpine, said he believed the duck should be reinstated. Describing those opposed to the duck, including the society’s own chairman, of missing the point, he said: “I was attracted by the statue with the duck when it was first shown in the press. It would attract attention to the statue, which presumably was what it was intended to do. I still think that.”

SirWilliam, former director of construction company Sir Robert McAlpine, has added

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Sir Nigel Gresley was the chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). His A4 class of locomotive cut the journey between King’s Cross and Newcastle to just four hours.

Number the 28th of 35 A4 class express locomotives, was built at LNER’s Doncaster Works in south Yorkshire in March 1938. Five months later, the 70-foot long locomotive was chosen to make an attempt on the speed record as it was the first of its class to be fitted with a double chimney.

On 3 July 1938, it sped down Stoke Bank in Lincolnshire on the East