Thousands of Dundonians still get misty-eyed at the merest mention of Champion the Wonder Horse.
for 32 years the aluminium horse was a popular ride at Hynd’s stall in the arcade in the old Shore Terrace.
Champion disappeared from view when the arcade closed in 1981 but now his owner is hoping he can once again find a stable home for Champion in Dundee – perhaps even in the V&A when it opens.
Bill Adam, who spent a year in Carolina House orphanage and grew up with “no other toys but Champion”, made an arrangement to buy Champion should he ever be put up for sale in 1974, when rumours the arcade was going to close first began to circulate.
“I had a pretty rough upbringing and was brought up in a children’s home,” said Bill, who now runs the Harbour Nights guest house in Arbroath.
“My highlight was always going to the arcade and seeing Champuion, who I thought was mine. All the children thought he belonged to them.
“In 1974 I made an agreement to buy him if his owners ever put him up for sale”.
When the arcade finally closed in 1981, Bill was living in London and was given just 24 hours to come to Dundee and collect Champion.
He rushed back to the City of Discovery and remarkably, his return journey was even more memorable.
“I had to take him back on the train and he wasn’t wrapped or anything. When I got back to London I was questioned by the police who wanted to know what I was doing,” said Bill.
Champion was kept in storage until Bill and his partner moved back to Arbroath.
He remained a beloved toy in the family for 22 years and was briefly put back on public display in Dundee in the McManus Galleries in 2004.
But now Champion has been fully restored and Bill wants to find him a permanent home in one of Dundee’s museums.
He said: “The motor was broken so we replaced that using one from a Muffin the Mule machine.
“Champion means so much to so many people that I don’t want to see him hidden away.
“It would be great to see him in the V&A but he could also go in the McManus or the Tranport Museum,” he added.