Shipping heir’s model is new distillery’s mascot

Replica of HMS Hood bought

A replica of a tragic warship, which was one of the most treasured possessions of a flamboyant Angus shipping heir, will become the mascot of a whisky distillery.

Dundee property developer David Morrison, chairman of fledgling Loch Eriboll Distillery Limited, secured the rare nine-foot scale model of HMS Hood at an auction in Perth.

The remote controlled battleship was among the cream of the contents that went under the hammer following the death of Sir James Cayzer who died in 2012 aged 80.

The model is thought to have been built over 80 years ago, when The Mighty Hood was the pride of the Royal Navy, as a working plaything for Sir James and his elder brother, Sir Nigel.

Mr Morrison said: “We’re delighted to have secured a scale model of HMS Hood that we can display in the distillery shop.

“The new distillery in Laid, which will be the most north-westerly on the British mainland, will also be at the start of the path to the Hood Stones and it is only fitting that we honour the memory of the brave men that served on HMS Hood by telling her story to the many visitors we expect to receive.”

HMS Hood, which was built at John Brown’s Clydebank shipyard, was commissioned in 1920 and was a visitor to Loch Eriboll in the inter-war years. She often anchored opposite the township of Laid, which is overlooked by the vessel’s unofficial memorial, the Hood Stones.

During one visit in 1935, members of the Hood’s crew went ashore and trekked to a ridge high above the loch, where they placed white stones that spelled out the name of their ship.

The Hood Stones have in recent years been maintained and whitewashed by visiting sailors, naval history enthusiasts and locals aware of their significance.

In May 1941 HMS Hood left Orkney to join a powerful naval force in pursuit of the Nazi Kriegsmarine’s most powerful battleship Bismarck, which had broken out of her Norwegian base to ravage merchant shipping in the Atlantic.