THERE are hopes a model representing a proud piece of Alloa’s D-Day history will find a permanent home after going on display last week.

Marking the 75th anniversary of the amphibious operations in Normandy during WWII, a stunning scale model replica of a tank landing vessel was on display at Wetherspoons pub the Bobbing John.

The detailed Mark 4 assault craft was hand-made by Clackmannan man Jimmy Wright, 93, who along with many other local men and women worked as a welder at Alloa’s McLeod & Sons shipyard.

Working outdoors, they refitted large numbers of various ships for war at the now gone docks, including around 130 of the tank landing craft for Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day.

Jimmy had started as a 14-year-old apprentice at the local shipyard and was around 18 when the Allied forces hit the beaches on the morning of Tuesday, June 6, 1944.

Such was the local effort, it was second only to a dry dock in Northern Ireland across the whole of the UK – per man and woman, based on tonnage.

Lt Col (Retd) Johnny Stewart, Lord-Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire, visited the model on exhibit last week and was keen to absorb its history.

He said: “I’m very sad not to meet Jimmy Wright, who sadly is in hospital, but I’m delighted to be able to see the replica of the landing craft.

“I really hope that it can find a permanent home somewhere in Alloa.”

Following the war, a message from Their Lordships at the Admiralty was sent to McLeod & Sons.

It read: “During World War Two your output per man (based on tonnage) was only bettered in the whole of the United Kingdom by a yard in Northern Ireland.

“Please convey to your entire workforce the admiralties gratitude for their magnificent effort during hostilities.”

It is understood the LCT (landing craft, tank) Mark 4 was around 187ft in length with a beam of around 39ft.

With a displacement of 595t it could nine M4 Sherman or six Churchill tanks, propelled by two 460hp Paxman diesel engines at a cruise speed of 8knots.