harry barnes says

I was born at 221 Foulford street, Kirkford, on 11/11/1941, went to Foulford Primary School, my teacher was Miss Foot, then to Broad Street untill i did my qualifier for Beath High School.

I started work at the Aitken pit at 15 years old, trained at Mosside, worked on salvage & woodboy till 17 1/4 years when I joined the Royal Marines.

Did 6 1/2 years there - now I live in Plymouth, Devon with my own family.

Sharon Dewar says

Hi Harry, I stay right next door to where Foulford PS used to be - the block of flats towards Stenhouse Street, Right across from where St Brides PS used to be. Can you remember anything about where I stay ? Cheers Farrell

margaret hart says

I was brought up in ballingry but my parents moved to wales in 1966 as my father alex blair was a miner so had to move for work, my gran used to work in reekies bakery in cowdenbeath i always remember going there when i was younger also buying haggis from gronbachs butchers just under the bridge have not been to scotland now for a few years.

Tom Barnes says

Harry tells a little fib - it was actually 121 Foulford Road we lived at and it was opposite the Sweetie Shop where we took our ration cards to get our weekly supply of sweets.

kit gillies says

Looking for information on 18 Mungall Street cowdenbeath.........this address comes up on a lot of my past generations on census's and birth, marriage death certificates.....whar was it?

Sharon Dewar says

I don't know for certain where Mungall Street was but I would guess it was in Kirkford where the new "new" beath school now is . There were 3-4 rows of houses that went out that way from Foulford Road (north of kirkford club) at the time just after Mungall was provest - I think he resided in 1891 when the town name officially came into being. Please let me know if I am way out - Its just an educated quess. If you want to know wher I am talking about, drop me an email

Alex Anderson says

Alex Anderson we lived at No 9 Mungall moved to rose bank in 1949, my dad was the provost, I also was on the Council just before Cowdenbeath Town Council closed and the Fife region started.

Alex Anderson says

we lived at No 9 Mungall Street and moved to Rose Bank in 1949, I was on the Town Council and My Dad was the Provost

Stewart Hill says

Mungall St I also recall was in the next habitation Lumphinnanas approx 2 miles away.

A very mining complex. I was there from 1953-1956 before we all moved to a new house/home in Kelty.

Glad I escaped - weather was brutal.....

1960 - Heading south to Manchester...weather still not good...heading south to Hants UK, Mallorca, Spain and now Sth Florida, USA All to do with Work.....( Retired & Resting ) with daughters & grandaughter.

The beaches here are just like Peticur and Aberdour...Come on over.......

Disney only 3 hours away........

Enjoy...

william mitchell says

rab mitchell i used to live at 18 miln cresent cowdenbeath who knows me and mine mothers name grace HOWLEY MC GHEE MITCHELL

Richard Moran says

Richard Moran - I was born at 8 Mungall Street, Kirkford on 12 January 1947 when our family moved to a new house at Rae Street, Cowdenbeath10 months later. Father was Hugh and mother Helen (known as Nellie) - I had 3 brothers - John, George and Hugh and 1 sister Helen. My mother's maiden name was Drysdale and she hailed from Hill of Beath. My grandmother was Jean Moran (nee Peacock). There were several Morans and Peacocks in Kirkford.

nichola kirby says

My di joseph (pop) graham was born in kirkford in1928. Just wondered if anyone knew him as a youngster.

martin knight says

searching info on the carruthers family for familytree

Alex Dow says

As some of you recollect Mungall Street as one of a small group on the north side of Foulford Road, I wonder if any of you can recognise/recollect "Cornfield Place" anywhere in Cowdenbeath?

My Post Code is KY4 9AZ - Johnston Park Cowdenbeath.

If you key that Post Code in to many Sat Navs, they come up with "Cornfield Place Cowdenbeath", a few come up with both Cornfield Place and Johnston Park.

