The new Heritage Centre in Aberdour will be open from 1 pm to 2 pm on Wednesdays and from 1 pm to 3 pm on Saturdays throughout the Winter. The Centre, situated in the Aberdour railway station buildings, opened in July this year and provides information on the many historic locations of interest in the village.
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.
Culross Little Houses Tours
We received an email from Brian Wilkinson from The National Trust for Scotland. He is offering a programme of ‘hard hat tours’ of Bennet House, an historic little house in Culross, currently under restoration by the Little Houses Improvement Scheme – the National Trust for Scotland’s in-house Building Preservation Trust. Please find attached a flyer “hard-hat-tours” detailing dates and times. Brian’s contact details are – Brian Wilkinson Little Houses Improvement Scheme Learning Officer – Bennet House, Culross The National Trust for Scotland Telephone: 0131 458 0452 (Extension 2557) Mobile: 07469 709661 Website: http://www.nts.org.uk/Site/LHIS/Bennet-House/ Twitter: @StudyHouseNTS His normal working days are Wednesday and Thursday.