Waiting in warehouse

“Regarding the item about the carving in the park,” emails John Picton, formerly a CO of Tay Division RNR, “the relic does not come from Admiral Duncan’s ship, the Venerable.

“When Admiral Duncan retired in 1800 he lived at Lundie House where he was surrounded by mementoes of his sea days. These included the figurehead of the Vryheid, the Dutch Admiral de Winter’s flagship at the Battle of Camperdown.

“This item was eventually moved to Camperdown House, where it was ravaged by vandals in the 1970s. The remains were then transferred to HMS Camperdown, the Tay Division RNR HQ, for repair but this operation was never carried out and, on closure of the Division, the figurehead was moved round various sites and now resides, deteriorating further, in a Dundee Council warehouse.

“The Friends of Camperdown House have made various unsuccessful efforts to have the figurehead restored, including potentially interested parties in the

“I was up at Dunkeld and spotted Bobby the robin beside the River Tay,” says Eric Niven of Dundee who supplied this lovely photograph.