On 5 November 1921 the Chairman and Organising Secretary of Earl Haig's Fund for the British Legion placed the letter below in a number of newspapers around the country. The point they wanted to make was the Remembrance Day and the Poppy Appeal was something a bit different from your average 'Flag Day' (of which there were many). It was an opportunity to truly remember all of those who made a sacrifice in the Great War - not only those that lost their lives but also those that were injured and those that gave what should have been some of the best years of their lives to walk "the valley of the shadow of death". As we now better appreciate, many were scarred mentally as well as physically.

Time may pass, and subsequent conflicts may take place, but on the one hundredth 'poppy day', may all continue to keep in mind the importance of remembrance. To read more about the history of remembrance poppies try these links:

www.poppyfactory.org/about-us/history-timeline/

https://poppyladymadameguerin.wordpress.com/remembrance-poppy-timeline-for-great-britain/
​

On 22 June 1904, Isabella Carse Paxton was born at Drum Lodge. She was the third daughter of Robert Carswell Paxton and Margaret Donald Baird. At the time of her birth, her parents were 51 and 41 respectively and already had two daughters - Jessie aged 8 and Margaret aged 2. Jessie had been born in the USA in 1896 and Margaret at Drum Lodge in 1902.  The family had recently settled in Lundin Links, following time in Texas where Robert owned a very successful sheep ranch - Longfellow Ranch.

He was one of the early settlers of Terrell County in Texas, emigrating from Scotland in 1878. Once his family had settled in Fife, he continued to make frequent visits to the USA until the outbreak of the First World War. Robert was the fourth of eight children and was born in Kilmarnock in 1852 to George Paxton.  His father was a brewer, and owner of Richardland Brewery on the River Irvine at Riccarton, Kilmarnock.  He died when Robert was still a child and his elder brother took on the brewery business. Like many younger sons, Robert took the opportunity to seek his fortune elsewhere.

When Isabel was three years old, on 15 October 1907, her younger sister Emily Wallace Paxton was born at Elphinstone on Crescent Road. The arrival of their fourth daughter completed the Paxton family. The following year, they bought 'Homelands' as their permanent family home and this is where Isabel would live out the remainder of her life over ten decades. At the time of the 1911 census, Isabel was at Homelands with her mother and sisters Margaret and Emily. It seems likely that Robert and Jessie were on a visit to the USA at the time. Also recorded in the Homelands household were a governess, a cook and a housemaid.

Family life was disrupted when four-year-old Emily developed tubercular meningitis and died at Homelands on 3 April 1912. Isabel would have been 7 at the time and no doubt remembered this sad event for the rest of her life. Life changed again during the Great War years. The family swung into action to support the war effort. For four and a half years, the Lundin Links Red Cross work party was based at Homelands, with Mrs Paxton as convener. Among other things, the group made shirts, socks, pyjamas, etc. This undoubtedly had a huge influence upon young Isabel, who would go on to be heavily involved in the work of the Red Cross and other charities throughout her adult life. 

After his retirement from ranching, Robert joined the rest of the family at Homelands permanently and became very involved in village life. He had already been Captain of Lundin Golf Club 1908-09 and continued to be involved at the Club. Also he served on the Parish Council (chairing it for a time) and was an elder at Largo Parish Church.  He gifted a well-equipped recreation hut to the village and laid out the pitch and putt facility at the Golf Club. Robert, pictured below, died on 8 Oct 1926 from tuberculous.

Only 22-years-old when her father died, Isabel and her two elder sisters stayed with their mother at Homelands. All continued to be active within community organisations, such as the church, the S.W.R.I. and the Lundin Amateur Dramatic Society. The photograph at the top of this piece is of Isabel aged 26, taken from the 9 February 1931 Dundee Courier when she performed in a production of 'Prelude to a Play'. The Fife Free Press review of the play praised Isabel's portrayal of Angela Hamilton as being "very good indeed" and that she "looked splendid in the part".

Isabel was also heavily involved in Girl Guiding. She was Brown Owl at 1st Largo Brownies from 1924 to 1939 but also had spells involved with Guides and Rangers. She even helped to set up new Brownie groups outside of Largo (using Largo as a model that could be replicated elsewhere). This activity was disrupted by the Second World War and Isabel joining the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Services. As part of her role, she drove ambulances. During war time, Isabel's mother, Margaret, died on 7 October 1941 at Homelands. 

