| Administrative History | The whale depicted in these photographs originally hung in a corridor in, or adjaescent to, the Anatomy Museum, Marischal College. In the ?1960s, it was transferred to the University's Zoology Museum, then situated upstairs in Marischal College, in one of the galleries presently occupied by Marischal Museum.This occurred as part of the phased transfer of comparitive anatomy specimens from the University's Anatomy Museum to the Natural History Museum.
When a new Zoology building was opened on St Machar's Drive, Old Aberdeen the Zoology Museum (including the whale) was transferred there. It was disassembled for this removal and lay boxed up for some time, before Dr Bob Ralph, with some student assistance, re-articulated the skeleton and hung it in the Museum |
| Description | Photographs of whale being dismantled from corridor in or adjaescent to the Anatomy Museum, Marischal College, prior to its transfer to the Zoology Museum. It is believed that the photograph may have been taken in the mid-1960s. Some individuals have been identified by current members of Zoology Department staff:
Photograph 1: Vitek Mojsiewicz, son of Julian Mojsiewicz, is pictured on right hand side of whale, top, with one hand resting on whale and the other on his hips, leaning towards whale. Dark hair.
Photograph 2: Julian Mojsiewicz, chief technician and taxidermist, Natural History [Zoology], is pictured on the right hand side of whale, second from top, hands resting on hips. Wearing glasses.
Photographs 3 and 4: Phil Glendinning, workshop technician, Natural History [Zoology], is pictured on right hand side of photograph, behind whale. Smiling, fair hair.
Photograph 5: Ronnie Yule, junior technician, Natural History [Zoology] (later, Church of Scotland minister in Fraserburgh), is pictured on left hand side of photograph, in profile. Dark hair, young. |