Heritage Exhibition - HMS Tarlair: Aberdour's role in the fight against the U-boat

Church Hall, High Street, Aberdour, Fife

Friday 8th August, 12.00noon to 9.00pm
Saturday 9th August, 11.00am to 5.00pm
Sunday 10th August, 1.00pm to 5.00pm

At the beginning of the First World War the German U-boat (unterseeboot or submarine) had become a major threat. Its large-scale destruction of merchant shipping caused not only great loss of life but also a fear that the British population would be fatally starved of materials and food. Between 1915 and 1918 the Admiralty Experimental Establishment Station, HMS Tarlair, located at Hawkcraig Point in Aberdour, was the centre of a highly concentrated effort to defeat the German U-boats. The work carried out at HMS Tarlair is of local and national interest. During its short period of operation, major technological advances were achieved - and not only in the detection of submarines. It was also one of the first instances of collaborative work between civil and military scientists and researchers.

At 7.00pm on Friday 8th August, Diana Maxwell will talk and launch her new book, "Listen Up! Memories of the Hawkcraig Admiralty Experimental Research Station, Aberdour, Fife 1915-1919". Diana's book introduces the disparate group of people brought together at the base in Aberdour in 1915 and the ground-breaking work that they carried out here. It is a story of people, place and technology that should be remembered, and the book is a tribute to those people and their achievements. Come and hear Diana talk about the history she has collected and pick up a signed copy of her booklet, hot off the press.