Harbour and Fishing Where the harbour now stands was originally a tidal island which encompassed the ground of the Auld Kirk and graveyard, this gave way to a sandy cove where the esplanade is now sited. The island was twice the size it is today, quarrying of the red leck reduced its size dramatically. The harbour originally took the form of a breakwater built along the crown of a ridge leading from the Platcock Rocks. The breakwater ended about eighty feet short of the present harbour entrance and consisted of boulders and large rough blocks. It's outer face was constructed of irregular dry-stone masonry secured with wooden wedges (picture below), similar to the original East Pier at Dunbar, which was dated in the sixth century. The earliest mention of a port at North Berwick was in a charter of 1177. In ancient times there were guest-houses built by the Lauder family to accommodate the pilgrims crossing to Elie. The site of the hostels are now occupied by the granaries constructed on reclaimed land. The island remained tidal until 1799. |
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Kaimend | Edradour | Carlekemp | Teviotdale | St Aiden's | Shipka Lodge | Quarry Court | Bunkers Hill | Westerdunes | Invereil |
Sir John Lavery RA. RSA. RHA. (1856-1941) |
First World War
In June 1905, the North British Railway Company introduced a motor vehicle service from North Berwick to Aberlady, offering better
access to the coastal villages. Two vehicles were built by the Mo-Car Syndicate in Paisley to operate the hourly service from the
railway station at North Berwick. The vehicles were fitted with a three-cylinder Arrol-Johnston engine, the gear-box was by Renold
with a silent side chain to the rear axle, giving four speeds forward and one reverse. The solid tyres were to prevent punctures,
and the body work was in varnished walnut. The motor was of the charabanc type carrying 23 passengers, with accommodation for
luggage and parcels under the seating compartment. On Saturday 10th June 1905, a trail run was made from Edinburgh to North
Berwick, when the journey was completed in 1 hour 30 minutes. The service to Aberlady started the following Monday, with the fare
from North Berwick to the three villages being fourpence each stage, the full journey to Aberlady costing one shilling.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Provost MacIntyre called a meeting of the Town Council on Thursday 6th August 1914 to launch
the Belgium Relief Fund and to form a General Committee which included military personal living in the town such as Major-General Sir
Hamilton Bower (The Cottage, 38 Dirleton Avenue), Major William Kirkpatrick (9 Dirleton Avenue), Captain Harry Armatage (The Grange),
Sir William G. Braid (Leuchie), James Richardson (7 Tantallon Terrace) and Arthur Ramage (5 Marine Parade). The August swimming gala
was abandoned due to the European War. Left: Westerdunes House overlooking the 7th green on West Links, North Berwick
The 1914-18 war brought uncertainty and hardship with 152 of the towns men folk loosing their lives in active service. The
recruitment policy during the Great War was to keep men from the same area together, this meant that casualties were usually
specific to local recruiting areas. As 'Pals' fought together, more often then not they died together. This meant that local
communities experienced collective mass grief rather than individual loss. An unlucky shell could wipe out a third of the adult
male population of a small town. The War Memorials in every town and village are testament to the sacrifice made by
the rural society.
McCRAE'S BATTALION
One of the most famous 'Pals' regiments was 'C' Company of the 16th Royal Scots, known as 'McCrae's Battalion'. Raised by
Colonel Sir George McCrae in November 1914 and among those who enlisted was the entire Heart of Midlothian football team.
Arthur Grant from North Berwick was a professional golfer at Monte Carlo before the war. As a teenager McCrae took golf lessons
from Grant at Heriot's School. When Arthur Grant returned to Scotland in 1914 he didn't enlist with his friends in the King's
Royal Rifle Corps but travelled to Edinburgh to join the 16th Royal Scots (McCrae's Battalion) and served as a corporal with
them in France before being transferred to the Royal Fusiliers later in the war.
Charlie Robertson a North Berwick grocer was a staunch supporter of Heart of Midlothian Football Club and volunteered to join
'McCrae's Battalion' as C Company's Quartermaster's Store (CQMS). Robertson was described as a provision merchant and the
Quartermaster's most reliable scrounger. Charlie Robertson survived the war and returned to his grocery business at 107 High
Street, North Berwick. Sir George McCrae resided with his spinster daughter Glady's at 'Torluise', 9 Tantallon Terrace, North
Berwick. Charlie Robertson died 14th May 1930, aged 40 years.
The First World War records suggest that two German Zeppelins were involved in the attack on Edinburgh during the night of 2nd April 1916.
Airship L14 arrived first at least fifteen minutes before L22. The first came over Seafield from a north-eastward direction and
L22 from the south-eastward approaching across the bay from Gullane. The police report described an incendiary bomb found at
Archerfield which was later handed over to 'the military' at the Marine Hotel in Gullane (former Fire School).
East Fortune was established in 1915 as a Royal Naval Air Station to combat the anticipated threat from Zeppelins. During WW1
airships flew from East Fortune to carry out fleet spotting and submarine hunting duties. From 1918 aircrews were trained on the
beach at Belhaven Sands in torpedo dropping techniques. This was pioneering work as the world's first torpedo dropping aeroplane
that could operate from aircraft carriers (Sopwith T.I Cuckoo) was stationed at East Fortune. By the end of WW1, East Fortune was
the largest military aerodrome in Scotland.
In October 1912 a state of the art signaling station in connection with Rosyth Naval Base was erected in the vicinity of Seacliff
Old Tower. The building which was of stone with black plaster dressing, consisted of a large sleeping room fitted with bunks on the
ground floor while on the first floor there was a watchroom. The roof was re-inforced concrete with a stone parapet wall all round
and was equipped with an up-to-date semaphore. The large flagstaff was 50ft high and the building stood 250ft above the sea and could
be seen from miles around.