I am the very first resident in JP, the Showhouse being closed down and allocated to me 23rd April 1968. Both the then new estate and also the then length of road from Foulford Road were called Johnston Park; and it was about four years later that the road name was chenged to Leuchatsbeath Drive, although terminating by the present pedestrian entry to Foulford Primary School.

The Drive was then extended to to just beyond the motor entrance to the school for its opening in 1976, followed by another short extension for Craigsbeath Court.

Subsequently to accomodate the building of Kirkton and Southfield, the Drive was extended over to the stub entry of Glenfield.

At no time during my forty+ years of living in JP have I noted "Cornfield Place" in the vicinity, whilst all my searching has not yet revealed a map that included and name the small group of houses on the north side of Foulford Road which included Mungall Street.

The other strange thing is that if there ever were a "Cornfield Place" in Cowdenbeath, it disappeared before Post Codes came in to existence; and checking on the Royal Mail Post Code site, it does not show up there.

So where are the Sat-Nav Mapping companies getting this erroneous information from?

Incidentally, when would-be visitors phone to say they can not find my house, I tell them to use the next Post Code - KY4 9BA!

Thank you

sandy cuthbert says

did anybody know peggy dick from barclay st. my wifes aunty. i believe she worked on the buses for a while

Bonnie Motter says

Any Johnstons there who are related to John and Mary Taylor Johnston?

He worked in the local mines 48 yrs. and died in 1948 when gas leaked in their home.

She died also 3yrs later. Children were Robert,William,Margaret,Mary,Elizabeth and Jean.

He played in the brass band of the Salvation Army and also the Dunfermline military band.They lived on Chapel St.

Way back then.

Carol Laing says

Re:- Cornfield Place - I was puzzled when I saw that on Google Street View in the street I lived in from 1968 - 1971 - it was definitely Johnston Park when I lived there (at No.7), and the house was new when we moved in. Surely they haven't changed the name of that one bit of the street?

Alex Dow says

Afternoon Carol

You are correct, it always has been Johnston Park.

The official source of Post Codes is Royal Mail, in fact they were created for purely postal delivery purposes.

If you check the Royal Nail Post Code/Address Finder, Johnston Park is the only place listed, there is NO "Cornfield Place" in Cowdenbeath.

KY4 9AZ covers 1 to 50 Johnston Park

KY4 9BA covers 51 to 85 Johnston Park;

although there are only 77 houses in JP, two unbuilt blocks accounting for the eight "lost numbers", 66 to 69 inc and 70 to 73 inc.

If you look for the "gap" towards the northern corner, that is where they should have been.

So "Cornfield Place" appears to be a creation of the mapping companies.

In turn, they sell this error (and other errors) on to the Sat-Nav manufacturers, thus maintaining the fiction of a non-existent place.

Another error I know about, although not involving Post Codes, is that because of mapping errors, there is a location up north where the Sat-Navs instruct you to use a Level Crossing which was replaced by an over-bridge probably in the 1920s, that over-bridge being closed about 1985 when replaced by a new road and new over-bridge about 1985.

AND both those replacements occurred LONG BEFORE Sat-Navs were invented!

BUT the 1985 road and the 1985 over-bridge do exist in the mapping database, because if you want to head South instead of North, those 1985 structures are correctly listed in the route details.

Alex Dow

william fairley says

hiya all.....im trying to find out imformation on the fairley family.....im a fairley myself and just wanted to know any stories anyone might know from years ago bout my grandad and granma.......as they both died when i was young i didnt get a chance to ask them wot life was like for them and how life was when they were growing up.my grandads name is william john fairley born 20/3/32......my grans name is isabelle fairley (nee morris)originally from glencraig..born 1/5/35 any imformation would be much appreciated thank you....

Sharon Dewar says

To William Fairley - my wifes gran was Mary Millar (nee morris) born in Glencraig 1933. Her father was Robert Morris and mother Janet Kelly Fairley but I am not sure where they hailed from. I know this does not exactly tie in with the info you are looking for, but I thought it too much of a coincidence even if the names are the wrong way around ?

william fairley says

To farrell dewar - your rite there all part of my family, both my gran and my grandads side in a way.....mary was my grans sister...there mum and father split up and Janet ended up getting married to my grandad's oldest brother,thats why the name janet fairley.

