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‘Dad’s Army’ spring a surprise on yacht club’s popular leader

Captain Boyd Baird of the Royal Tay Dads Army being piped in by Tom Mitchell after arriving in the Second World War jeep. The rest of the platoon are in the background.
Captain Boyd Baird of the Royal Tay Dads Army being piped in by Tom Mitchell after arriving in the Second World War jeep. The rest of the platoon are in the background.

A host of Dundee pensioners enjoyed a Dad’s Army themed “jolly boys’ day out” to celebrate their club leader’s 80th birthday.

Young at heart members of the Royal Tay Yacht Club in Broughty Ferry threw a surprise celebration for their friend, Boyd Baird.

Planned with military precision, it saw the unsuspecting octogenarian picked up in an original Second World War jeep before being piped into the yacht club’s HQ on Wednesday night.

Boyd was then taken to Dundee’s Odeon Cinema where 28 of his friends were waiting for him to view the recently released Dad’s Army movie.

Organiser Bob Wilson explained: “For 20 plus years a group of 20 to 25 of us elderly and retired members have met every Thursday and spent the morning doing all types of maintenance and repair work for the club.

“Bearing in mind the high average age of this group it has been long known as “Dads Army”.

“For the past 15 years our Captain Mainwaring has been life member Boyd Baird.

“Last week Boyd celebrated his 80th birthday and the platoon put their thinking caps on as to how best to celebrate this milestone.

“Then came a ‘Eureka’ moment the new Dad’s Army movie had just been released problem solved.

“Boyd will be picked up from his house, but what he doesn’t know is that he is getting picked up in an original Second World War open jeep.

“The jeep was used in the war and was actually taken from an aircraft carrier which was sunk.

“Eleven-year-old Tom Mitchell will also be piping us into the yacht club.”

Mr Wilson continued: “The event itself has just snowballed and now there are 28 of us going.

“Bob doesn’t know anything about it.”

Despite entering the twilight of their lives, Mr Wilson and his friends revel in their roles within the yacht club and most are still active sailors.

The 72-year-old revealed: “All of us still sail.

“Some of us are more active than others, but we all tend to get afloat.

“We all do what we can as well to help the club with repair work.

“The whole thing is just based on Dad’s Army.

“It can be quite funny at times.”