In 1917, HMS Seacliff, was the landfall site of the easternmost line of detector loops that ran across the entrance to the Firth of
Forth. The other line ran to the east of the May island and made landfall at Crail (RNAS Jackdaw). These 'detectors' were huge lines
of hydrophones laid in a series across the seabed to detect U-Boots entering the Forth. It must have been a skilled and intensive task,
listening to underwater noise, as apparently the operatives only did two hours 'on watch' before being relieved. During the Second War
this earlier detector system was replaced with two great induction loops laid across the Forth with the whole lot being controlled from
HMS Isle of May. The passage of any submerged Kreigsmarine steel over the loops induced a measurable current that would then betray its
presence. The landfall of the cables can still be seen at Kirk Haven in Fife.
John McLeod was a leading boatman in the Royal Navy before being transferred to the Coast Guard service in 1905 and was stationed at
North Berwick. He was commended three times for life saving and meritorious conduct. On 23rd September 1914 he was stabbed to death
at Seacliff War Signalling Station by a Sentry of the National Reserve who mistook him for some unauthorised person and bayoneted him.
The airship R.34 lifted off from East Fortune to cross the Atlantic on 2nd July 1919 with a crew of 30, crossing the Nova Scotia
coast in 59 hours. Then on to New York before the return journey taking 75 hours to become the first airship in history to
complete the double crossing of the Atlantic. The R.34 was constructed in William Beardmore's gigantic airship works at Inchinnan
outside Glasgow, and transported to East Fortune. The wire used on the airship was supplied by Brunton Wire Works at Inveresk. The
company established in 1902, originally produced piano wire and were pioneers in the development of wire used in the early
biplanes. War Memorial and James Richardson
The 'Comrades of the Great War' requested that a hut be constructed east of the memorial garden parallel to the Vennel. This was
approved by the Council to be used by ex-servicemen with the proviso that it would not be open on Sunday. King George V suggested on
the anniversary of Armistice Day there should be a two minute silence after 11 o'clock forenoon and it was resolved by the Town Council
to fix the two minutes following the striking of the St Andrews Parish Church clock and to ask Charles Bennet , a watchmaker at 80 High
Street who was in charge of the clock, to see that it and the town clock were synchronized.
In one of the final acts of Provost's MacIntyre's tenure of office in January 1919, he recommended that Mrs. Isabella Lyon should be
conferred Honorary Freedom of the Royal Burgh for her work as President of the Local Voluntary War Workers Organisation for the great
work done locally throughout the War. Similarly Mrs. Lilian Whitelaw wife of James Braid Whitelaw of Kings Knoll for her work in the
YMCA Hut in the Parish Church Hall comforting our soldiers stationed in North Berwick and the men both at East Fortune and West Fenton.
They were also presented with a decorative Burgess Ticket in a metallic casket, the first female recipient of such a prodigious award.
They were presented with their award at the Dinner organised by the Town Council for all returning soldiers from WW1.
In July 1920 the Town Council decided the site for the War Memorial should be on the vacant ground of the Beehive, 1 Quality Street.
Designed by architect James S. Richardson, a partner in Richardson & McKay, 4 Melville Street, Edinburgh. James Richardson was born 2
November 1883 in Edinburgh son of Dr. James Richardson house surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The Richardson family moved to
7, Tantallon Terrace in 1889 when he attended The Abbey and then North Berwick High School.
James Richardson apprenticed to the architect James Macintyre Henry who designed several buildings in North Berwick including
Tantallon Golf Clubhouse, Oranmore, Cromwell Road and St Andrew's Clock Tower. In 1903 he was an assistant in the office
of Sir Robert Lorimer. Richardson set up his own architectural practice in Edinburgh and in 1920 he was appointed Inspector of
Ancient Monuments in Scotland. Alexander Carrick R.S.A, carried out the sculpture work, Miss Phyllis Bone modeled the unicorn,
John Angus & Son from Edinburgh carried out the stonemason work and James Elliot, the local builder erected the memorial. On
Sunday 19 February 1922 the War Memorial was unveiled by General Sir Francis J. Davies. Ten years later the British Legion
conducted their meetings in the Council Chambers. James Richardson was instrumental in establishing a museum in North Berwick
with funding from the Town Council and a grant from the Carnegie Trust in 1957.
On Thursday February 26th 1914 the church of Whitekirk was burnt down by a group of suffragette's and many valuable articles were
destroyed. One of the suffragettes named Frances Mary Parker, the niece of Lord Kitchener and a schoolmistress was strongly
suspected of having burnt down the stand at Ayr Racecourse, Perth County Cricket Pavilion and Whitekirk Church. |
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In 1925, the farmer at Auldhame J.R.Dale requested permission from the Town Council to fit a draw-bar to his four ton Albion
lorry so that he could hitch the town fire engine to his lorry in the event of a fire on his farm. In 1928, the Town Council
purchased the first motorised Fire Engine which was housed on a site east of the Bass Rock Garage in Station Hill. It's bell
is now on display at the present fire station. During the 1950s the call-out for the volunteer fire crew was the sounding of
two Second World War sirens, situated at the old slaughter house in Dunbar Road and to the west in the grounds of the former
Royal Hotel. Edington Hospital
In November 1908, Miss Edington's legacy (Edington Cottage Hospital) was announced to the Town Council, by her solicitor C.E.
Loudon W.S. 6, Rutland Square, Edinburgh. According to newspaper reports, she had directed her trustees to pay the Provost,
Magistrates and Town Council the sum of £10,000, free of legacy duty, in trust to erect and maintain a Convalescent Home
to be called 'The Edington Convalescent Home' providing an accident ward and also a ward for sickness, non-infectious and not
incurable, the latter to be kept expressly for inhabitants of the town and its environs. The donation was made in the names of
Francis and Elizabeth Edington and the home was formally opened in October 1913 by Miss Webster a niece of Miss Edington.
