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1960s Largo Harbour

24/2/2023

Above is a 1960s view taken from Largo Pier, across the Keil towards Drummochy. Some of the detail is shown below on what was clearly a warm summer day. Note the old shelter at Cellar Braes, the people sitting on the bench next to it and the towels left on the lower part of the sea wall. Two beautiful boats are central to the image. The boat to the rear is W. Ewan Bryden's 'Greenmantle'. This photogenic vessel was a Largo fixture for a couple of decades. If you know the name of the second boat, please comment.

The 'Fish Restaurant' that was run by the Forte family is prominent at the harbour edge in the image above. Known locally as Granny Forte's chip shop or Granny Greasers, this business operated for several decades from the 1920s. The black and white image and map below shows a collection of old outbuildings on the site prior to this. When the fish shop first appeared on the valuation roll in the mid 1920s, the building was owned by Rachel Williamson of Coventry Cottage (the cream coloured house in the centre of the detailed image below) and the tenant was Daniel Forte. Rachel was the daughter of plasterer Alexander Williamson, who may well have been involved in the construction of the building and who may have used the earlier outbuildings in his line of work. By 1930, the Fortes had bought the shop premises, as Concetta Forte, Daniel's wife, was recorded as proprietor. Daniel died in 1943 and Concetta in 1969. The fish shop building was demolished in the 1970s.

The second image below was taken on the same day but orientated towards the viaduct and road bridge. In this photograph the caravan park can be glimpsed through the arch of the viaduct along with the gasworks. The three houses standing prominently behind the Fish Restaurant are, from left to right, Bellvue, Gullane View and Drummochy House (see map further below).

Interestingly, the Scottish colourist, George Leslie Hunter, produced an artwork featuring Bellvue and Coventry Cottage (see below). Captured from an interesting vantage point down at water level in the harbour, this 1920s watercolour looks up at the houses while fishing nets dry on poles to the right. The tall yellow object to the left could well be a hayrick.

Colour photographs by James Pugh, studio photographer from Edinburgh. James became a member of the Royal Photographic Society in 1963.

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Lily - KY 675

17/2/2023

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The postcard image above (and detailed zoom) features the fishing boat Lily - registration KY 675. For a time, boats under 15 tons burden were marked with their registration numbers first, followed by the letter code of their port of registry, hence the marking 675 KY. Lily was owned by David Gillies. There was no record of Lily in 1901 but she did appear on the on the 1914 register as a 1 tonne vessel - double the weight of David Gillies's other older boat, Violet (KY 289). All the boats registered to Largo in 1914 are shown in the table below.

Given that there was only one Lily on the above list, we can only assume that this was the same vessel involved in the 13 January 1916 disaster where two Largo men lost their lives. As the report from the 20 January 1916 Leven Advertiser below tells us, Lily was "struck by a sudden squall, capsizing the craft, which immediately sank". On this occasion, Lily was crewed by Thomas Melville and Robert Guthrie. They were one of five crews out on the day working the trammel nets. Such nets (shown in the image further below) were anchored to the sea bed. The accident was seen from the shore and several men hastily "manned a yawl and raced to the rescue" (among them owner of Lily, David Gillies). However, nothing could be done to save the men. The body of Robert Guthrie was recovered, while that of Thomas Melville was not.

In a very sad coincidence, Thomas Melville was the son of David Melville who had died twenty years earlier in similar circumstances, fishing in Largo Bay. Below is the headstone they share (along with other family members) at Largo Cemetery. Note that the same wording is inscribed for both father and son: "accidentally drowned in Largo Bay". The loss of Melville and Guthrie was acutely felt both in Largo and the wider coastal district where they would sell their catches to local households. Robert Guthrie was a widower, aged 57 who left behind a family of three. He had close connections to Largo Baptist Church and in fact had just been appointed as church caretaker prior to the accident. Thomas Melville was 51 and left a wife and three children. At the time of his death, his eldest son James was in hospital having been seriously wounded while serving with the 9th Black Watch. James survived but Thomas Melville's younger brother Peter Melville was killed in action in 1917.

Four years after the 1916 Lily accident, another Lily was built in Largo by joiner Walter Horne. This vessel was registered ML 56 and was a 1.16 tons sail boat measuring 16.8 x 6.4 x 2.4 feet. Her original owner was Alexander Simpson, the son-in-law of James Melville (the brother of David Melville who drowned in 1896 and uncle to Thomas Melville who had drowned in 1916). Simpson was married to Margaret Melville. So the new Lily was named after the original. Alexander Simpson owned the Lily from 1920 until his death in 1928. The subsequent owner was J. Clunie (from 1929 to 1934) and then A. Clunie (from 1934 until 1938). The new Lily then went out of register.

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British Queen - KY 1419

10/2/2023

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Painting reproduced with kind permission of Meriel Clark.

