By Robin Thompson Secret Dunfermline Gregor Stewart Amberley Publishing, £14.99 Secret Dunfermline is a short account of the history of the town and it’s surrounding area which, as the publisher says, “delves into the town’s murkier past, blending the serious with the not so serious”. The book begins with a swift survey of the prehistoric origins, including some interesting discussion on Roman activity in the local area. It then moves on to cover the better known era of Queen Margaret and the beginnings of the town. Unfortunately there is an editing error when Duncan I is referred to as “David” throughout one passage. The central part of the book covers the Reformation, the reign of James IV and I, the period of the infamous witch trials and the Great Fire. The links between these events are described, including King James’ interest in, and personal fear of, witchcraft. The origins of the reformation, including the burnings of the protestant martyrs in St. Andrews, are covered and several stories of the persecution of so-called witches show how dark a period of history this was for many. The book then moves forwards again to describe the recovery of the town after the fire. The story of the rise of the linen industry and how the secret of damask weaving was smuggled into Dunfermline from Edinburgh is told, along with the subsequent industrial mechanisation, and later decline. The reasons for the building of Rosyth, the Dockyard and Naval Base are discussed and the...
George Robertson becomes Honorary President of DHS
After 21 years in the post of Chair, George Robertson stood down at the Society’s recent AGM, held in May 2017. He then took on a new position of Honorary President, the third time in the Society’s 47 year history that such a post has been occupied. The Secretary, Cherry Allan, highlighted George’s history with the Society which is summarised below. “It all started in June 1996 when the Chairman of the day stood down at the AGM with immediate effect, after 14 years of service, leaving the committee and members in something of a quandary. To resolve the situation the previous Honorary President, Mr Andy Lawrence (one of the original founders of the Society) proposed a new Society member and friend of his, one Mr George Robertson, as a prospective Chairman, since his interest in local history made him a likely candidate. George considered the proposal and agreed to take on the role and so began his 21 years at the helm of the Society. It wasn’t long before new developments were taking place to increase awareness of the Society in the following ways: A Society logo was commissioned, designed and produced DHS began an annual presence at the October Hobbies and Recreation exhibition DHS became a member of the Scottish Local History Forum The post of Publicity Officer was created to report the Society’s activities in the local press In September 1997 the Society moved to larger premises in the Pittencrieff Suite in the City Hotel and so began a steady increase in membership...
Obituary, John Amos, 1929 – 2017
When John Amos passed away recently, Dunfermline lost one of her ain, and a special one at that to those of us who love exploring the history of this old town. John McDonald Amos as born in St. Leonard`s Street Dunfermline on November 8th 1929. John`s parents were Valentine and Christine Amos and he had two older sisters. The family moved to Priory Lane and later to John Street and John attended Commercial Primary School and then Queen Anne Junior Secondary. When Commercial School was billeted during the war John received part of his schooling at a private house in Priory Lane. His family later moved to a house in Izatt Avenue with a view of the Abbey and the Dunfermline skyline On leaving school John became a messenger boy, then a postman, finally signing up with the RAF and serving eight years, a time he remembered with fondness. Unable to become an RAF electrician as planned, because of colour blindness, John was reassigned as a driver and obtained his HGV licence. On leaving the RAF, John became a driver at the Rosyth Royal Dockyard, where he stayed for 16 years. On his 29th birthday in 1958, John married Dorothy Innes at Canmore Congregational Church and they went on to have three children, Mark, Jacqueline and Christopher. In the early 1970s John`s life took a totally different path. He returned to education at Kirkcaldy Technical College where he achieved O grades and Highers, including English, and went on to Moray House, Edinburgh, for teacher training. It...
Lost Village in the Press
Last Sunday's "Scotland on Sunday" (15/1/17) featured an article on the history of the lost village of Lassodie. Alison Campsie covered the history of the village, and touched on the stories of other abandoned villages, such as Binnend, near Burntisland. She quoted George Robertson, the DHS Chairman, and included material from some of George's interviews with former residents, used in his articles about Lassodie. Good to see our website enabling further discussion of our area's past.
FAMILY/LOCAL HISTORY FAIR – SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER
On Saturday 8th October the Society had a stall at the Family and Local History Fair which was held at the Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline. The stall was manned by the committee and a couple of members of the Society who volunteered to help. There were stallholders from all over Scotland - mostly Family History Societies - and a number of these Societies display and sell booklets and CDs on family history in their area. Dunfermline Historical Society does not produce booklets for sale but we feel our stall was colourful and attractive and not only gave an insight into what the Society does, but showed some of Dunfermline's past in the form of old photographs. The taking of a stall at the History Fair had a twofold purpose. Firstly, to let people know about Dunfermline Historical Society and what we do which could attract new members. Also, to enable us to network with Societies from Fife and beyond. Both of these purposes were fulfilled as we had a lot of interest from members of the public and interesting discussions with other Societies. It has been many years since Dunfermline Historical Society took part in such an event but the success of this Fair will hopefully lead to our taking part in future similar events.