As the Great War finally drew to a close a century ago, newspaper reports reflected the relief and joy that people at home felt. The day that the Armistice was signed was a Monday. The agreement was signed at 5 am and was to come into effect at 11 am. News reached nearby St Andrews "early on Monday forenoon". The message began to circulate that Germany had accepted the terms of the Armistice and that Dundee "had commenced its celebration of the great event".  Citizens, however, "refrained from commencing rejoicings until they were certain that the news was official" according to the St Andrews Citizen. Below is a clipping from the Fifeshire Advertiser showing how rumours and expectation gave way to celebration in Kirkcaldy. 

As soon as there was no doubt, buildings were decked with flags and national colours and people took to the streets. Bells were rung, songs were sung, bands played and spontaneous dancing broke out. 'Victory Holidays' were observed - allowing work to stop and victory to be celebrated. The St Andrews Citizen noted that "the streets present a busy and animated appearance" where "youngsters paraded...carrying flags and singing patriotic songs". 

Over the following days shops advertised 'Victory Sales', Victory concerts were organised and services of thanksgiving were held. But of course this was very much a time of mixed feelings. Many in Largo Parish had suffered loss and sorrow. A poem which appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph on 12 November 1918, written by W. McMann, reflected the balance of jubilation and sorrow.  The poem includes the following lines near the start...

"Peace was declared! I heard the cheers
Aringing doon the street;
I heard a band abune the noise
O' countless hurryin' feet
The hale toon was on holiday,
The good folk o' Dundee
Were oot en masse tae celebrate
Oor glorious victory."

....but towards the end of the lengthy poem the sentiment had shifted....

"At hame that night I minded o',
These fallen in the fray; 
Thousands rejoicing, thousands more
Are sorrowing today.
To those who listen for a voice
They never more shall hear, 
There's agony in every shout, 
A stab in every cheer."

Back in August 1918, the flax harvest was underway in Fife. Due to the First World War, many women were involved in the harvest (including Evelyn Baxter and Leonora Rintoul). The small piece above from the 12 August Dundee Evening Telegraph paints a lovely picture of one particular gang of harvesters.

​Despite the hard labour involved, the group seem to have remained upbeat and able to blend in with those who had spent their day in more leisurely fashion. The flax flowers mentioned are the five petal light blue flowers shown. "Stookies" or "stooks" of flax (or other crops) are bundles or sheaves. The flax was stooked by hand, as seen in the photograph below, and left standing on end to dry out. When first harvested they are still green hence "wee green stookies".

Long-serving Lundin Mill school teacher, David Milne Stewart, had a son of the same name, who not only followed his father into the teaching profession but also shared his father's love of golf. David junior was the youngest of four sons and was born in 1886 in the Lundin Mill school house. Introduced to golf at a young age, he joined Lundin Links Golf Club at the age of 17 and four years later (1907) won the first of his nine club championships. He was also a nine times winner of the Lundin silver medal.

David (known as "D.M.") attended Edinburgh University - gaining an M.A. in 1906 and a B.Sc. in 1908. At the time of the 1911 census he was teaching in Greenock. He became Science Master at Moray House and was a member of Duddingston Golf Club - winning prizes there also. He set a course record at Pitlochry during the Highland competition in 1913. His teaching career meant that he was limited to participating in competitions which took part during school holidays. However, both golf and teaching had to be put completely on hold with the outbreak of World War One.

D.M. joined McCrae’s Battalion (16th Royal Scots) on 4 Jan 1915 at Edinburgh. After some months in the Royal Scots he was transferred to the Royal Engineers (chemist section) and was promoted to Corporal. This move was a response to the use of chlorine gas by the Germans. Special Companies of technically skilled men, under Major C.H. Foulkes of the Royal Engineers, were formed to deal with the new weapon. Nos 186 and 187 Special Companies were formed first, in July 1915, followed by 188 and 189 Companies in August. D.M. was part of the former group. All of the men were given the rank of Chemist Corporal. ​The Great War was the first in which chemical weapons were deployed. 

On 20 December 1917 David married fellow teacher Helen Rutherford Wilson Campbell at Darling's Hotel on Waterloo Place in Edinburgh (see image below), while on leave from active service. Soon after his marriage, D.M. was wounded in action. He received a gun shot to the left elbow in France and ultimately was discharged from service on 11 July 1918 aged 31, receiving the silver war badge on 31 August 1918 (issued to those honourably discharged due to injury or illness). Eventually he was able to return to both teaching and golf.

Despite the injury affecting his swing, it was not too long before D.M. returned to form on the golf course. Between 1922 and 1932 he was a semi-finalist in the Eden tournament at St Andrews four times and topped the qualifiers once (playing for Lundin Links Golf Club). The images at foot of the post show him in action in 1922 and in 1929 (he is on the right in the 1929 photo).  ​Also a member of Kirkcaldy Golf Club, D.M. won the club championship many times there and set a course record in 1932 by shooting 64. He became club Captain in 1940 and the following year a vice-president. Lundin Links Golf Club made him an honorary member of their club around this time. In 1946-48, he was vice president of the Fife Golfing Association.