My grandad the youngest of the brothers ended up marrying Janet's daughter who is my gran Isabella. So 1 brother married the mum the other married the daughter....lol...its like something from corrie..lol

William Miller says

For Farrell Dewar

Your block of flats used to be owned by a guy who ran an ice-cream van round Cowdenbeath. He kept the van in the garage attached to the block on the north (school) side.  One of my mates used to stay in the upstairs flat at the Stenhouse Street end. He and his family now live in Kingseat.

Paul Henderson says

Hello,

I lived in a prefab at 45 Blackburn Drive from about 1951 to 1954.  My family then emigrated to Canada in 1954.  I went to Foulford Primary School from 1950 to 1954.  My father was Andrew Henderson from Lochgelly, and my mother is Agnes Nisbet from Cowdenbeath.  My father was a joiner and also played in the Cowdenbeath brass band.  My mother sang in the Cowdenbeath Ladies Choir.  I took piano lessons from Mrs. Brewster who I think lived on Rosebank Crescent.

Some of the kids I remember from school are:  Brian Guthrie, Sheila Gorrie (not sure of the spelling), George MacNab, Elizabeth Harris, Robert Guthrie.  Does anyone remember or know any of these people, or the prefabs up there in Kirkford?

Paul Henderson, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

charlotte miller says

i remember when i was a young girl sitting on the wall at the play park at the ritz asking the miners going home from the dora pit if they had any pit peesies.if we were lucky we got one on jam and cheese that was a treat for us then it was delicious.can anyone else remember?

Ian Nisbet says

To Paul Henderson,

I remember the pre fabs at Blackburn Drive, My father also played in Cowdenbeath brass band until the late 50s, when they used to practise at the Haldane Hall.

The name Agnes Nisbet also rings bells with me. My Grandfather was John Nisbet who lived at Thistle street, and my dads name was Sam nisbet, he passed away in 1996

best regards,

Ian Nisbet

Paul Henderson says

To Ian Nisbet:

Thanks for replying Ian.  Perhaps we're related.  My grandfather was Charlie Nisbet who was a piper in the Black Watch during WW1 and I believe he played in the Cowdenbeath pipe band in the past.

Do you have any photos of the Cowdenbeath brass band taken in the early 50's by any chance?  If so, I'd greatly appreciate a scanned copy by email.  My father was in that band from the time he was a boy.

I'm 64 years old now.  Are you about the same age?  Did you go to Foulford School?

Regards,

Paul Henderson

Neil Guthrie says

To Paul Henderson,

I've just emailed you - hope you receive it OK - just to give you my dad's contact details! (Brian Guthrie)

Best wishes,

Neil

Rose Gibb says

A few years ago I found a great site called Lochgelly Memories featuring mainly the Happyland and people who lived there. My grandparents lived in Lochgelly, so it was really interesting.  I wondered if anyone had put together a site on any other areas around and about and I came across this one for Cowdenbeath. There is also one for Glencraig with some old time photographs and some memories.

I was born and brought up in Cowdenbeath. Blackburn Drive, Rae Street & Barclay Street.  I went to the Old St. Brides and St. Columba's but I moved away as a teenager.  I finally settled down and now live in Canada but my sister still lives in Rosyth and an aunt in Cowdenbeath as well as a couple of cousins so I am still interested in what is happening there. 

I read the Dunfermline Press on-line and any other local newspapers that the internet will cough up.  The Courier is available with it's news of Dundee and Fife, so that is a good read.

David Mutter says

yes charlotte i do remember getting the left over pit peeses from the miners, we stayed accross from the gates of no 7 pit and as you say if you got one with jam you were very much in luck, used to play in the woodyard and was chased many times,olso got caught by Jock Ried the coalman on several occasions for stealing his coal    ( GOOD DAYS ) Dave Mutter formaly 129 stenhiuse street born 1938