Francis (d.1901) and Elizabeth (d.1908) died before the Convalescent Home was completed. Mary Webster officially opened the
building in 1913. She was a bar maid in the County Hotel and resided with the Edington family at 7, Dirleton Avenue where she
looked after Francis and Elizabeth Edington.
Francis Edington (1819-1901) and his sister Elizabeth Edington (1831-1908) owned the Commercial Hotel (County Hotel) 15-17 High
Street, North Berwick. In 1870 they added a second floor with dormer windows which afforded their guests an uninterrupted view
of the west bay. Francis Edington was Treasurer of the Royal Burgh of North Berwick Town Council and founder member of Bass Rock
Golf Club. He died 24th August 1901 at his home Ethandune 7, Dirleton Avenue and was buried in the St Andrews Kirk graveyard in
Kirk Ports. Elizabeth died 4th November 1908 and was laid to rest beside her brother marked with a headstone. Their portraits
hang in the vestibule of the Edington Cottage Hospital.
In March 1909, William Taylor on behalf of Dr. Barnardos organised a public meeting in the Oddfellows Hall, chaired by Provost MacIntyre to gauge the views of the community to establishing a Barnardos Home in the town. Overcrowding in the community was a problem with one third of the population living three or more to a room. In November 1919, the Scottish Board of Health submitted plans to build a housing scheme on two acres of ground west of East Road and immediately north of the Steam Laundry. In 1920, the Scottish Electricity Board was connected to the National Grid, and mains electricity was supplied to every property, although 6% of those connected did not own an electrical appliance. The Board of Health encouraged more house building and in 1926 the Town Council build six blocks containing 24 houses in the area of the present Lochbridge Road. Constructed by Richard Baillie & Sons, Pencaitland costing £384 per house. Richard Baillie also built the first fase of council houses in Dunbar Road. In 1927 the Town Council set about developing the cottages in Lochbridge Road and a year later the first 12 houses were complete on the street named Glenburn Road in February 1928. The single track bridge over the Glen Burn was considerably enlarged and Dunbar Road widened. The Lochbridge Toll House, one of last remaining road tax houses in Scotland was demolished in 1930. Dundas Thomson
During the 1920s parts of the Mains Farm was sold off by the farmer Dundas Thomson to the Town Council for house building. The town could
not have expanded and developed without Thomson's assistance. He died in 1951, but his name lives on with 'Dundas Avenue' and 'Dundas Road'.
Dundas Thomson, born 1885 at New Monkland, Airdrie son of Robert Thomson agricultural labourer and his wife Jane. The family moved to East
Lothian and became tenants on Chapel Farm. In 1919, the enterprising Dundas Thomson gained the rights to graze sheep on the Burgh golf
course from October to April. In the 1920s Thomson took on the tenancy of the Mains Farm which covered an area from the Lodge grounds in
the north to the Glen on the east, Berwick Law to the south, and Gilsland on the west. In 1922, Thomson purchased the Mains Farm from Sir
Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple when parts of the North Berwick Estate was offered for sale.
In 1924 Dundas Thomson offered to sell ground to the Town Council for the widening of East Road and to disperse the excavated soil over
the Mains Farm land. The following year the Town Council purchased more land from Thomson for the building of council houses in Dunbar
Road, Lochbridge Road and later Glenburn Road. Thomson did not auction the land to the highest bidder but negotiated a price per acre
with the Town Council. In 1926 again Thomson agreed a price to develop St Baldred’s Road and offered to sell the Glen Field as a
Recreational Park. In 1926 Councilor John McKellar applied to the Dean of Guild to build three bungalows on the south side of St
Baldreds Road. Drinking Fountain on East Road
The drinking fountain at the junction of Dunbar Road and Quadrant and a horse trough at the Recreation Park was the result of a generous
bequest by Isabella Catherine Lewis in November 1939. Mr Robertson the Burgh Surveyor was instructed to submit designs and a quotation
of £263 to supply the grey granite from Charles McDonald Ltd. Froghall Granite Works, Aberdeen. Originally Miss Lewis lived in Edinburgh
with her uncle James Lewis, a successful Grocer and Wine Merchant and her brothers David and John at 55, George Square. In the 1890s Isabella
moved to North Berwick where she resided at Duneaton for over forty years. The house stands at the junction of Links Road and West Bay Road
overlooking the West Links golf course.
In 1908, Sir Patrick Ford, a solicitor at 8 Moray Place Edinburgh engaged architect J.M.Dick Peddie to draw up plans for an Elizabethan
style mansion house on Abbotsford Road. Construction began in June 1909 using Rattlebags stone quarried at East Fenton. In 1911,
Patrick applied to the North Berwick Town Council for the installation of a water supply and a fire hydrant. Dick Peddie was also
responsible for other properties in North Berwick including Redholm (1902), Glasclune (1889), Chelyesmore Lodge (1899), Windygates
(1893) and the addition of a second floor to the North Berwick New Golf Clubhouse (1895). Sir Patrick J. Ford - Westerdunes and Sir John Lavery
Following the completion of their weekend retreat at North Berwick, Jessie and Pat Ford commissioned artist Sir John Lavery to paint
a number of family portraits. This developed into a patronage and among others Lavery painted for the Earl of Wemyss at his house in
Buckinghamshire and sketched Asquith's daughter at their house on the Thames. Margot Asquith's brother was Frank Tennant, owner of
Hyndford House, North Berwick. Margot married Herbert Asquith and was introduced to Lavery in Glasgow before her marriage and they
remained friends during her years in 10 Downing Street.