Isabel and her diversional therapy work are mentioned in the newspaper archives over many years. Above top is an advert from the Fife Herald of 14 November 1951 for a talk by Miss Paxton at the AGM of the Fife Branch of the Red Cross. Also above is a piece from the 20 May 1959 Leven Mail detailing another talk by Isabel. In the 5 November 1952 Leven Mail it was reported that during that year Isabel and her two colleagues at the Red Cross had "paid 896 visits to 139 patients confined to their homes and gave out 321 articles of work, as well as large quantities of wool for knitting and weaving."  A piece in the 28 October 1959 Leven Mail noted that Isabel said "she loved her work".

During the 1960s, Isabel lost her two elder sisters. First Jessie passed away in 1962 and then Margaret in 1966. Isabel lived for another 27 years, remaining at Homelands - the last surviving member of a remarkable family. During this period Isabel became increasingly involved with the Fife branch of the MS Society and would drive all over the county supporting their work. Homelands had been converted into effectively two houses post-war and a succession of patients stayed in the 'back wing', particularly over the summer months. A mid-1970s view of Homelands with a car parked at the west-facing entrance is shown below.

Ian Marshall (whose mother was a cousin of Isabel's) recalls that:

"The house was always full of flowers, at all times of year.  There was a gardener and his family who lived above the garages which had been stables, next to the public Bowling Green.  There were two big greenhouses and a large and productive vegetable garden between the house and the wall along the Leven Road.  There were well-stocked flowerbeds on the south side of the house, and on the east, and a great variety of trees and flowering shrubs.  Potted plants were prepared in the greenhouses and brought into the living room, which was always scented."

Isabel certainly loved her garden and its flowers and produce. This gave her much pleasure in the years where her own mobility became restricted and so she developed the vision of Homelands being enjoyed into the future by those who live with disability. Isabel died on 16 January 1993 at the age of 88 and left her home to charity for the benefit of people affected by “MS and other disabling and incurable conditions”. As a result of this generous legacy, the Homelands Trust created four purpose-built, accessible, self-catering holiday lodges, which are designed and equipped to meet the needs of disabled people with a variety of conditions. The East Fife Mail newspaper clipping at the foot of this post shows Isabel centre front as the guest of honour at the 1st Largo Brownies Diamond Anniversary celebration in the mid-1980s. Many still fondly remember this remarkable lady whose legacy will live on for a long time to come.
​

On 3 March 1944 a meeting was held in the Lundin Mill School to discuss arrangements for "Salute the Soldier" week. As the Second World War approached the five year mark, this latest themed national savings campaign was hoped to be "a victory salute to our soldiers". Fife set a target of £3,000,000 and ear-marked 17-24 June while suggesting that local areas may vary their dates throughout June (in order to avoid events competing with one another and to make it easier to book pipe bands and the like). 

Largo and Newburn held a meeting on 3 March to "consider arrangements for local effort" (see notice below from that week's Leven Mail). At that meeting it was agreed to hold the local programme of events 3-10 June and to aim for a target of £15,000 (for comparison the target set by Leven was £50,000).  Several sub-committees were set up to organise the various events. The overall Chair of proceedings was W. Lindsay Burns, managing director of Henry Balfour and Company Durie Foundry in Leven, who lived at Linburn on Leven Road, Lundin Links.
​

Central to Largo's programme of events was a 'Grand Concert' in the Montrave Hall on 8 June, where Lord Elgin would give a speech and the Polish soldiers would, as in previous years, play a key role in the entertainment. The 'Grand Dance' at La Scala boasted a six piece dance band (see notices below from the 31 May Leven Mail). These events were supplemented by: bring and buy sales; whist drives in the Simpson Institute and at Coates House; children's sports on the Lundin Links Common; a parade of services; a baby show; a fancy dress parade; and a treasure hunt.