In terms of his post-war teaching career, Stewart became head science master at Royal High School in Edinburgh in 1919.  But in 1923 he returned to Fife, when appointed Principal Teacher of Science at Kirkcaldy High School. He remained in post until 1939, when he was selected as headmaster of Queen Anne Higher Grade School in Dunfermline - a position he retained until his retirement in 1951. By this time his health was failing. D.M. passed away at his home (49 Balwearie Road, Kirkcaldy) on 7 August 1952 at the age of 65. The Fife Free Press reported this two days later under the headline "Noted Golfer's Death".....

"Mr Stewart was one of the most outstanding and popular golfing figures ever to be associated with Kirckaldy Golf Club, but his profession and recreation did not begin Kirkcaldy. He was born in Lundin Links. It was his father, a school teacher at Lundin Links, who helped found the golf course there....D.M. was soon introduced to the golf course....[his] profession took him over a wide area. His reputation was enhanced at Golspie, Edinburgh and Dunfermline. "

He was survived by his wife and two daughters. He will be remembered - along with many other prominent local golfers - during the 150th anniversary celebrations at the Lundin Golf Club this year.

A new website called 'Swooping Eagle' has been created, containing lots of information regarding the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade, including their time at Largo. Of particular interest is a page about Largo House, which includes a wonderful photograph of some Polish soldiers standing on the steps of the house during the Second World War:

www.swoopingeagle.com/home/largo-house/two-mansions/

Also there is a page detailing the training grounds at Largo House, known as 'Monkey Grove':

http://www.swoopingeagle.com/home/largo-house/the-monkey-grove/

And - perhaps most exciting of all - the precise location of the jumping tower using for parachute jump training, at Lundin Tower has been identified!

http://www.swoopingeagle.com/home/largo-house/parachute-tower/

Although the jumping tower has been written about on this blog some time ago (click here), it was not known to me that evidence of its position still existed. The location was found by the author of the 'Swooping Eagle' website with the help of a painting done by renowned war artist Edward Bawden, who had spent time with the Brigade in 1943. Bawden was an established commercial illustrator and designer in England when he became one of the first Official War Artists to be appointed in 1939, at the age of 36, He spent almost the entire war abroad but in 1943 had a spell on home soil, primarily at Largo and Colchester.​ His illustration of the jumping tower is shown below (source: 'Edward Bawden: War Artist' edited by Ruari McLean, in association with the Imperial War Museum (1989)).

The concrete base of the tower remains, below vegetation, and its outline can be clearly distinguished. The images below are from the 'Swooping Eagle' site. I would like to thank the researcher behind the discovery for his persistence and hard work and for creating such a detailed and interesting website.

The 'Swooping Eagle' site also shows the training tower in relation to the doocot on the Lundin Estate - more to follow on that building.

On this day, a century ago, the Largo branch of the Scottish Women's Rural Institutes was founded. The movement had begun in Canada in 1897 and the First World War hastened its development on this side of the Atlantic. The WI was formed in England in 1915 and the SWRI followed in Scotland two years later. The SWRI was inaugurated in Edinburgh on 27 June 1917, with the first meeting of the first Institute following swiftly afterwards in Longniddry, East Lothian on 25 July. The President of the Longniddry Institute (and driving force behind the inauguration of the Institutes in Scotland) was Mrs Catherine Blair of Hoprig Mains. The 26 July Scotsman covered this opening meeting (see below).

The spread of the movement didn't escape the notice of Kirkton of Largo's Evelyn Baxter, who at the age of 38, founded the Largo Institute, with her close friend, and fellow ornithologist, Leonora Rintoul and twelve other ladies. Misses Baxter and Rintoul are pictured above. These hard-working and practical ladies wasted no time in undertaking useful endeavours. The Dundee Courier of 11 May 1918 ran a piece under the headline "Largo Women's Good Work on the Land". This continued...

"Miss L. Jeffrey Rintoul reported at the Fife Women's County Committee on Agricultural Labour meeting at Cupar yesterday that Miss Baxter's gang at Largo had planted over 100 acres of potatoes, and among other work had done gardens at Upper and Lower Largo". At the meeting, a Mrs Young had called for more leaders in the county and stated that "leaders of Miss Baxter's type were very rare".  Miss Rintoul also reported the progress of the Rural Institutes, saying that the membership fee was 2s and that the government took 3d of this as an entertainment tax, as they had a little music at their meetings. At that time there were Institutes at Kilmany, Gauldry, Largo, Ceres and Luthrie, with plans afoot for others at Cameron and Leuchars.

