Ferry welcomes wullie home

RNLI made winning bid thanks to crowdfunding

Crowds of people gathered in Broughty Ferry last night to welcome the latest, and most famous, member of its lifeboat crew, Oor Wullie.

Broughty Ferry RNLI bought the Oor Lifesaver statue, which was part of the Bucket Trail, for £10,000 at auction last month.

There were cheers as the sculpture arrived in style, on board a lifeboat, at 5.30pm. Youngsters from the 64th Dundee Brownies held up signs which said “Welcome Home Oor Lifesaver”.

The statue, designed by local artist Fiona Hay, features Wullie in a lifeboat uniform and has ‘RIP Mona’ etched on its bucket to honour crew members who lost their lives in a rescue bid in 1958.

The lifeboat crew started their fundraising campaign to purchase the statue after a rival campaign in Arbroath set its sights on taking it to Angus.

RNLI chairman Ian Philp praised the community for supporting their bid.

He said: “The Arbroath campaign stirred us into action. It made us realise that we’d have to raise a significant amount to secure him. It really galvanized us to get going.

“When we first started the crowdfunding we were so pleased that the local community, the shops, businesses and schools all rallied round.

“In total we raised £16,000. This allowed us to buy the Oor Wullie and the surplus is being split 50:50 between the ARCHIE Foundation and the RNLI.

The statue will remain at the pier over the weekend before moving to an RNLI shop in Gray Street, Broughty Ferry, on Tuesday where it will stay for two weeks.

Oor Lifesaver will be kept in the lifeboat shed over the winter before returning to the pier next summer.

Emma White, head of ARCHIE fundraising, accepted a cheque for £3,000 from RNLI Broughty Ferry last night.

One of the most prized Oor Wullie statues arrived at its new home in dramatic style last night.

The “Oor Lifesaver” Wullie will have pride of place at Broughty Ferry lifeboat station after locals joined a fundraising campaign.

Children were among those joyously welcoming Wullie ashore following his short trip down the Tay.

There appears to be no doubt the loveable scamp will be made very welcome in the Ferry.

Pictures: Kim Cessford. Oor Lifesaver was given a warm welcome when he arrived on a lifeboat down the Tay and was lifted ashore by Ewan Philp, left, and mechanic Scott Huggins.