​Tall order making 20ft, one ton Lundy for Apprentice Boys parade

Thousands of ABOD members, along with 25 bands, will parade through the walled city to mark the anniversary of the events in 1688 that led to the 105-day siege in 1689.

Lundy is the villain of the piece – accused of being willing to surrender the Protestant occupants of the city to the Catholic army of King James II.

The event commemorates the actions of the 13 local apprentices who used their initiative and locked the city gates as the troops approached.

William Walker was the latest member of his family to assume responsibility for making the enormous Lundy when he took over in 2016. His uncle Raymond had been in charge for more than 30 years before that, and still plays a role in its construction each year.

Work begins in January and a few months later the effigy – constructed using ten large bales of straw, wood and a wire internal frame – is ready to be displayed in the ABOD Memorial Hall as a tourist attraction.

"When everyone comes into the hall, the first thing they say is ‘where’s Lundy?’” William said.

"It is a great honour to be asked to do what we do. It’s what we grew up with.

"There is me, my uncle Raymond, my two sons Ben and Stuart, and then there’s Jonathan Smith who gives us a hand too.

"The ten [straw] bales weigh about a ton, so when you add the wood and everything else you’re talking just over a ton in weight.

"We put him on trolleys to bring out on the Saturday morning, and there is a hoist, but you still need about ten people to get him out,” William added.

Another ABOD takes place in the city in August to commemorate the Relief of Derry in 1689 – when ships of the British fleet breached the defensive boom placed across Lough Foyle.

ABOD general secretary William Moore said: "Part of the tradition is that the [boot] soles of the effigy are removed before it is set alight, and normally presented to representatives from the host club.

"During the great siege in 1689 there were three things that the defenders didn’t have – they didn’t have food, or a water supply, and many people in the 17th century didn’t have shoes on their feet. So if there was a battle or a skirmish outside the walls, after it was over the defenders would have run out and, amongst other things, always have taken the boots from the dead soldiers’ feet."

The main procession will leave Society Street at 1.15pm and make its way to a service at St Columb’s Cathedral via Bishop St, The Diamond, Ferryquay St, Carlisle Rd, Wapping Lane and Kennedy St.

At 3pm the parade leaves the cathedral to walk the same route in reverse, with the burning of Lundy taking place in Bishop St at 4pm.