By August of 1918, Misses Baxter and Rintoul had gone down to Somerset to Barwick Camp, Yeovil with a "Scottish gang" to prepare for the Fife harvest by being trained in every phase of the flax harvest. The image below shows women harvesting flax during the Great War in Yeovil just as the Largo ladies would have done. Typically, the good ladies of Largo organised a concert while staying at the camp, which was a great success and raised funds for Red Cross Week. The 3 August St Andrews Citizen covered this story and noted that "All the performers were Scotch. Miss Rintoul gave a Scotch recitation which brought down the house. Miss Stark sang "My ain wee hoose" beautifully". The Scottish ladies at the camp clearly had a great sense of humour - they decorated their tents with inscriptions and mottoes, including "Wha daur meddle wi' me". One tent was called "ma ain wee hoose" with a thistle underneath, others were named "The Beetle 'Ole", "Earwig Villa" and "Multum in Parvo" (a great deal in a small space). 

The Largo SWRI flourished and in 1932 the group published 'Largo Village Book', which remains a useful resource for those interested in the history of the parish.  In that book it states of the SWRI that "from the first meeting it was evident that it filled a felt want in the parish". Membership in the early decades was around 200 to 300 and attendance at the monthly meetings was large. Classes were also held for various crafts and cooking during the winter months. Baxter and Rintoul held roles in the movement at every level and during the Second World War helped to organise the Women's Land Army in Fife.  The Evelyn Baxter Scholarship continues within the SWRI to this day, encouraging the preservation of traditional craft. The Largo Institute continues to meet.

                100 Years of Largo SWRI - 1918 - 2018
​                   ________________________________________

The previous post recalled the presence of the Highland Cyclist Battalion at Lundin Links during the First World War. From the beginning of the war, the main billets (ie lodging places for soldiers) for the HCB were St Catherine's and Fir Park. With St Catherine's being situated on the corner of Victoria Road and Station Road (extreme right in above image) and Fir Park being on the corner of the parallel Crescent Road (left of centre above), officers staying at Lindisfarne (positioned between the two - behind the street light in above picture) could easily observe both places.

However, on 12 February 1916, there was an unfortunate turn of events. The incident was sensationalised in the Fifeshire Advertiser (19 February) which asserted that "thrill after thrill was served out to the staid resort of Lundin Links on Saturday night, one villa being razed to the ground, and another having a narrow escape". To begin the tale....at around 9pm, a sentry went to an upstairs room within St Catherine's while all the other men were out (either on duty or on leave) and found it full of smoke. The Scotsman of 14 February gives the following account:

"The guard were called out, and attacked the fire, which had started in the parlour, the only place where a fire was kept. At this stage the flames were confined to the floor and had evidently risen from a cinder which had fallen from the grate.  Immediately after, however, the flames passed along the joists into another room in which the furniture of the villa was stored. There the fire burned fiercely."  

The Fifeshire Advertiser added:

"P.C. Flaws and other local men joined the military; fire extinguishers were secured from Mr Ferguson's and Mr Somerville's, and an increased attack was made. By some means the window in the parlour was broken; the wind got hold of the flames....and at once the place flared up like a pine torch."

The Buckhaven Fire Brigade were called. Unfortunately, their engine was under repair and they had to bring their apparatus in Messrs Smith and WIlliams' motor car. Moreover, once on the scene, they found that "the stand-up pipe would not fit the local hydrant" and so the motor car had to return to Leven to fetch alternative equipment. It was not until the arrival of the Kirkcaldy Fire Engine that "the real attack on the pile" began.  Under the direction of Firemaster Rough, the roof was cut and a curtain of water was employed to keep the flames from spreading to adjoining villa (Aird Bank). The Fifeshire Advertiser further noted that "Captain French had earlier in the evening caused the removal of a large quantity of explosives from St Catherine's but continual minor explosions told of cartridges going off" and "the fire was visible over a wide area and attracted a great crowd."

While the fire was at its height, about 11pm, another alarm was raised - Fir Park was also in flames. The Fifeshire Advertiser noted "this outbreak took place in a northern room, presumably from the same cause. Happily, it was caught before the wind caught hold of the flames.  All furniture was removed but the soldiers and firemen, pulling up the floor, soon got the mastery." The evening concluded thus: "St Catherine's fire virtually ate itself out. The bare walls were left when, at 1am, it could be said that the fire was under. St Andrews Fire Engine, drawn by two horses, arrived at about midnight; but the hose was not uncoupled."

Built in 1896, St Catherine's at the time of the fire was owned by the Misses Dickson (three of the daughters of Edinburgh master gun maker John Dickson) and consisted of three public rooms, six bedrooms plus kitchen, scullery, etc. It can be seen above with its twin pair to the left of St Margaret's and Mount Vernon. Fir Park was owned by postmistress Margaret Bremner. Damage at the gutted St Catherine's was estimated at £1500 while Fir Park's damage was around £50. Looking at St Catherine's today, it is easy to spot the parts of the original architecture that were lost. The red roof ridging and decorative eaves, seen on its counterparts, are absent (see below).

