THE BELL THAT marked the presence of the Royal Navy in Moray for decades was returned to Lossiemouth earlier this week in a formal hand-over presentation.
As recalled by insideMoray last month, the HMS Fulmar bell was a familiar sight for military personnel at Lossiemouth before the base was handed back to the RAF in 1972. At that time the bell was purchased by former sailors who served on HMS Fulmar – and eventually found its way to the Nautical Club in Birmingham.
The Covesea Lighthouse Trust sought to locate the bell to form a part of their museum celebrating the history of the base – and by a stroke of good luck, Dave Clark from the Buccaneer and HMS Fulmar Associations discovered that the Nautical Club was in the process of closing down and was willing to part with the Bell.
A formal ceremony on Wednesday marked the return to Lossiemouth, where the Bell was delivered to the Fisheries and Community Museum for safekeeping and display until work on preparing the Covesea site is completed.
Helping in the return and recording its progress through Lossiemouth for a future film project was Moray filmmaker Yvonne Findlay, who said: “It was a very happy occasion with about 50 people from the Lossie community in attendance, including HMS Fulmar veterans and representation from the RAF.
“The handover of the Bell was marked by the ceremony ‘handing over the watch’ from the Fleet Air Arm Association and Buccaneer Squadron to the Lossiemouth Fisheries Museum, symbolised by eight chimes by each party.
“The young film team working on animation with Creative Visions were told the story of the Bell by Dave Clark. Another important part of the ceremony was the handing over of the brass polishing cloth!”
Memories of HMS Fulmar? Yvonne Findlay would like to hear them – contact her by email to yvonne@creativevisionsmoray.co.uk.