Lavery began painting the stunning views from the upper windows at Westerdunes across the West Links golf course to the Islands. His
most prolific years were 1919 and 1921 when he completed a number of canvases including The Ladies Links, The Putting Course, The First
Tee, and The Bathing Pool. The most famous painting was titled The Golf Links, North Berwick (1921) featuring Lavery's step-daughter
Alice Trudeau driving the ball from the fifth tee on the West Links. View samples of Sir John Lavery's
landscapes
Sir Patrick J. Ford was Scottish Unionist M.P. for Edinburgh from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1924 until 1935. In January 1926,
North Berwick Provost John Macintyre and the Town Councilors wrote to Sir Patrick Ford congratulating him on his knighthood and being
created 1st Baronet of Westerdunes. The property was sold in 1932 and following WW2 it became a hotel.
The Scottish artist Patrick William Adam renowned for his interior paintings resided at Ardilea 43 Dirleton Avenue, North Berwick with
his studio in the garden. Samuel Peploe best known for his still life paintings rented Cheylesmore Lodge at 67 Dirleton Avenue for
several seasons. Frank Tennant - Hyndford House
Frank Tennant (1861-1942) lived in Hyndford House, 18 Fidra Road, North Berwick. His father was Sir Charles Tennant Bart, and the
family originally came from Ayrshire where they were tenants of a farm near Ochiltree called Glenconner. The family fortune was
made on the back of a chemical empire devoted to the bleaching of fabric using a combination of chlorine and slacked lime. Sir
Charles Tennant Bart. was an Industrialist, Liberal Politician, Chairman of the Union Bank of Scotland and a multi-millionaire
by the time he was 25, independently of his father. Sir Charles purchased Glen House in Innerleithen, Peeblesshire and began to
fill the house with a collection of priceless furniture and paintings. Frank's sister Margot Tennant became the second wife of
Herbert Asquith (Prime Minister (1908-1916)
Sir Charles Tennant had three daughters from his second marriage. Nancy married Lord Crathorne, Peggy married Lord Wakehurst and
Katherine married Major Walter Elliot, Minister of Agriculture. As youngsters the girls enjoyed the summer season in North Berwick.
Katherine played golf and learned to swim in the outdoor bathing pond where in her words 'the caddies urged her off the diving
board'. Sir Charles Tennant Bart. built Glenconner House at 28 Dirleton Avenue, North Berwick for his second wife, the widow of
Major Geoffrey Lubbock. The coach house and gardener's cottage can still be seen in South Hamilton Road.
Their daughter Katherine was married in St Baldred's Church, North Berwick on Easter Monday 1934, watched by thousands of cheering
holiday makers and the pictures were wired around the world. The wedding reception was provided by Frank Tennant in Hyndford House.
Katherine became Baroness Elliott of Harwood and was bequeathed Glenconner where she spent many summers. Her sister Nancy and
Lord Crathorne owned the property opposite at 49 Dirleton Avenue. Sir Charles Tennant's grandson Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner
purchased the tropical island of Mustique in the Caribbean which became a favourite holiday destination for Princess Margaret.
The Tennant family where at the centre of the aristocratic gatherings in North Berwick which included Prime Minister Arthur
Balfour and his circle of friends, Herbert Asquith, Lord Wemyss, Lord Harwood and the rich and famous in North Berwick for the
summer season. Baroness Elliott was associated with Glenconner House until the 1970s.
The Prime Minister Herbert Asquith and his wife Countess of Oxford and Asquith played their holiday golf at North Berwick and
in 1909 they resided at Archerfield House. During the autumn season they played golf on the private course at Archerfield to
avoid the militant suffragettes. During this period when Asquith and his daughters Margot and Violet played golf at North Berwick
six policemen would accompany them. Lord Kitchener also enjoyed the privacy of Archerfield where Kitchener and Asquith both took
lessons from George Sayers in 1910.
Major General Lord Cheylesmore, the Lord Mayor of Westminster and his wife spent the summer season in North Berwick. His American
wife Elizabeth French was a keen golfer and played every day. Her younger sister was Mrs. Alfred Vanderbilt. While in North Berwick
on holiday the Lord Mayor accepted an invitation to open the St Andrew Church Bazar in the Forresters Hall which attracted a
huge cheering crowd. They liked North Berwick so much they purchased a house in the town and renamed it Cheylesmore Lodge. Medical Practice
Calling out a Doctor was expensive and giving birth in a Maternity Home was beyond the budget of most families, so the majority of
babies were born at home. In 1921, 107 out of every 1,000 baby's died at birth and over 500 women died each year having an abortion.
In 1817, Robert Lewins was born in North Berwick, the son of a medical practitioner. Lewins qualified as a physician and made a
special study of the brain, publishing two works on the subject. Listed in the Town Council accounts in November 1831 there is an
entry 'George Stewart, surgeon paid £5 for attending to the poor and supplying medicine.' The earliest registered surgeons and
druggists in the town were John Kesson in the 1820s, John Watson for 16 years until his death in 1848 and Hugh MacBain (1862-1888).
MacBain lived in Marine Lodge, 21 Westgate and was a Town Councillor and an elder in the Blackadder Church. He published an article
in the Edinburgh Medical Journal in 1877 on the successful treatment of coal gas poisoning by steam baths. Dr Hugh Gillies MacBain
died in 1902.
In 1891 the Public Health Act was passed and the Medical Officer of Health for East Lothian instructed the Local Authority to isolate
those with infectious diseases in a separate building beyond the Burgh boundary. The North Berwick Town Council constructed
Gilsland on the Newhouse Road and Gin Head at Casleton
John C. Hislop (1855-1868) was the general medical practitioner living in East Road. He was followed by Dr. John L. Crombie, Melbourne
Villa (13 Melbourne Road) who retained the position for 54 years. When Dr. Crombie died in 1920 the funeral bells tolled while the Provost
and Town Council laid a wreath on his grave. In the 1890s James Richardson, house surgeon at the Royal Infirmary Hospital lived at 7,
Tantallon Terrace where his family still reside.
