John Leslie, was born in Kirkton of Largo in 1766 to parents Robert Leslie (a St Andrews born joiner) and Anne Carstairs of Largo. When he was remembered a century after his death, the following account was given of his early years in the Edinburgh Evening News of 12 November 1932:

"Leslie appears to have been weak as a child, so much so that he was unable to continue attendance at Leven school, where he was sent after a beginning with his schooling at a small class conducted by a woman in Largo. An elder brother, tutoring him at home, however, discovered his amazing aptitude for mathematics; so his parents sent John to St Andrews University, where his brilliance carried all before it".

​He continued his studies at Edinburgh University where he made the acquaintance of Adam Smith, the greatest economist. Then, after a year as tutor in Virginia, a spell of useful work in London, and experience of travel on the continent, in 1805 he was nominated for the Professorship of Mathematics at Edinburgh University in succession to Professor Playfair.

The advert above for one of his published works, in Geometry, dates to soon after his appointment to that role (9 Nov 1809 Perthshire Courier). In September 1819, following the death of John Playfair on 20 July that year, John Leslie became Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh. This appointment was seen as a promotion and was a position that Leslie held until his death. Remembered as both a mathematician and physicist, and especially noted for his studies of heat, the legacy of John Leslie extends through science to the present day. A century after his death, the Dundee Evening Telegraph went as far as to state that without this "forgotten Fifer" it would not be "possible for us to enjoy ice-cream today".

In his later years, Leslie returned to his Largo roots and purchased the mansion of Coates. Coates House (pictured) was built in the 1780s and is situated to the north east of Upper Largo.
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It was near the end of his life, on 27 June 1832, that John Leslie was knighted (see notice below from 20 June Morning Post). 

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The above report in the Calendonian Mercury of 5 Nov 1832 notes the serious ill health of Leslie. He died on 6 November, aged 66, following erysipelas in the leg. The next day's Inverness Courier remarked that...

"The fame of Professor Leslie has extended over all Europe; he was one of the most acute and brilliant of all the men of science who have rendered Great Britain illustrious in modern times, and formed one of that galaxy of great men - the Playfairs, Broughams, Jeffreys and Horners - who have conferred such lustre upon our Scottish metropolis."

Meanwhile, the Morning Advertiser of 13 Nov emphasised that his rise was not due to the "patronage of any powerful individual or party, or to any adventitious circumstances, but solely to his own talents and industry". John Leslie did not marry and had no children. However, his brother Alexander - an architect-builder in Largo - had a son named James who was a civil engineer of note, as was James's son Alexander Leslie (John Leslie's great nephew). More on them at a future date. 

Lundin LInks Laundry appears to have been a fairly short-lived venture during the 1930s. As the above advert from the 1938 'Fife News Almanac' states, the proprietor was William Mann.

William Alexander Mann was born in 1913 in Blairgowrie. His parents were Charles Findlay Mann (a joiner) and Jane Pratt. His mother's family had owned the Guardbridge Laundry, since the late nineteenth century. William (pictured) initially had a job there, working for his uncle, David Pratt.

However, around 1936, William set up a laundry of his own in Lundin Links and moved to the village. At the time of his marriage in June 1939, he was recorded as living at 'Hallwells', 22 Largo Road in Lundin Links (pictured below). It could well be that the laundry was located at that location also. There were large sloping grounds around this house (which would lend themselves to the advertised 'open air drying') and several outbuildings too. 

During its existence, the laundry suffered a fire (see piece from 20 August 1936 Courier) which was fortunately quickly contained, thanks to neighbours.

​William was also talented at rifle shooting. The picture below from the 19 June 1937 St Andrews Citizen shows him holding the Earl Haig Memorial Cup for the Championship of Scotland (for outdoor miniature rifle shooting). First "capped" for Scotland at the age of 17, William had shot for Scotland in international matches four times by the time this picture was taken, aged 24. He was a long time member of the Guardbridge Rifle Club, as was his uncle David Pratt.

William Mann married Mary Donaldson of Guardbridge in June 1939 and at that time was still operating the Lundin Links Laundry. However, some combination of married life and the outbreak of World War Two seems to have ended this enterprise. William went on to be a Lieutenant in the 1st Fife (Cupar) Home Guard and was able to was able to shoot in their regular 'range days' for years after the end of the war. ​William Mann died in 1973, aged 60, in Cupar.

The above advert - for a Methil hairdresser with a branch at Leven Road in Lundin Links - dates to the mid-1940s. Jane Rudd Spinks (known as Jean) was born in 1908 at Malleny Mills, Balerno. However, her parents had been married in Leven, Fife and soon after her birth the family returned to Fife - settling in Methil were her father worked as a coal miner. Jean had a long career in hairdressing, undertaking training in London and gaining an excellent reputation. 

