The village of Auchtermuchty in Fife has a much-mocked name. It does however have two claims to musical fame. The first is being the adult home of band leader and accordionist Jimmy Shand. He was born in another Fife town East Wemyss, which I blogged about here. In that post you can also find an embedded video of Shand’s most famous tune The Bluebell Polka.

After Jimmy’s death the townsfolk of ‘Muchty, as it is sometimes referred to, erected a statue in his memory.

Though they were born in Leith, Auchtermuchty became a home to The Proclaimers. Their song Sunshine on Leith has been taken up by fans of Hibernian Football Club and is now the club’s (unofficial?) anthem.

Auchtermuchty was also chosen as the set for the second (ITV) series of the adventures of the A J Cronin character Dr Finlay.

Auchtermuchty’s War Memorial is situated in the main street and is a reflective one, with the figure of a soldier in a niche on the western side.

The eastern side is plainer, with the inscribed names.

There are three towns/villages in Fife with Wemyss in their names.

I featured West Wemyss on 29/2/12. It lies down on the coast off the coast road which leads east.

Climbing back up the hill out of West Wemyss and turning eastwards at the road junction you immediately enter Coaltown of Wemyss.

Passing through the village soon takes you into East Wemyss.

Famous accordionist and band leader Jimmy Shand was born here. There is a memorial to him near the foreshore.

Jimmy is more associated with another Fife village, Auchtermuchty, where his family moved soon after his birth. His signature tune was The Bluebell Polka, a hit in 1955. The video below was filmed in 1994. He was knighted in 1999.

Jimmy Shand: The Bluebell Polka

East Wemyss is known for a series of caves some of which have carvings which date back to Pictish times. The TV series Time Team investigated the caves in 2005.

The East Wemyss War Memorial is nicely set on a corner. The WW2 names are on the lower plaque. There is also one name for a post-World War conflict.

We somehow missed the Coaltown of Wemyss war memorial on the day the above photos were taken despite driving through it twice in broad daylight. Curiously on the next Tuesday as I was returning home from the East Fife game in the dark I did see it; on the gable-end of a building on the main street. So, next time.