THE photographs in this week's trip down Memory Lane are reminders of life in Dunfermline and West Fife during the Second World War, when similar measures to today's were brought in to deal with the serious situation people were faced with.

The first image shows crowds gathered to view a captured German fighter plane on display outside the main gates of Pittencrieff Park in 1940 during 'War Weapons Week' – a series of fundraising initiatives that raised a total of £528,653.

This type of event also helped raise morale during the dark days of World War 2. Dunfermline also 'adopted' the destroyer 'HMS Malcolm', and in a 'Tanks for Attack' campaign £125,000 was raised, entitling Dunfermline to the privilege of naming three Churchill tanks as part of the war effort.

A 'Salute the Soldier' week in 1944 broke all previous war savings week records with a total of £628,164 raised.

Just as it has been this year, the Children's Gala was cancelled and with the money saved from this, the Carnegie Trust purchased a mobile kitchen for communal feeding in the event of an emergency.

Protecting one's family during those times of uncertainty was a high priority and ways of doing that have been highlighted over the past few 'Memory Lane' features.

Advice to the population also covered correct behaviour during air raids and the next image shows how animal welfare was also covered. It shows two Dunfermline carters and their horses. They were under instruction on hearing an air raid warning to "loosen the traces and unyoke the horses from their carts. The feed bags must also be fixed on the horses".

Eating out isn't an option in the midst of the present coronavirus lockdown in Dunfermline. People were slightly more fortunate in this regard in Dunfermline when in April 1942, converted shopping premises in the High Street, as part of an initiative called 'British Restaurants', opened as 'The Queen's Restaurant' with a special lunch blessed by the Reverend Dollar, of Dunfermline Abbey Church. It opened every weekday between noon and 2pm with meals within the means of working people.

The Labour MP for Dunfermline,William Watson, congratulated the Town Council on this initiative with a speech that included the following which might not go down quite so well today with a more enlightened view of gender roles: "There might be a a great future for British restaurants after the rationing system ceases – it would fulfil a very useful purpose where the woman of the house had not the time to cook a proper meal and where a husband who was left to provide for himself might be assured of a well-cooked meal."

The next photograph shows the behind-the-scenes operation at a similar facility in Inverkeithing's 'Civic'.

In the early days of the war, miners were conscripted, which led to a shortage of labour and a crisis in this vital industry which was addressed from 1943 by conscripting men into mining. These men became known as 'Bevin Boys', named after the Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin.

Muircockhall in Townhill was the Government training facility in Scotland for these recruits from all over Britain who were given six weeks training there. Pressure on coal supplies to keep up with demand was continuous during the war years and the final photograph shows a group of miners after a record-breaking shift at Kelty's Benarty Mine in 1945.

More photographs like these can be seen in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries, where 'Old Dunfermline' DVDs will be on sale in the shop when it reopens to the public, and also at facebook.com/olddunfermline.