The seventh meeting of the season took place at the Panmure Arms Hotel, Edzell on Tuesday 10 March 2026. President Marion welcomed members, visitors from Inner Wheel Clubs of Forfar and Montrose and our speaker for the meeting, Dave Ramsay.
Dave, a native of Arbroath but now a resident of Montrose, provided a very interesting talk about Hercules Linton and the Cutty Sark tea clipper. Linton was born in 1837 in Inverbervie and is best known for designing the Cutty Sark. He attended a private school in Arbuthnott and secondary school at the old Arbroath High School, before being apprenticed to Hall and Sons in Aberdeen. In 1868, he formed the firm of Scott and Linton, shipbuilders in Dumbarton, where he was commissioned to build the Cutty Sark. It was designed to be very fast to enable it to bring tea from the Far East. It is now a major attraction at the Royal Museums, Greenwich, London.
In 1969, the centenary of the launch of the Cutty Sark, a statue of the bow, crafted by Scott Sutherland, was built in Inverbervie. Cutty Sark’s name comes from the famous poem by Robert Burns – Tam O’ Shanter. It is about a farmer, Tam, who was chased by a scantily clad witch called Nannie, dressed only in a ‘Cutty Sark’ – a short nightdress. One of our members was invited to Greenwich after submitting a poster for Cutty Sark Whisky whilst a student at college in London in1969.
President Marion gave the vote of thanks.
On a personal note, many years ago, whilst on holiday in Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean on the tea clipper route, I was amazed to see replicas of the Cutty Sark in many hotels and shops across the island.
The Club held a very successful Charity Bazaar on Saturday 7 March in the Masonic Hall, Laurencekirk. The morning was lovely, bright and dry resulting in a good attendance in the hall where our baking and fresh produce stalls sold out. All money raised from our Bazaar will be distributed locally in the coming months.
As always, if you would be interested in becoming a member of Inner Wheel, helping us with knitting squares, sewing blankets, collecting stamps, ring pulls, or underwear for ‘Smalls for All’, please contact Innerwheeldistrict1@outlook.com
Denise Donald
Club Correspondent
