The Duke of Edinburgh may have once been rumoured to call Methil a “dump”, however the people of the Fife town proved they had put the past behind them on Friday by warmly greeting their royal visitor with smiles and cheers.
Prince Philip, who celebrated his 90th birthday this year, made the journey to Methil Heritage Centre to view an exhibition on the history of shipping in the area.
Methil and the Merchant Marine is the culmination of a year long project by Mr Gold and Friends of Methil Heritage, which tells the story of the ports in and around Levenmouth and looks back at a time when Britain’s merchant fleet was the largest in the world, shipping out three million tons of coal annually as well as handling imported goods such as flax and wool.
Friends of Methil Heritage secretary Bill Gold invited the duke to the exhibition as a matter of courtesy so was surprised when he received an acceptance from Buckingham Palace saying the duke would be delighted to attend.
He said, “His secretary phoned us to say he’d be coming and that’s when all the excitement started.”
It was in 1943 that the duke is said to have made the comment about Methil being a dump, when he served on the Destroyer Escort HMS Wallace at Rosyth during the second world war.
As a result he became a figure of dislike in the town over the years that followed until he made a royal visit to Methil in 1996 to set the record straight.View from the ForthAt the time he stated he had never been ashore at Methil but admitted he had made a comment about it being a terrible place to stay after viewing the town from the Forth.
He made it clear his comment was not directed at the town or its people but based on his war-time memories of a wet, cold, and windy coastline.
On Friday, however, the duke looked proud to be associated with the town, smiling and joking with councillors, dignitaries and volunteers as he walked around admiring the various maritime displays on show at the exhibition.
Mr Gold said there were certainly no hard feelings among the people of Methil, saying that the rumour was “in the past”.
“He already set the record straight during his visit in 1996 and all he saw from his ship at that time were clouds of dust and empty holes so nobody could blame him,” he said.
Accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Fife, Margaret Dean, the duke was welcomed at the door by sea cadets before viewing the exhibits.WatercolourAfterwards the duke was presented with a watercolour painting of the HMS Wallace by artist Rachel Ritchie.
She said, “He seemed very happy with the gift and thanked me personally for it, which was really nice.”
Rachel’s father-in-law Graeme Ritchie, who is also a member of Friends of Methil Heritage, spoke in depth to the duke during his visit.
He said, “We were delighted to have him here and he seemed genuinely happy to be here too.
“He was extremely interested in all our paintings and displays and he was particularly amused by our exhibit of Hitler’s soup spoon that seemed to make him chuckle.
“He was familiar with the coal shovel we have on display and said he had used one of them before. He asked a lot of questions about the illustrations around the centre, which we were happy to fill him in on.
“All in all, the visit went very well and it was a privilege to meet him and speak with him in such detail.”
Methil and the Merchant Marine runs until August 27 and Friends of Methil Heritage are keen to add to their archive of history during the run. Anyone with stories of Methil’s maritime past is asked to contact them.