In September 1911 James Lyle of Edinburgh gifted to the Town Council a painting of a silhouette of Dr. John Wilson surgeon in North
Berwick for sixteen years. Watson born in Pittenweem, Fife in September 1808 moved to North Berwick where he was devoted to his
profession. Dr. John Watson died in November 1848 and is buried in St Andrews Churchyard in North Berwick with a headstone erected
by public subscription. The framed painting of the silhouette was displayed in the Council Chambers.
In May 1912 the town raised £54 for the Titanic Disaster Fund. It was minuted that Col John Weir from North Berwick lost his life
in the disaster and his body was never recovered. The Council passed on their condolence to his sister Mrs Hewitt, Ingleholm, Clifford
Road, North Berwick.
For many years Dr. Angus Mathieson practised medicine from his residence at 'Duntulm', 19, Westgate. He was followed by Dr. Laurence
C.M.Wedderburn, who established his medical surgery at 1 Dirleton Avenue (1927-1935). During the 1930s Dr. Douglas Donald M.C. held
his surgery at 'St Helens' 1, West End Place where he was later joined by Dr. John MacDonald and Dr. Derek Morton. The other medical
practice was at the 'Garve' in Beach Road where Dr. Alexander Mallace M.C. resided. He was joined by Dr. Mercer and following the
foundation of the National Health Service in 1948, there was a marked improvement in the health of the community. When Dr. Mallace
retired, Dr. John MacDonald moved into the 'Garve' forming a group medical practice with Dr. Derek Morton and Dr. Mercer. The first
lady to practice medicine in the town was Dr. Jessie Eeles, the daughter of Provost George Eeles. With the population increase in the
1950s the surgery was enlarged and Dr. Jean Walinck joined the practice in 1958 and later Dr. Norman Waugh. In 1925, the Town Council
appointed Adam Young as the ambulance driver to accompany anybody requiring urgent medical attention in hospital.
Gilsland was purchased in 1935 by Dr. Robert Macnair and the property was convered into a fever hospital. Robert Macnair's
father was a minister of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh and Gilsland closed in 1941.
In June 1922 the North Berwick Estate was offered for sale by Sir Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple at a public roup in Edinburgh. The land
measured 90 acres, 3 roods and 24 poles and included farms at Wamphray, Heugh, Castleton, Blackdykes, Mains and Berwick Law. Each
farm tenant was offered first option to purchase the land. The Town Council offered to purchase the club-makers workshop beside
the first tee on the West Links, and the land east of the March Dyke which formed part of the golf course owned by the North Berwick
Estate.
In January 1923, William Herries, the Burgh Officer retired after 14 years and the Town Council arranged to have his portrait
painted by Charles MacGregor. He was followed as Burgh Officer by John Richardson. In 1924 the daughter of the Rev. Robert Balfour
Graham minister of St Andrew Church presented the Town Council with a portrait of North Berwick worthy Sandy Dunbar painted in 1841.
Sandy resided in Clarty Burn (Law Road) where he died in September 1841 aged 90 years.
Scottish Women's Rural Institute
Catherine Blair founder of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute and the famous Mak'Merry Pottery, lived in North Berwick for many
years. Born in Bathgate Catherine Shields was interested in women's issues and supported the Suffragette movement by writing letters
to the Scottish Press. She married Thomas Blair, a farmer at Hoprig Mains Farm near Gladsmuir, East Lothian. In June 1917, Catherine
started the first Scottish Branch of the Women's Rural Institute where the ladies could meet socially and make jam and cakes to raise
funds.
The first meeting took place in Longniddry village hall when Lady Wemyss was installed as President. One of the first talks the SWRI
organised was a demonstration on painting pottery and this inspired Catherine in 1919 to establish the Mak'Merry pottery studio in a
shed on her farm as a practical example of a co-operative rural enterprise. Her objective was income generation for poor and isolated
rural women rather than leisure activities. The Institute members came from all over to design and paint the pottery while others would
teach embroidery, rug-making and sell their work to enable them to keep going.
In 1932, Catherine and Tom retired to Seaworthy Cottage in North Berwick where a new Mak'Merry Studio was established. The pottery won
prizes at many exhibitions and the Queen Mother ordered a crockery set at the 1933 Highland Show. Catherine died on 18th November 1946
at 1 Tantallon Terrace, North Berwick. Mak'Merry pottery remains highly collectable and is often featured on the BBC Antiques Roadshow.
The Foresters Hall (Tigh Mhor) was converted into a Picture House in 1920. The building was demolished in 1938 when The Playhouse Cinema
owned by Scott's Empires later Caledonian Associated Cinemas was built. During this period it was becoming more acceptable for girls to
participate in sports. Scottish speed champions Ellen King and Jean McDowall (both Olympic swimmers) were coached at North Berwick swimming
pool at a time when a daily ticket cost six pence. Every swimmer of repute in the country appeared in exhibitions at the North Berwick
pool, including regular visits from world famous American divers.
In 1926, many of the houses in the westend were unoccupied as the owners could not afford the upkeep. The owners of the property in
Abbotsford Road in the Parish of Dirleton included Sir Patrick Ford - Westerdunes (occupied); W.A.Wheelock - Bunkerhill (abroad); Sir J.
Wishart Thomson - Quarry Court (occupied); Kenneth Arbuthnot - Shipka (empty); Lady Adelaide Hall - St Aidans (empty); R.J.Addie -
Greyholme/Teviotdale (empty); Kennedy Walker - Carlkemp (occupied); Captain Hamish Pelham-Burn - Invereil (for sale). The majority had
a private generator to provided electricity and the others did not require electricity as they were only occupied during the summer
months. That year they applied to the Town Council to be connected to the gas and mains water supply.
In January 1926, the Town Council congratulated Sir Patrick Ford of Westerdunes House on being conferred Knight Commander of the Order
of the British Empire. Ford was a practicing advocate and Member of Parliament for North Edinburgh. In July 1929 he was made 1st Baronet
Ford of Westerdunes by George V. A Meteorological Station was introduced in 1933 and the Council Observer was Mr. Philips, the gasworks
manager. In the 1934 Annual Report,1455.1 hours of sunshine was recorded making North Berwick the eighth sunniest place in Great Britain.
