Beacons of Light will mark 100th anniversary of the war’s end

Blazing beacons in west Fife will mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

They will be lit at Limekilns pier, HMS Caledonia and Culross as commemorative events are held around the country on Sunday for the Armistice.

The 20ft Beacon of Light at Limekilns is one of two constructed by apprentices at Babcock International’s Rosyth site and will sit atop a larch post provided by Scottish Woods, based at Inzievar.

Before the lighting ceremony at 7pm, a special service will be held in Limekilns Parish Church, starting at 5.45pm.

The Rev Norman Grant will be assisted by children from Limekilns Primary School, and there will be a presentation about the Great War by Len Trim, a retired teacher of history and a regular guide to the battlefields of the First World War.

Youth organisations will take part in a torchlit parade from the church along the promenade to the pier.

After the beacon is lit the restored bell at Limekilns Church will be rung. Similar ceremonies will be conducted at more than 1,000 locations around the UK at the same time.

Group Scout leader of the 81st Fife Sea Scouts, Andrew Mitchell, a leading organiser of the event, said: “Given that Rosyth dockyard was built to provide support services to the Royal Navy Grand Fleet during the Great War, it is an honour and a privilege to have Babcock’s apprentices build our Beacon of Light, which will remind everyone in Fife and beyond of the vital role played by the Rosyth site during the Great War and again in the 1939-45 conflict.”