I first heard the name Lilias Adie when perusing the OnFife guide for local events. A talk was scheduled for Halloween at Dunfermline Library to tell the story of the local witch who was buried on the foreshore at Torry Bay in 1704, and the continuing quest to locate her remains and bring them back to West Fife. It all sounded rather intriguing and I made a note to get myself a ticket. Another talk was scheduled for the same month, this one about the 1939 air raid on the Firth of Firth. I decided to attend both and Nicole said she would join me at the Lilias Adie event.
Some time passed and I started to see references to Lilias's story on Facebook. I joined an online group called West Fife Witches Remembered. It was here I noticed a post saying the tale would feature on a Channel 4 series about the British coast. Having read more about the case on the net, I decided to head down to Torryburn (just a couple of miles distant) one Sunday morning to see if I could spot the grave. It was apparently marked by a large stone slab near the railway bridge. To my surprise, I found it almost immediately, easily visible from the shore. I took a few tentative steps forward to try and reach a better position for a photograph and promptly began to sink in the mud. This was a job for wellies! The MacGyver in me solved the problem by returning to the car to fetch a couple of plastic shopping bags. Placed over my boots and tied on to my legs, they prevented my feet becoming caked in slimy glaur. I only wanted to go a few steps to find a better angle and more light. I had not intention of standing on the actual slab which marked the grave. Apparently the stone had been completely covered in seaweed when pinpointed by local archaeologist and historian Douglas Speirs.
I uploaded my picture to Facebook and received a few likes and comments. I also posted links to a couple of articles about Lilias over the next few weeks and again they provoked interest, sometimes being shared onward. Clearly the story struck a chord with local people as well as those further afield. I watched the Channel 4 show and it was fascinating - focussing on the inner Forth on both sides of the water. Lilias of course featured and I also noted the existence of 16th century mining remains in the inter-tidal zone at Culross. One to track down in the future. Meanwhile, traffic on the Facebook witch group was increasing and I read about about a public meeting scheduled to take place in Torryburn. The topic for discussion was the proposal to erect a monument in the village dedicated to all the Scottish witches who faced persecution and - more often than not - execution. I have chronicled the subsequent events on this blog post. It largely played out with a small bunch of residents making it clear they wanted no such structure in their collective back yard, while simultaneously complaining that neighbouring Culross snaffles all the tourist traffic! I couldn't believe the negativity emanating from the locals. "Who would want to come here? We've got nothing" was one choice phrase. There appeared to members of the community council present and they didn't exactly rally the troops. Those of us who had travelled from outside Torryburn because we had a strong interest in the subject were left rather bewildered.
The library talk rolled round and it was practically a sell out. I counted 120 chairs and there were only a handful of unoccupied seats as Douglas Speirs began his lecture. The lady who introduced the speaker stated it was the largest ever crowd for this type of event. Douglas has extensive knowledge of the case and we were treated to excerpts from the official parish minutes from 1704. It transpired Lilias was a woman approaching old age and most likely a village eccentric or possibly outcast. Her "confession" was strangely similar to other recorded inquests and the insinuation was that if Lilias's admission of guilt wasn't forced out of her, then words were almost certainly placed in her mouth. Lilias died in custody and was interred on the foreshore. A large stone block was positioned on the grave lest the devil reanimate the corpse and thus enable Lilias to seek revenge. The unique nature of this case is the known location of the burial site. There are of course various memorial stones around Scotland but none which verifiably mark an actual resting place. A few years ago I drove up to Dunning in Perthshire to view the well-known monument to Maggie Wall - another victim of Scotland's obsession with burning witches. The tall memorial is located a short distance outside the village and the inscription informs us that Maggie died on this spot in 1657. It was my first encounter with a witchcraft story and I found it interesting, although if truth be told it was just one of my reasons for visiting the village. My other motivations were the drive through Dunning Glen and the historic village itself. A pint of Black Sheep in the traditional pub went down a treat and there was literature about Dunning and Maggie Wall to flick through.
Things took a macabre turn last year when a woman was found dead at the Maggie Wall Monument and the murder investigation made national headlines. Back to the story of Lilias Adie, further publicity was gained when the University of Dundee produced a recreation of Lilias's face, based on photographic images of her skull held at the National Library of Scotland. The likeness was widely shared on social media and via the traditional press (see photo above). Douglas Speirs relayed the tale of Lilias's tomb being raided in 1852. Her skull was sold to local collector Sir Joseph Noel Paton who had built a private museum in his stately home. As time went by, the remains were passed to the Fifeshire Medical Association and the University of St Andrews. The last known location of the skull was as an exhibit at the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Glasgow. It's present whereabouts are unknown and the other bones haven't been traced either. Whether any parts of the skeleton were left in the Torryburn grave is also open to question. It was a very informative evening at the library and it's encouraging to see Lilias's story appealing to an increasing number of people. If I'm permitted to make one criticism it would have been desirable to hear recent developments included at the end of the talk. To be fair to Douglas, he was probably running out of time. We can't change the past but should acknowledge that Scotland was not always the friendly and welcoming nation it purports to be today.
The other talk I mentioned earlier was also a fascinating tale. On October 16th 1939, the Firth of Forth was targeted by the German Luftwaffe in their first air raid over British skies. Many people assume the iconic rail bridge was the target but in fact the purpose of the attack was to destroy HMS Hood - one of the Royal Navy's best equipped warships. A sighting of the ship had earlier been reported but by the time the assault commenced, she had moved further down the coast.
Spitfires were scrambled from the nearby bases of Drem and Turnhouse to engage the enemy. It was the first time the famous British fighter plane appeared in combat. With HMS Hood nowhere to be found, the Luftwaffe turned their attention to three other British ships in the locality. None were sunk, but sixteen sailors perished. The Germans lost two aircraft in the battle. Interestingly, the Luftwaffe were under strict orders to focus purely on military targets. Therefore the Forth Bridge remained unscathed.
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