In Statue of Sir Nigel Gresley, how is the Duck controversy discussed?
The original design for the statue had a bronze mallard duck near the figure's right foot.  The planning application stated: "This duck is no mere whimsy. It is an allusion to Sir Nigel’s most famous locomotive, the Mallard, which holds the world speed record for steam locomotives. It is also an allusion to Sir Nigel’s habit of feeding mallards at his prewar home in Salisbury Hall".  As well as the Mallard several other Gresley locomotives were named after birds including Bittern, Golden Plover, Gannet and Kingfisher and it has been claimed that ornithology was one of Gresley's hobbies.  The design, including the mallard, was approved by the council of the Gresley Society, Historic England, the landowner (Network Rail) and the planning authority (Camden Council) by November 2013.In early 2015 the Gresley Society received a letter from Tim Godfrey, its vice-president and a grandson of Gresley, objecting to the inclusion of the duck.  The Society held a special meeting at which it was  stated "We would have to keep the duck off the memorial if we wanted to keep good relations with the Gresley family". A further meeting to discuss the statue in March 2015 was attended by Godfrey and his brother Ben.  Godfrey, who is a breeder of rare ducks, stated that "It’s a statue of a man, not a stupid duck".  Godfrey also disputed that Gresley had any interest in ornithology and that the selection of locomotive names lay with the LNER naming committee and not solely with Gresley.  Some society members stated that the duck "detracted from the dignity of the statue".  During the meeting the council of the Gresley Society voted against including the duck, leading to the resignations of two of its members.The decision led to disappointment for pro-duck campaigners.  It led to what has been described as "possibly the most acrimonious argument in the long, pedantic history of the railway hobbyist".  The dispute was covered in the national newspapers. Steam Railway magazine claimed it had made the Gresley Society "the laughing stock of the railway heritage world".  A public petition to reinstate the duck for the "charm and wit" it added to the statue attracted 3,200 signatures, including those of Michael Portillo, Vanessa Feltz and Sir William McAlpine.  McAlpine, a patron of the Gresley Society, said the duck showed the human side of Gresley and his wider interests and artists claimed it was an important attribute of the piece, providing a reference to the subject's significance.A December 2015 election for the council of the Gresley Society saw strong campaigning for candidates who would support the inclusion of the duck.  However at the meeting, non-members were barred from the room and unable to cast proxy votes for members, which the Society later claimed had been a mistake.  The action was the subject of a formal complaint to the Charity Commission.  Pro-duck supporters also lobbied Camden Council to insist on the duck as it was shown on the approved planning permission documents.  Because of the duck issue the Gresley Society offered to return the donations of any of the supporters of the original fundraising campaign, but only one chose to take the offer up.  The statue was unveiled without the duck, though many attendees at the event brought rubber ducks to demonstrate their opposition to the decision.
Mallard Camden Council mallard Michael Portillo Network Rail Charity Commission Vanessa Feltz Sir William McAlpine Historic England ornithology