Dunfermline stepped back in time to the Second World War for the launch of this year’s Defend Fife festival.
Veterans and participants in the second event of its kind to celebrate the part local people played in the war effort gathered in costumes of the era and strolled through the town spreading word of the event.
The launch on Saturday also saw the unveiling of Pittencrieff Park’s anti-tank cube project – a display of a roadblock rescued from a nearby housing development.
Three concrete cubes from the 1940s have been joined by a fourth made by students of Fife College to complete the formation the block would have had when it was installed as part of the town’s defences.
An interpretation panel on the new cube explains how the original cubes, found when flats were built at Pittencrieff Street, were made by the Royal Engineers for the Home Guard.
Defend Dunfermline was held for the first time last year and has been extended to be a much larger Fife-wide event.
Roger Pickering, of Forth Pilgrim, director of both the festival and cube project, said: “The Second World War affected most people’s families and we know the big stories but we don’t actually know much about what happened locally.
“This roadblock was unknown of until I found it down the Coal Road.
“Then I found a record of a naval officer from Rosyth crashing into it during a blackout.”
He said the festival aimed to both entertain and educate people about what happened in their local area during the war.
“We are trying to bring tourists into Fife but we also want locals to appreciate where they live and enjoy it.”
Last year’s Defend Dunfermline illustrated the town’s plans for defending itself against invasion, bringing to life the days when the Polish Army worked with the Home Guard to protect citizens.
It included street theatre and dances, exhibitions, talks and music.
The 2018 festival, to be held on September 29 and 30, will return to Dunfermline High Street but also include the former Royal Navy depot at Lathalmond.
The 45-acre site at Lathalmond will allow the event to include military vehicles, large displays, encampments and battle reenactments.
