Commerce
David West, Road Haulier
In the next in his series on Dunfermline’s Industrial and Commercial Past, George Beattie relates the history of David West & Son, Road Haulier of Rumblingwell and Touch. This business started in 1920 using ex-army vehicles and grew steadily. Early in the Second World War it was placed under the control of the Ministry of War Transport to prioritise war work and later it was briefly nationalised. The company was re-started following de-nationalisation and continued to thrive until merged into a much larger UK business in the 1960’s. The article shows the scale of the economic changes made by the needs of wartime and also the subsequent changes in the UK economy as national companies superseded local ones.
Harleys Acres
Sue Mowat has researched the history of the development of another part of Dunfermline. In “Harleys Acres” she describes how the area which lies roughly between James Street and Campbell Street has developed over the last 250 years, how it was brought into the administration of the town and how its use has varied from rail and bus stations to retail parks and shopping centres. She also makes a plea for proper archaeological assessment before any future developments closer to the centre of historic Dunfermline are carried out.
Before the Bus Station
Sue Mowat describes the development of an area of central Dunfermline in her new article “Before The Bus Station” . Using some excellent large scale maps of the town she illustrates her research on the changing uses of the land where our Bus Station now stands and tells us of the people who once lived there.
Victorian Gardening
In “Gardening in Victorian Dunfermline” Sue Mowat extends her series of articles on life in Dunfermline with an engaging look at the activities of the many gardeners in Dunfermline, partly through press reports on the four gardening societies which were then in existence.
John Goodall and Co Motor Engineers
In his latest article on Dunfermline’s industrial past, John Goodall & Co Ltd, George Beattie presents the history of a firm which started in the 1860’s with a horse and carriage, grew into a leading carriage hiring business and then made a successful transition to hiring and selling motor vehicles. As always, George’s article is illustrated with a marvelous selection of historic photographs.