In the end, Largo exceeded its £15,000 target by more than £5,000. Moreover, a number of additional donations given during 'Salute the Solider' week, enabled the committee to gift an ambulance and portable x-ray machine to the War Office. These were handed over at a special ceremony on 11 November 1944, where a demonstration was given to the public of the x-ray machine and the ambulance made a tour of the Largo villages. 
​

With the growing sense that the war was drawing to a close, many local authorities inaugurated a 'Welcome Home Fund'. The 'Largo and Newburn Welcome Home Fund Committee' was set up early in 1945 and a series of functions were arranged, the first being held on 9th February in La Scala featuring Les Gordon and his band (see below). This was clearly successful, as another dance was held for the same cause at the same venue the following month. In fact, these dances were held regularly at La Scala right through into 1946 - all in aid of the Welcome Home Fund - which was maintained for a period after the war ended.
​

By 1943, support for the war effort through National Savings had built up momentum and a new campaign entitled 'Wings for Victory' was launched. This was designed to recognise the part that the Royal Air Force had played in the war and followed on from the previous campaigns: Spitfire Week in 1940; War Weapons Week in 1941; Warship Week in April 1942; and a less high profile 'Tanks for Attack' campaign late in 1942. The patriotic advert below for the Trustee Savings Bank ran at the top of the front page of the 9 June 1943 Leven Mail.

Fife's 'Wings for Victory' campaign was set for 5-12 June with a target of £3,000,000 overall (half a million more than the 1942 Warship Week target). Each individual local area could set a target of their own as part of that overall objective. Largo and Newburn agreed on a target of £20,000, which at the time was considered to be equivalent to four spitfires. As with previous wartime fund-raising programmes, a committee was put together and a series of events arranged. 

The notices below from the 2 June and 9 June 1943 Leven Mail show that this programme had some variation from the previous years' activities. This time an exhibition of pictures, a bring and buy sale, a children's fancy dress parade, a baby show, darts and a display by the local fire service featured along with the intriguing 'bomb for Hitler' which was 'available all week'. The local effort also had a slogan - 'Birze Yont' - an old Scots phrase meaning something along the lines of 'forge ahead', 'press on' or 'push boundaries'.

The programme was greatly supported by the local Scottish-Polish Society and their committee (the members of which are shown below, from 5 May Leven Mail). The exhibition of photographs in the Montrave Hall featured the work of Polish and other servicemen, with the "display being arranged in artistic manner by the local 'Wrens'". Colonel Saloni opened the exhibition. The grand concert at the same venue on Thursday was hosted by the Scottish-Polish Society and comprised dancing items, songs, pianoforte solos and violin selections. The display by the Fire Service included demonstration of rescue methods and incendiary bomb treatment, as well as humorous antics by the 'firefly' men (source 16 June Leven Mail). The Grand Fete in the grounds of Largo House had to postponed from 5th to 12th June due to weather. This featured games and races for school children, a baby show for the under threes, clock golf, tugs of war and a display of various physical exercises by the Polish troops.
​

​Ultimately, these local events were hugely successful with the £20,000 target being exceeded. As the Leven Mail records below on 16 June, Largo and Newburn reached £24,017 by the end of the week's programme. The overall Fife target was also smashed, with £3,179,613 having been reached by the end of the week (Fife Free Press, 19 June). 

The next post will conclude this series with details of the 1944 'Salute the Soldier' campaign.

During World War Two, across the country, local authorities were asked to designate one week each year as a 'war savings week'. The previous post looked at the first two campaigns - 'Spitfire Week' (1940) and 'War Weapons Week' (1941). The next focus, in 1942, was on supporting the Royal Navy through 'Warship Week'. In Fife, 'Warship Week' ran 18-25 April 1942. The county was specifically tasked with raising sufficient savings for a cruiser - H.M.S. Bellona - the construction of which had already begun.

The advert above from the Dundee Evening Telegraph (21 April 1942) details some of the ways that this could be supported. In addition to investment in bonds and certificates, communities came together to put on programmes of fund-raising events. Towards the end of February 1942, Largo Community Council formed a Warships Committee to plan a programme of events similar to the previous years' national savings efforts. Below is a notice of a meeting of the Committee, plus details of the Warship Week Programme for Largo and Newburn, which appeared in the 15 April Leven Mail.  
​

The Parade of Services on the Monday began at the east end of Upper Largo, proceeded down Donaldson's Wynd (now Durham Wynd) to Lower Largo and then to Lundin Links Common, where the salute was taken by Commander Moore of the Royal Navy. Wednesday evening's event at La Scala was crowded and Mr Clayton the cinema owner gave permission to interrupt the programme with a speech on the need for warships by Flight Lieutenant W. Lindsay Burns, convener of Largo's Warship Committee, which created a "deep impression". Another inspiring speech was given at the concert in the Montrave Hall the following evening, this time by Brig. General J.D. Crosbie.