The above painting dates to 1878 and is by William Ewart Lockhart R.S.A.. It depicts Largo Harbour, full of fishing boats with their sails aloft. The reddish-brown colour of the sails is the result of the white fabric being treated (or barked) with tar to make them more weather-proof. Among the vessels in this scene could well be the Largo-based fishing boat British Queen, registration KY 1419. British Queen was built in early 1877 for David Melville. Melville was born around 1842 and married Elizabeth Ballingall in 1862. He would have been in his mid-thirties when British Queen was completed. Details of her completion and launch at Buckhaven are given below (22 March 1877 Fife Herald). The clinker boat was built at the yard of John Kinnear. At the time it was reportedly the largest boat ever built in Buckhaven.

A few months after the British Queen arrived at Largo, the incident below took place, affecting fellow fisherman David Gillies's boat. In a small insight to fishing boat maintenance, this story tells of a fire resulting from the practice of tarring a boat. On this occasion, disaster was averted by the speedy intervention of fellow fishermen. Before modern varnishes, various tar-based mixtures were used to protect the wood and ropes of fishing boats. Further below is an 1873 painting by Edouard Manet, depicting the tarring process.

The 43-feet British Queen was listed in the Mariners' Almanacs of 1887 and 1889 as still being owned by David Melville. However, the 1895 almanac (see below) recorded a shift in ownership to David Gillies (the fisherman mentioned in the above incident). Tragically, on 24 February 1896, David Melville was drowned in a fishing accident, along with two others - his brother Thomas Melville and his brother-in-law, Thomas Ballingall. The three men were out line fishing in Largo Bay, about 3 miles from shore, in calm seas and little wind. Their 16 feet vessel was found bottom up by the crew of another boat (William and John Ballingall and John Gillies), who righted the upset boat.

The Ballingall/Gillies crew returned to Largo with the only body that could be found, that of Thomas Melville. Clergymen Reverend David Malloch and Reverend William Pulford broke the news to the affected families. David Melville, who was 53, left a family of eight (mostly grown up and including Alexander Kirk Melville). His widow Elizabeth died in September of the same year aged 51. Thomas Ballingall was 38 years old, while Thomas Melville was 40 (both men also had wives and families). The British Queen disappeared from official records shortly afterwards. If you know more about the British Queen or have a photograph of her, please do get in touch.

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Statue Unveiling Preparations

3/2/2023

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The photograph above shows the workers of Cardy Net Factory in December 1885, on the day of the unveiling of the statue depicting Robinson Crusoe (the fictional character inspired by local man Alexander Selkirk). In the picture there are 37 women and 3 men. The men could well be brothers of factory owner David Gillies. Two of his brothers (William Gillies and John Gillies) were both described as 'Net Machine Mechanics' in the 1881 census. However, John died in 1882 aged just 25.

A younger brother, Robert Gillies, was a joiner, while another brother, James, was a ship's carpenter. The three men in the back row above (potentially William, Robert and James), appear in several other photographs taken on the same day. They seem to have had a key role in the decoration of the village for the occasion, including erecting the platform beneath the statue, upon which the 'platform party' would assemble for the unveiling (seen in the image below). The many arches of evergreens along the route of the parade were likely also their handiwork.

In the above photo, we can clearly see the same three men. The one on the left has a lighter shirt with dark waistcoat, the man in the centre has a distinctive wide brimmed hat and the man on the right has no beard but has a small hat perched high on his head and a visible pocket watch chain. The latter two are prominent in the scene below, standing adjacent to White Cottage on the right. The beardless man with the dog, holding the hammer, appears to have been securing the finishing touches prior to the event getting under way.

All three can be seen below to the left of centre, resting by the railings of St David's Church. Many other local people are out on the streets observing the goings on, even those not formally involved in proceedings. Of course many local folk, particularly the tradespeople, were part of the procession along the Main Street. The following description is from the Fife Herald of 16 December:

"...the bobbin winders, the guarders and other net workers in Cardy Works; the fishermen and fisher lasses of Largo; the former accompanying the fishing boat "Robinson Crusoe" mounted on a cart....the nimble fingers of the fisher lasses as they sat "baiting the line" attracting much attention. Then came the fish-cadgers, the boat-builders, the cork-cutters...oil workers...bakers...bedecked with white caps and aprons....Masons, joiners, plasterers, blacksmiths, bottle-top makers and others followed - all busily engaged in practical illustrations of their respective handicrafts."

The fishing boat named Robinson Crusoe mentioned above was registered KY 527, was 33 feet in length and belonged to another David Gillies.

Finally, we can see in the photograph below, the man on the right is holding flags, while chatting to some older gentlemen. In the image further below, we can see later in the day that the same flags are aloft at the same spot. Could the dressmaker sister of David Gillies - Agnes Gillies - have been behind the beautifully sewn banners and flags? Or perhaps many female hands collaborated on this element of the day. To see a range of 'then and now' images from this special day in 1885, click here and here. As one of the eldest villagers was quoted in the Fife Herald article "There was never a day like this in Lergie'".

Photos by Terras of Markinch (now held by St Andrews University Library Special Collection).

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1960s Largo Harbour

Lily - KY 675

British Queen - KY 1419

Statue Unveiling Preparations

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