In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the Throne and his brother Prince Albert, Frederick, Arthur, George was the lawful sovereign. When
the Town Council received the proclamation, a group of dignitaries lead by Provost Eeles, gathered at the Cross (beneath the Council
Chambers) including the heads of several public bodies, the Clergy, and Sir Hew Hamilton Dalrymple when they pledged their Oath of
Allegiance to His Majesty King George VI. They formed a procession along Quality Street, East Road, School Road, Melbourne Road to the
Harbour where the Proclamation was again made by the Provost from the old Granary steps. Second World War
With talk of war in 1935, came increased employment in the armament related industries, and by the following year unemployment had
fallen to one and a half million. Drem airfield originally named West Fenton Aerodrome opened in 1916 and was used for Home Defense
by 77 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. It was also a temporary based for the American 41st Aero Squadron in 1918, flying Spad and
Sopwith Camel aircraft. Following the First World War the airfield was abandoned and fell into disrepair. It was re-opened in 1939 as
No.13 Flying Training School. The base became an air defense fighter unit for the city of Edinburgh and shipping around the Firth of
Forth with spitfires from 603 Squadron joining 602 Squadron.
The Spitfire was considered a magnificent flying machine but its long nose made it difficult to land at night. in 1940 the station
was under the command of Wing Commander 'Batchy' Atcherly and he devised a solution. He placed lights on ten foot high poles that
would only be visible to aircraft. A circle of lights was laid out around the field and pilots would fly around this until they saw
the path lights on the runway. The system known as Drem Lighting was adopted by the RAF at all it's stations.
Drem operated as a station where crews rotated from the south of England during the height of the Battle of Britain in 1940. While
resting at Drem these squadrons carry out convoy patrols watching over the shipping on the east coast.
The first action by the Scottish fighter squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force - the accountants,lawyers, farmers and bankers who
were the so-called 'weekend fliers', some of them not yet 20, took place on 16th October 1939, over the Firth of Forth. The skirmish
involving the Spitfires of 602 and 603 Squadron based at Turnhouse and Drem (Fenton Barns) happened when the Luftwaffe launched its
first major air raid on Britain, with Rosyth as the target.
A squadron of new Junkers 88 bombers flew to the Firth of Forth in search of HMS Hood, the Royal Navy's largest battleship, which
they failed to find, but instead attacked two Royal Navy cruisers near the Forth Bridge. The leading Junkers 88 was intercepted
just as it pulled out of its attack on HMS Mohawk, killing 15 sailors including the captain.
The German bomber was hit repeatedly off Kirkcaldy and finally shot down near Crail. The pilot, Pat Gifford from Castle Douglas was
credited with bringing down the bomber. He led Red Section of the 603 Auxiliary Squadron in their attack and was given the Distinguished
Flying Cross. Pat was killed in 1940 during the Battle of France and his remains were never found. During the attack over the
Firth of Forth another German plane ditched into the sea off Port Seton and the pilot was rescued by local fisherman John 'Tarry' Dickson,
and transfered to the military hospital at Edinburgh Castle. The dogfight, the first time Spitfires were used in anger, was witnessed
by thousands in Fife and East Lothian.
In the course of the first few months the activity at Drem was such that two pilots had won the DFC and the station was visited by
King George VI. In July 1940 there were 12 Spitfires from 602 squadron and 8 Hurricanes from 605 squadron based at Drem and among the
'fighter aces' was Caesar Hill and Peter Townsend who was later associated with Princes Margaret. Group Captain Peter Townsend DSO,
DFC and bar was Station Commander at RAF Drem in 1941.
The North Berwick Observer Corps formed in 1938, was made up with volunteers and their lookout post was situated on Castle Hill.
When war was declared the Observer Corps went into action with a 24 hour watch, two on at a time with direct communications with
their HQ at Galashiels who in turn informed the RAF.
A German Heinkel bomber was forced down over North Berwick just after midday on Friday 9th February 1940. It narrowly missed
telegraph wires as it crash-landed in the south east corner of the field behind the Lime Grove bus shelter. The Heinkel 111 H-1
was shot down by a Spitfire from 602 Squadron piloted by Squadron Leader Douglas Farquhar stationed at Drem. The Spitfire fired
625 rounds at the Heinkel over Fife. With smoke pouring from its port engine and the undercarriage lowered in a sign of surrender,
it turned towards the coast and made a forced landing tipping onto its nose. The rear gunner Uffz F. Wieners was hit by gunfire
from the Spitfire and was taken to Drem where he died of his injuries and was buried in Dirleton Cemetery. The remaining three-man
crew escaped without inquiry and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp. The two observers on duty that day were Wishart and
Sim who took the credit. George Sim (1922-28) and James Wishart (1959-65) were both Provosts of the Royal Burgh.
Two weeks later the aircraft was taken by road to Turnhouse to be examined by experts. The wings were removed and the tail section
mounted on a trailer before the aircraft was pulled on its own wheels and maneuvered along Dirleton Avenue in North Berwick, through
Musselburgh High Street and along Ferry Road in Edinburgh. The aircraft was repaired and joined a group of captured machines on tour
of RAF Stations to familiarise Allied aircrew with enemy aircraft.
The defence organisations in North Berwick included Air Raid Wardens, Fire Service and Home Guard. The fire watchers were based on
the roof of the Post Office in Westgate where beds were installed in the rest rooms on the upper floor. The Home Guard who manned
road blocks on Dirleton Avenue and Dunbar Road were based in the Hope Rooms and Caddie Shed on the West Links.
Miss Evelyn Coats, daughter of Peter H. Coats, cotton millionare, worked on Heugh Farm with the Women's Land Army as her contribution
to the war effort in October 1939. The Coats summer resudence was at 34 Dirleton Avenue, North Berwick.