The 'cinema van' did a tour of the Parish, with showings at the Common, Lundin Links, the Orry, Lower Largo and the Green Upper Largo, as well as Woodside and New Gilston. This showed "propaganda films accompanied by descriptive commentaries on their loud speaker" (Leven Mail 29 April 1942). Other activities included a poster competition for children, a slogan competition (I wonder what that involved?) and enthusiastic door to door collecting. 

All of this resulted in Largo doubling their original target, with around £30,000 being raised. Fife as a whole also exceeded its target of £2,500,000 by raising almost £3 million. Construction of the HMS Bellona (pictured below) had begun in Govan in November 1939 but it didn't launch until September 1942 and didn't enter service until early 1944. Named after the Roman goddess of war, her motto was 'Battle is our Business'. Notably, she supported the D-Day landings. The ship was eventually broken up in 1959. 

Largo's contribution to the Bellona was recognised with a certificate. As the Leven Mail piece from 10 November 1943 below details, after being displayed in the various local Post Offices, the certificate was to be hung in the Simpson Institute, Upper Largo. Can anyone confirm that this was the case? Does this still exist?
​

The 29 March 1944 Leven Mail confirmed that the H.M.S. Bellona was now in service and revealed some further detail regarding how this particular ship became the focus of the Fife Warship Week effort.
​

The next post will remember the 1943 'Wings for Victory' week....

With origins dating back to 1861, when it was known as the Post Office Savings bank, National Savings allows individuals to save while providing the government access to funding. Notably, savings certificates issued during the First and Second World Wars helped to finance the war effort. Sometimes focused campaigns were used to rally public support for specific needs. For example, during the First World War a "Weapons Week" was held in 4-9 March 1918 in England and Wales and 8-13 April 1918 in Scotland. Each city, town or group of smaller places was tasked with buying war bonds or savings certificates to purchase an instrument of war. A city might be asked to aim for a super dreadnought while a smaller place might be expected to raise enough for an aeroplane, submarine or tank depending upon its population size. 

This concept became a key feature of World War Two on the home front. Across the United Kingdom, local authorities were asked to designate one week each year as a 'war savings week'. These events were nationally led but regionally co-ordinated and involved locally organised events to raise funds to support the war effort. An early public appeal from May 1940 was focused on the production of Spitfires. Funds were set up by local councils, individuals and other organisations to raise enough for a plane, a wing, a gun or even a spark plug or rivet - whatever was a realistic target. Read more about that here.

Largo set up its own Spitfire Fund Committee in October 1940 (see Leven Mail 16 Oct below). The Largo Community Council had had "their activities very much curtailed by the war" and so they turned their attention to whether they, like so many other places, should set up a local Spitfire fund. They voted in favour of appointing a committee for that purpose. Two weeks later the committee had been formed, a flag day set for 23 November and a number of supplementary activities arranged (including a series of whist drives, a dance at La Scala and a beetle drive). Contributions could be sent to the National Bank in Lundin Links or to the committee treasurer, Mr John Adamson. The flag day went on to raise over £38 and events up to the start of December over £165. By the time that the fund was closed in February 1941, £289 8s 6d had been forwarded from Largo to the overall Fife fund.

The Spitfire Fund for Fife raised enough for two Spitfires. As the 1942 Fife News Almanac clipping below describes, these were named "The Thane of Fife" and "Kirkcaldie" - the former being shown in the image below.

​
The next big savings campaign of the war was 'War Weapons Week' that ran during different weeks at different locations  between September 1940 and April 1941. Fife designated 7-14 June 1941 for their effort and once again Largo Parish played their part. The 30 April Leven Mail reported upon the early work of the local committee.

