People
A Nineteenth Century Stationer, Bookseller and Printer
As many articles in our industrial and commercial series have shown, medium sized towns such as Dunfermline, supported all sorts of businesses and activities which have now long been centralised at a national or international level. To brewing, engineering, food processing, clothing and transport we can now add printing and bookselling. In “The Millers of Bridge Street“, Jean Barclay relates the history of a family who played an important part in the life of Dunfermline for two generations.
Thomas Tuckett, Victorian Road Surveyor
This article was inspired by an inscribed stone on the side of the road bridge at Rumbling Glen. George Robertson was intrigued and his investigation has resulted in a brief biography of the man those name is recorded there, “Thomas Tuckett and the Puzzle of the Inscribed Stone“. This interesting article also gives us an insight into the life of a successful professional in the mid 19th Century and of how the roads were maintained in those days.
Jane Duncanson
In “A Dunfermline Bluestocking“, Jean Barclay presents a short biography of a Victorian pioneer in women’s education. Jane Duncanson was a primary school teacher who passed the LLA Diploma from St Andrews University.
Captain Gilbert Rae
During the Second World War, the newly formed BOAC continued flying civilian services to several countries, including neutral Portugal and Sweden. These flights could be of great importance to the war effort and of course, could be very hazardous. In “Captain Gilbert Rae, OBE“, George Beattie discusses this little known aspect of the war and gives us a short biography of one of the brave pilots involved in these dangerous times. Captain Rae was the grandson of Gilbert Rae who founded the well-known lemonade manufacturer in Dunfermline.
The Collier’s Bearer who stole a Child
In 1817 a young woman from Edinburgh was arrested in Halbeath, for “stealing” a child. In “The collier’s Bearer and the Stolen Child” Jean Barclay tells the tragic story of Janet Douglas, her crime and her harsh treatment by the authorities.