The Highland Cyclist Battalion was one of several cyclist corps within the British Army. With origins dating back to 1860, as part of the Volunteer Force and offering an alternative means of transport to the horse, it became an independent unit in 1908. During the Great War three Highland Cyclist Battalions were deployed. At the outbreak of war in August 1914 the First Battalion was headquartered at Hunter Street Drill Hall in Kirkcaldy. There were eight companies within the First Battalion:

• A Company – Kirkcaldy
• B Company – Cowie
• C Company – Tayport
• D Company – Forfar
• E Company – Dunfermline
• F Company – New Scone
• G Company – East Wemyss
• H Company – Bannockburn

More than one of these companies spent time stationed at Lundin Links, training and performing coastal guard duty. One of the HCB that spent time at Lundin Links was Private Douglas J. Thomson of Kirkcaldy. Having joined the HCB in May 1914, Douglas was called to report to the Drill Hall no later than 10:00 on 5 August 1914, the day after war was declared. Part of 'A' Company, after a spell in St Andrews, Douglas was based in Lundin Links and he can be seen on the right in the photograph below practising his camping cooking skills in the front garden of 'Fir Park' (5 Crescent Road). Neighbouring property 'Braddan' (7 Crescent Road) is identifiable in the background. Douglas was eventually posted to the Machine Gun Corps and went to the Western Front while still in his teens. You can read more about his wartime experiences and later life here.

We know that 'A' Company were in Lundin Links in October 1914 as the Fife Free Press reported (above) that a concert they had put on in the village raised over six pounds for the Belgian Relief Fund led by Captain Robert Lockhart.

'B' Company of the HCB also spent time at Lundin Links​. The photograph of them below accompanied an article in The Stirling Observer of 15 June 1915. The report said of the HCB that "the different companies of which it consists are scattered all along the East Coast of Scotland, where they have proved to be very serviceable". The group pictured below are No. 1 Platoon of 'B' company, who were stationed at Lundin Links - where, according to the article they were "having a pleasant experience".

As well as their training and duties, the men stationed at Lundin Links enjoyed some leisure time.  The club house of the Lundin Ladies Golf Club was used by the HCB as a recreation and reading room. They reputedly also played football on the course. The HCB's time in Lundin Links was not without incident though - more of that in the next post.

As we approach another Remembrance Day, let's reflect on what the folks of Largo Parish were going through a century ago in the midst of the First World War. Below is a sample of the news that was reaching home. Many of those named in the newspaper articles below are remembered on the Largo War Memorial.

The Largo war memorial was unveiled in 1921 with 51 names inscribed on 3 panels.  One of those names was Private Peter Melville of Black Watch. Born in Largo in 1884 to fisherman David Melville and his wife Elizabeth (nee Ballingall), by the time that Peter enlisted in Kirkcaldy his parents had both passed away. Father, David, had drowned at sea in February 1896, along with his brother and brother-in-law, leaving a family of eight (mostly grown up). 

In September 1917 it was Peter's elder brother Alexander Melville, a gents' outfitter on Kirkcaldy High Street, who received news from France. The Fife Free Press reported on this "sorrowful intimation" which stated that Peter "had died on 26th August at a casualty clearing station In France from severe gunshot wounds". It was noted that "Private Melville had served his apprenticeship to the drapery trade with Mr G. S. Rodger Upper Largo thereafter gaining experience in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, and ultimately coming to Kirkcaldy to assist his brother, with whom, previous to joining the colours in October 1916, he had been for 11 years.  Training in England, he sailed for France in the beginning of July.  On his last visit to the town, he was in excellent health and spirits. The gallant soldier was a very lovable man and was highly popular among all classes. He was 32 years of age and unmarried."

Private Peter Melville is pictured below.

The above postcard image shows a busy beach scene looking from close to The Orry at Lower Largo towards The Temple. Zooming in a little (see below), the left-hand-side of the image shows a beach busy with bathers.  However, on the right-hand-side between the end of The Temple and Viewforth some unusual hut-like structures can be seen scattered about the slope above the railway line.  They appear again in a similar postcard scene shown further below.  What are these? Read on below for my theory.

The above images date from around the 1940s and so I wonder whether these are war-time related buildings.  Perhaps poultry sheds to bolster the supplies of meat and eggs?  Or sheds to house some other livestock?  Maybe they were there for longer than just the duration of the war?  Another view of these structures can be seen in the 1944 aerial photograph below (on the right surrounding the Viewforth buildings).  It shows about a dozen of the sheds - many with worn ground immediately around them.  If you can confirm what these were or have further information - please comment.