Search for Siege relic

Sources point to the last known owner as being a Mr William Gallagher, of 34 Bishop Street in the Cityside.

Mr Gallagher was a veteran at the time of the publishing of the details in the Londonderry Sentinel sometime in the 1920s. Now the General Secretary of the Apprentice Boys of Derry, Billy Moore, is hoping that someone can help him discover where the relic from the historic sailing ship has gone, and, if possible, lend it to the ABOD to co-incide with the building and future opening of the Apprentice Boys Heritage Centre, or even in the current museum in the Memorial Hall.

A marine chronometer is a timekeeper precise enough to be used as a portable time standard, and was usually housed in a wooden box.

Mr Moore said: "It would be a vital item for our history museum, and the more artefacts we can obtain relating to the Siege then the more interesting the museum and Heritage Centre will become."

"We would like to think that if anyone still has this in their possession that perhaps they would consider giving it on loan to the Apprentice Boys Heritage Centre," he said.

The Trustees' and ABOD's search for artefacts was recently boosted with the presentation of a jardinire, or plant stand, reportedly made from wood taken from The Mountjoy, which had been on display in Stormont.

Currently the ABOD have been working on the creation of a Heritage Centre for a number of years, and recently heard from Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster that the organisation was to receive funding to offset the costs of a professional/technical expert to help move the project forward.

"Hopefully this money will be in place early in the New year and we will have someone working alongside us who has the expertise to lead us forward and help us draw down the cocktail of funding that is required to build the Heritage Centre," he said, adding: "Through it we hope to create a better understanding of the culture and traditions of the Apprentice Boys of Derry and reaching out to the wider community. We also hope it will act as an encouragement to other people from our community to come across the river and relate to the many points of interest that relate to the Siege and the story of the creation of our City here."

The Centre will be located on the space adjacent to the Memorial Hall which is known as 'The Walker Courtyard'.

Anyone who has information n the Chronometer can contact the Memorial Hall on 028 7126 3571.