Throughout the Second World War when forty of the town's young men gave the ultimate sacrifice, life in the community continued,
despite the constrictions and uncertainty that prevailed. The Bass Rock lighthouse was unmanned and the light extinguished for the
duration of the conflict. Percy Pearson the local lobster fisherman was often instructed by the Ministry to make for the Bass and
switch on the light, to allow a convoy of Royal Navy Destroyers save passage to Rosyth.
Many organisations in the town contributed to Jock's Box War Comforts Fund supported by the Daily Record, Evening News and Sunday
Mail. Seven surface air-raid shelters were constructed in the playground of the High School which the neighbouring residents could
also use. The Ministry of Home Security announced Free Air-Raid Shelters would be made available. The brick surface shelters at
Elcho House, Quality Street and Dunbar Road were constructed by James Elliot & Son. James Archibald, 38 Quality Street was threatened
with prosecution for not carrying out his fire watching duties in 1941.
The Town Council instructed the Manager of the cinema to screen public information messages several times each week to encourage
the community to save quantities of paper and other salvage. The secretary of the Home Guard requested permission to play their
golf competition on the Burgh course in June 1942. The Home Guard used the Golf Pavilion as a meeting place. The Ministry of Works
instructed all local authority's to remove metal railings from private properties in the town for scrap. Following an appeal in
1943 the railings opposite the Vale in Forth Street and the railings in Dunbar Road were not to be removed. In November 1942
the Town Council accepted a gift of two pictures from Mrs. White of Haddington showing the Old Abbey and Baillie Balcrafties
house. The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders handed over the Harbour Pavilion to the King's Own Scottish Borders in August 1941.
The KOSB band played every Thursday evening on the Anchor Green. The Polish Mounted Riffles drove a tank through the town causing
damage to the roadway which they had to repair and all tanks were banned for the main streets.
In 1941, aircrew were trained at East Fortune in night fighting techniques for the RAF's Fighter Command. In 1942, Drem and East
Fortune became temporary home to six Hurricane squadrons and several other Spitfire squadrons, notably the Poles, Canadians and
Australian 453 Squadron. The command of the Polish Free Army was based near Kincardine, and the Poles stationed at East Fortune
were billeted at Warrender House and Strathearn Hotel in York Road. Many of the Polish names familiar in the community today such
as Sanetra, Helik, Gdulewicz, Borge, Skwara, and Rogawska came from that period. When a number of the exiles married local girls and
settled in the area rather than returning home to the Soviet domination of Poland after 1945.
(A.S.E.E) Tantallon
The headland at Canty Bay named Gin Head was a radar research station and testing facility in 1937, part of Britain's early warning
system that alerted the RAF to incoming enemy aircraft during World War Two. The Admiralty Signals Establishment Extension (A.S.E.E)
Tantallon, was a research facility under the auspices of the Admirallty and Air Ministry, The top secret research on ship-based radar
systems allowed (A.S.E.E) Tantallon, to intercept the system used by the German Luftwaffe.
The deception and jamming operations tested at Gin Head were key to the success of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6 1944.
They helped to deceive the German High Command into thinking that the British naval and airborne forces
would arrive in France via the Pas De Calais, rather than in Normandy. The researchers also came up with a system of dropping
aluminium foil from aircraft to jam signals to enemy radar stations. The buildings were used by the Admiralty until 1984 when
it was sold to the defence contractor Ferranti and then to the American firm of Ranco.
The Ministry of War requisitioned Greywalls House in Gullane as an 'off station' and officers mess, where in the hedonistic
atmosphere of an uncertain tomorrow the pilots and crew held many 'Champagne Parties'. Evidence of the high spirits still exist
today in the form of a bullet hole shot in the copper ball of the pinnacle of the roof. Drem also provided the backdrop for one of
the final actions of the war when on 11th May 1945 Spitfires of 603 squadron escorted on to the runway three German JU 52
transport planes carrying not bombs but Nazi officers suing for peace.
Walter Hume remembers growing up in North Berwick during WW2. His father, uncles and cousin were Forth Pilots and as such his main
residence was Newhaven, Edinburgh with a second home at North Berwick. Walter Hume writes' With the continued threat of air raids
we moved to our second home at North Berwick in October 1939. First to a grand old big house called 'Ardgay', ideally situated
along the East Bay, with the magnificent beach literally on our door step and an uninterrupted sea view looking over to the Fife
coast, the silenced fog-horns and unlit lighthouse beams of the Bass Rock, May Island and Fidra, due to the strict black-out in
force. After a short while we moved to a more permanent abode, a delightful big apartment house situated above a pub named 'Auld
Hoose', in Forth Street, probably remembered because it was such a happy time in spite of there being a war going on else
where.
I enrolled at North Berwick school in School Road, where Mr Lonnie was headmaster. It always puzzled us that for music lessons we
were encouraged to sing with gusto, the only problem being that all the red coloured hard-back music books handed out were quite
useless, none of us could read music, or more to the point the words, which were all in the Welsh language!!!. Our daily lives
were not affected directly with war time activities although with several air force stations nearby there always something going
on. One of the more regrettable incidents which had us dashing down to the harbour happened on 12th December 1939.
With lots of Spitfire fighter aircraft zooming about just above roof top level, word quickly went round that they had just shot
down a bomber into the sea a few hundred yards off the old disused Victoria Pier. In addition to numerous naval patrol craft that
were quickly on the scene a local fishing boat, named Caithness Lass, put out to help pick up any survivors, as a few saturated
aircrew clambered ashore at the old Victoria Jetty and trundled up past the open air swimming pool, we were looking to see the
Germans, as we thought, and to everyone's surprise and dismay saw only our own RAF uniforms. The story came out soon after that
several Hampden Bombers returning from a operation over the Norwegian coast failed to give the correct identification signal for
the day and our defence Spitfires promptly brought it down just south of Craigleith Island, one of the Hampden crew died as a
result of this dreadful mistake, some fifty years after that incident I actually met up with one of the crew in Poole, Dorset, he
not only survived that ditching but went on to successfully complete more than one full tour of war time duties.
