The Lady Franklin
Copy of message from a Barbara Neish neishnook@ibi.bm but sadly no scan of the Scotsman article, nor any reply by Hamish Robertson
Just a note on the off chance that the Ship, "The Lady Franklin" might have been a part of your Arctic notes. That ship was one of the many that went to the Arctic in search of the missing Sir John Franklin, the arctic explorer. I am trying to assist "a Wylie Cousin" in her endeavours to locate some family history for her side of the tree. William Ralph Bell married Sir James Wylie's grand-niece. William Ralph Bell made a voyage to the Arctic on The Lady Franklin in about 1850-1851 as part of the search.
I will copy a couple of notes from Mary Ann below and you will get the gist of what her search is all about. I DON'T want you to stop what you're doing to make a search - just wondering if The Lady Franklin is a ship you may recall. William Ralph Bell is not one of your Dundee Seamen - he was born in England.
I am hoping I will find something in The Scotsman Newspaper Archives - free searches are being offered this week - but the site is over-whelmed on this the first day.
Lady Franklin (the ship).
Captain William Penny and his wife Margaret Penny went on the Lady Franklin from Dundee March 17, 1849. The whaling ships were outfitted in Dundee for the search. Then they went to another port to get supplies and crew. They may have set sail from Liverpool. Dr. R. A. Goodsir of Edinburgh was the surgeon William Ralph Bell may have been a medical assistant
The ship made the trip 1850-1851
Of course I am really looking for a source to prove that William Ralph Bell was on the trip of the Lady Franklin. He was born December 14, 1832. I think that I reported that the aunties said he was the physician. I doubt it as he was 17 1/2 by the time the ship left in the spring of 1850. I think that he was a student and perhaps, as with Sir James, he was an apprentice in Medicine with Dr. Goodsir.
Further message to Hamish
The attached article does mention The HM Lady Franklin and Captain Penny whom I believe was a Dundee Mariner. It also mentions the Sophia which “may” have been built in Dundee? It’s a crew list from the Lady Franklin that we hope to find that’s a needle in a haystack somewhere, I fear.
Handwritten note at the bottom of the page containing these messages
17 March 1849
In the search for the Franklin Expedition, whaling ships   to be used in the search were prepared and fitted in Dundee.
Captain William Penny of Dundee and his wife Margaret boarded the exposition lead ship LADY FRANKLIN at Dundee and the expedition fleet sailed from Dundee for final storing and preparation before sailing for the Arctic.