Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee United hat returning to city 40 years after owner’s tragic death in Canada

Sandra Jane Ross followed Dundee United through her childhood and teenage years.

The siblings of a Dundee United fan killed in a car crash in Canada 40 years ago are set to be reunited with her beloved bonnet.

Sandra Jane Ross never lost her love for the Tannadice side, despite moving nearly 4,000 miles away to start a new job in December 1980.

She had followed the club along with brothers Iain, Robert and Drew before relocating to work as a nanny in the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta.

But the former Menzieshill High School pupil was killed in a car crash aged 18, just three months after moving to North America.

Her aunt, Helen Ross O’Donoghue – who lives in St Albert, Canada – kept some of Sandra’s personal possessions, including the tangerine and black hat that she enjoyed wearing.

Sandra Jane Ross wearing her Dundee United hat as a child
Sandra Jane Ross wearing her Dundee United hat.

She now plans to send it back to Dundee to be with Sandra’s brothers, just over four decades after her death.

Helen told The Courier: “Sandra’s family were ardent United followers and she was the same, United daft since she was a little girl.

“She became a nanny and always asked me to find her a job in Canada as she wanted to come here.

“I still remember her arriving in mid-December of 1980, completely excited about her position and wearing the Dundee United bonnet.

“Everyone who met her that December saw that bonnet and she would explain all about the team to anyone who asked.”

A polaroid picture of Sandra Jane Ross as a teenager
Sandra Jane Ross.

Helen still recalls her last conversation with her niece before she and a friend were killed.

Helen said: “Sandra called the evening of the last day of February and said she had a day off and was heading to her friend’s parents’ farm.

“I received a call at 6am March 1 to say she and Tammy had been killed in a car accident.

“Sandra’s effects were boxed up and I kept them stored away until it was time to let someone have them.

“The cap, however, I kept as I knew she would want that stored along with some paperwork.

A newspaper cutting from The Courier with the headline: "Dundee girl killed in Canada"
The Courier covered Sandra’s death on March 3 1981.

“Since then it has been wrapped up but now is the time for it to be returned to family in Dundee.”

Helen added: “I still remember her wearing it, she was a special girl and was always smiling and helping others.

“I posted something about it on the Facebook group Meh Dundee to say it was coming back after 40 years and the response was incredible.

“I’ll hopefully be back in Dundee next year but I’m also looking to try and get it sent over by airmail in the meantime.”