The official programme for Largo's week is detailed above. Once again, whist drives played a part, with the Polish soldiers making "their presence felt" by winning many of the prizes (see 11 June Leven Mail below). Official events were supplemented with various privately arranged activities including a dance in the Simpson Institute arranged by the Home Guard, the selling of flowers by local children and a treasure hunt, won by a young Peter Saunders.

​Ultimately, Largo raised £29,600 towards Fife's War Weapons campaign. The 18 June 1941 Leven Mail below tells of how a third of a million was generated between the localities from Largo to Wemyss. Further below is a piece from the 1942 Fife News Almanac that details Cupar's efforts. The ground work had been done for subsequent national savings drives that would follow in the later war years - more on these to follow.

The people of Lundin Links weren't short on banking facilities back in the 1930s. The photograph above shows three banks within the short stretch of Leven Road shops. From left to right these are:

1. National Bank of Scotland
2. British Linen Bank
3. Commercial Bank

The three banks were there from the mid 1920s until around 1940. The National Bank rented its premises from the Post Office proprietor (initially Robert Ferguson then James Duncan), while the British Linen Bank was a tenant of neighbouring Somerville the Grocer and the Commerical Bank was tenant of Emma Gulland (who had the shop next door). In addition, the National Bank had an office in Crescent Road for a spell while the Linen Bank had its office briefly on Emsdorf Street within the La Scala cinema building.

Below is a close-up view of the Banks plus an advert for both the Commercial Bank and the Linen Bank dating to this period (both listing a Lundin Links branch). 
​

The outbreak of the Second World War was the beginning of the end for this banking stronghold. A front page notice from the 17 Oct 1939 Leven Advertiser indicates that all three banks were to operate reduced hours from the following Monday. By 1942 the 'old' National Bank premises were empty and being advertised to let (see 21 Oct Leven Mail clip). The National Bank moved into the Commercial Bank site at the corner of Crescent Road. It was the last bank standing on Leven Road, as the Linen Bank did not reopen after the war. In 1959 the National Bank merged with the Commercial Bank. A decade later it merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland - in which guise many will remember the corner bank at Lundin Links.
​

​Following last year's centenary of Armistice, we continue to pause on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day to remember the fallen, including those from Largo Parish.  Below are a couple of newspaper clippings from 1946. The first, from the Leven Mail of 13 November details the Poppy Day collections carried out in the area. The second is a notice for the Remembrance Day service at Largo Parish Church from the previous week's paper in 1946.

This year marks 100 years since the first two-minute silence was observed on Armistice Day - 11th November 1919.

​The above guide on where to get your ration book is from the Leven Mail of 31 May 1944. There were two locations in Largo Parish at that time: the Simpson Institute in Upper Largo and St Margaret's Garden Room in Lundin Links. The latter was a private house on Victoria Road. This house (now known as Strathearn) was owned by Mrs Jean Gaskell - born Jean Helen Rintoul, sister of Leonora Rintoul. In 1946 was St Margaret's Garden Room was still the ration book collection location. Jean also ran a Sunday School from this venue in the 1940s. St Margaret's is indicated by the arrow on the left of the image below.
​

By 1947 the Lundin Links ration book venue had changed to Lundin Ladies Golf Club House and it remained so for some time - see notice below from 6 April 1949 Leven Mail. Note that a Lower Largo collection point had been added at St David's Church. ​

As Halloween approaches - a couple of appropriate local tales from the past....

Bats have long been associated with Halloween. They are, of course, nocturnal creatures. They leave their daytime roosts when the sun sets. Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' suggests that vampires are able to morph into bats (a small number of bat species worldwide are blood feeders). A more natural association with Halloween is related to the bat life cycle. They can swarm in the months of September to November as they look for mates and increase food intake ahead of hibernation. Below is a local bat-related story featured in the 17 March 1868 Northern Warder. On this occasion, bats were coming to the end of their hibernation period at Balcruvie Castle - now known better as Pitcruvie Castle . 
​

Moving forward in time to the 10 November 1943 Leven Mail (below) - a war-time Halloween party provided Polish visitors with a taste of some of the Scottish traditions associated with the celebration - including a bit of a dunking in water it would seem!

​Happy Halloween!
​