In the early 1930s, Miss Spinks occupied a hairdresser's shop on High Street, Methil. Around that time a curious story was featured in the local paper about how her pet Pekinese dog had been stolen by sailors and spent three months at sea before being taken to Port Said in Egypt. The dog was eventually returned after a six month spell in quarantine. However, it became unwell and it was advised by a vet that the dog should be given "gin night and morning". The dog recovered but was sadly killed by a car in February 1933 (St Andrews Citizen 17 June).

In 1935, aged 27, Jean was involved in a serious road traffic accident near Cardenden, while travelling as pillion passenger on a motor cycle. The motor cycle was hit by a bus and its 21-year-old driver, Ronald Tidman from Anstruther, died from his injuries. Jean was in critical condition for a time, due to serious injuries to her head and leg. 

In 1939, Jean married Albert O'Neil and had a hairdressing shop, with house above, built at 240 Wellesley Road done in art deco style (shown in recent times below). It must have also been around that time that the Lundin Links branch was opened. And the Leven Road premises stayed in Jean's ownership at least into the 1950s. If you know more about the duration of the business's time in Lundin Links, please comment.

Even as late as 1956, it would seem that a woman hairdresser cutting a man's hair was a novelty, as can be see by the article below from the Fifeshire Advertiser of 27 October. The piece concluded that "from all accounts they do every bit as well as the men". Jean died in 1970, aged 62. There remains a hairdresser on Leven Road. If you recall Jean or her shop in Lundin Links - please do share your memories.

Another significant local event which took place in 1970 was the 'Largo Festival of Drama and Flowers' featuring a pageant on Largo's story. Held in the manse garden in Upper Largo, a large cast of local actors, dressed in period costume, re-enacted some key episodes connected to the church's history. Characters featured included King James III, Sir Andrew Wood, Sir Patrick Spens, Sir Alexander Durham and Alexander Selcraig (and his parents John and Euphan).

The photograph below, from the 8 July 1970 East Fife Mail, features a few of the cast, from left to right: George Penrice (as Sir Andrew Wood), Andrew Gilmour (as King James III), Dorothy Brazenall (as the Queen) and Anne Stewart (as Queen's attendant). Largo Kirk can be seen in the background. Church members put many hours into organising the festival, rehearsing, making costumes, baking and setting up stalls. Their reward was hundreds of visitors over three days, 4th to 6th July. The pageant was written and produced by Lewis Cochrane. Many local groups contributed including the Lundie Drama Group, Cupar Operatic Society, the Buckhaven High School choir and orchestra, the Kinghorn Singers and players from New Gilston. A special visit from the Royal Scots Grey's Military and Pipes and Drums Bands on the Monday brought back memories for minister Rev. Douglas Lister, who was a former band member.

The 'Festival of Flowers' element of the occasion, held within the church, was directed by Mrs Mary Scott of Elie with input from Leven Floral Art Club and Lady Gilmour. Teas were provided in a large marquee on the front lawn and meals were served at "The Stables" (in use for the first time, having been newly converted from manse outbuildings, stables and barn). All in all £620 was raised by the series of events.

Back in September of 1970, an appeal was launched in Lower Largo to "save the village's 300-year-old pier" (30 Sep East Fife Mail). A weekend of festivities over 25-27 September saw the pier appeal fund £500 better off. A goatskin-clad "Robinson Crusoe" (Bill Archer, pictured below) arrived by boat and unfurled a parchment bearing the message:

"Dig deep into your purses; unlock your coffers and empty your money bags in the name of our cause - the salvation of this grand old pier. Enjoy yourselves generously for Largo! For me!    signed R. Crusoe."

And the message hit home as the sum raised over two days was more than double what organisers had expected. Attractions included a display by the R.A.F. rescue helicopter from Leuchars, the coastguards and the Fife Fire Brigade. There were trips in local boats and portraits painted to order. A football match took place, a fancy dress ball was held and a competition was held to cross the Keil Burn over 40 yards of rope in the fastest time. The then pier owner Mr Maitland Makgill Crichton, who officially opened the weekend, recorded one of the best times in this event. Helped by excellent weather, more than 6,000 people attended the fun and games. An extract was read from the journal of Alexander Selkirk, dated April 1660:
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"I worked excessively hard these three or four months to get my wall done and the 14th of April I closed it up."

Parallels were drawn between this memoir and the need to shore up the pier and attendees were warned that anyone leaving today with money still left in their pockets would be "ceremoniously thrown into the water from the pier."

One other stall that was there that day was a "Man Friday footprints stall", where folks could leave their footprints embedded in concrete blocks (see inset from the East Fife Mail piece). The plan behind this enterprise was that these prints would be used to line the perimeter of the pier when restoration work began. Do you think people would pay to leave their mark on a restored pier today? I would!

The pier has of course gone through cycles of disrepair and restoration over its existence. Click here for the 1926 winter destruction and here for a 1930s post-repair image.