Pre-war the Forth Pilot cutters used North Berwick harbour as a base, but with the onset of hostilities they were moved across to
the north shore at Largo, because of the huge concentration of shipping in Methil Bay, when yet again we were attracted like moths
to a light when word got around the Pilot boat was seen approaching the harbour, and an ambulance in attendance, as usual we
nippers were chased away, and when I arrived home to relate what had just been observed, was promptly told, yes, and its your
father who they brought ashore, he is now in bed.
He had been on the Bridge of HMS Edinburgh conducting compass adjusting when the ship was attacked by German aircraft, he was
fortunately not hit by bullets but a LIVE high voltage radio aerial which fell across his back causing a form of paralysis and
severe electrical burns. He adamantly refused to be taken to hospital as family just lived up the road, had a couple of weeks off
work (almost unheard of at that time) then back to Piloting ships to join the Russian convoys or hazardous Atlantic voyages, not
exactly a quiet life in the sheltered Firth of Forth Estuary.
One of the few forms of entertainment, apart from the fore-going, was a visit to the only cinema, quite small but fairly new,
built just before the war, the Playhouse visit once a week became a few hours of escapism, with so many service personnel
stationed in and around the town it was a full house every night, but we did not mind waiting in the long queue, to see the likes
of Kenny Baker in the Mikado, now there's nostalgia for you.' Walter Hume spent a life-time at sea and retired to Cowes, Isle of
Wight.
In 1946, Hutchison's pleasure boats painted in camouflage returned to the harbour after being commandeered by the Ministry of War
for duties in the Firth of Forth. Following World War II, the Italians made up the biggest group of immigrants in Scotland. Many
setting up ice cream parlours and fish and chip shops, establishing the fish supper as a traditional Scottish meal, while maintaining
close contact with Italy. The Tomassi, and Luca families established a business in the town while the Capaldi ice cream parlour was
situated in the former Lifeboat Station in Victoria Road.
In the 1940s, the Royal and Marine Hotels were owned by Eglinton Hotels Ltd. The company purchased St Ann's in York Road and
converted the building into a Children's Hotel where wealthy families sent their children for the summer months. In 1949, the two
year old grandson of Emperor Haile Salassie of Ethiopia, Prince Paul Woseng Seged Makonnen Haile Salassie spent a few weeks at St Anns
with his Scottish nanny and Ethiopian under-nurse.
The Town Fete was a highlight each year, held on the Coo's Green, in the area beyond the East Putting Green. Arranged by the North
Berwick Traders Association, to raise funds for the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, this was in the days before the National Health
Service, when Hospitals relied on public donations for their survival. (The first door to door collection in the town for the
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was in September 1739). At the fete, as well as games for prizes donated by the residents there was a
children's fancy dress competition, followed by a parade through the town. The Fire Engine and Town Council vehicles, decorated in
flags and bunting, carried the children through the streets.
Lady Thomson Obituary 2017
Lady Bettina Thomson died at the age of 102, on 26th May 2017. Bettina's early childhood was spent with her mother and grandparents
at No.1 Lorne Square, North Berwick. She loved North Berwick and returned to her house on the seafront annually for the rest of her
life. She was probably the last person alive to recall hearing the distant thunder of guns from the Battle of Jutland whilst on the
beach at North Berwick with her mother in May 1916.
Evelyn Margaret Isobel Thomson nee Douglas was born in Edinburgh on 1 January 1915. She and her younger sister, Jean lost their
father during the Battle of Jutland. Her father, Lieutenant Commander David Douglas was third in command of HMS Black Prince when
the armoured cruiser was surprised in the dark and sunk with the loss of 857 lives.
Her mother Frances, from the Stevenson family of engineers and lighthouse builders and cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson. Bettina
married Sir Douglas Thomson in 1935 he was a M.P. for Aberdeen South and they were based in Edinburgh whilst he worked as Private
Secretary to the Minister of Shipping in London organising war convoys. They moved to an estate in Walkerburn in 1942. Douglas
retired as an M.P. in 1945 and devoted his time to rebuilding the family shipping Company, Ben Line that had suffered serious
losses during the war.
Bettina took an active interest in local affairs representing Walkerburn on the Country Council from 1960 to 1974. She had a life
long interest in family history and at the age of 82 published a book about her ancestors that included an Artic explorer, a war
hero who won the Victoria Cross and an Admiral who founded the modern Japanese navy. Laterly Bettina resided with her daughter in
Yorkshire where she died on 26 May 2017. When North Berwick's museum which was established by her stepfather and first Inspector
of Ancient Monuments for Scotland, James Richardson closed she campaigned tirelessly for its reopening which finally happened in 2014.
During the 1930s the town's shopkeepers and tradesmen took part in the parade, many on horse back. In those days the procession
took in the west end of the town, where the young shop assistants would visit the residencies in York Road, Cromwell Road and
Dirleton Avenue, where they had delivered goods throughout the year. At each stop, they were offered 'refreshments' by the
household staff, and collected donations from his 'Lordship' towards the fund raising. (More below under Sports Centre)
The Coo's Green was used for the last time in 1959 and that year also saw the final Fancy Dress Parade. The Town Council had
purchased Lady Jane Park (Lodge Grounds) and mansion house in 1938 and the Town Fete moved to that location in 1960. At that time
the Lodge Grounds had two fields, both fenced off for grazing cattle and sheep. Later the live-stock were moved to the east field
and the other opened up to the public, although the practice of locking the gates to the Lodge Grounds at dusk continued.
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