An evocative emblem of Moray’s military history has been returned to the region after more than four decades.
A brass bell, which was one of the hallmarks of Lossiemouth naval base HMS Fulmar until it closed in 1972, was yesterday transported almost 500 miles from Birmingham back to the Scottish town.
It took four volunteers to lift the sturdy brass heirloom on to the plinth which it will now occupy at the Lossiemouth Fisheries and Community Museum on Pitgaveny Street.
The gleaming object has assumed pride of place in a display celebrating the history of the famous naval base.
The bell is engraved with the slogan “HMS Fulmar 1946”, the year in which the Fleet Air Arm took over the grounds.
It remained at the base’s entrance until 1972, when the RAF moved onto the premises.
Members of the Fulmar Association Committee and Fleet Air Arm Buccaneer Association launched a project to return the memento to Moray earlier this year.
Hugh Williams, the chairman of the Fulmar Association, said that when the RAF assumed control of the Lossiemouth station, the bell was stored in Ministry of Defence buildings in Portsmouth.
It was later purchased by a group of former sailors who used it as an unofficial mascot for their Royal Naval Air Service club in Birmingham.
Mr Clark added that he and his colleagues were delighted when they discovered the owner of the bell was a fellow member of their association, whose wife served with the Women’s Royal Naval Service at Lossiemouth.
Mr Clark added: “They felt that the bell belonged up here, and I am happy to see it back.
“People around the area have a great affection for the navy’s time in Lossiemouth, it still means a lot.”
The bell will go on public display at the Lossiemouth Fisheries and Community Museum today.
Ultimately, it is envisaged that the bell will be stored permanently at a proposed Royal Navy and RAF museum at Covesea.
The retired servicemen enlisted the help of Moray filmmaker Yvonne Findlay in tracing the bell and arranging its return.
Mrs Findlay will record a HMS Fulmar reunion in June, and produce a film about the history of the site.
She is encouraging anyone with photographs or anecdotes from their time there to email: yvonne@creativevisionsmoray.co.uk
