Fife family reunited thanks to uncovered historic plaque

Now, thanks to the work of a local metal detectorist, two branches of his family are back in contact and planning a huge gathering in the future.

In December, Willie Scott was scanning the ground of a field near Elie when he came upon a bent and rusted plaque, bearing the name ‘Peter Given – Elie No 1’.

Willie shared his find on Facebook, hoping to learn a little more about Peter. But, having heard nothing about Peter’s relatives, Willie thought he had hit a dead end.

That was when Fiona Clarke contacted him.

"I thought I had hit a dead end and then, out of nowhere, Fiona contacted me,” said Willie.

The pair met at the cemetery where Peter was buried and talked about his history.

Fiona has already been planning a huge family gathering – delayed because of Covid-19 – which will see around 180 members from around the world meeting up.

Thanks to the discovery, though, she will now have to plan for more relatives.

The story of the plaque discovery was shared – and it piqued the interest of a Michael Given, also in the East Neuk.

“Michael contacted me and said he had been looking at his family tree,” said Fiona.

“We wondered if we were related. I sent him our family tree and it turned out that we were related.

"Michael was born and bred in Burntisland and has been in Fife his entire life. When I saw his picture I noticed a striking resemblance.

"I’ve been in touch with Michael and we've been chatting ever since.

"I’m delighted because it has extended our family.”

For Willie, who has discovered gold coins and rings, artefacts which are now in museums, he ranks the discovery of the plaque as his best yet.

"It's really cool,” he said. “I’ve been metal detecting for years – I’ve found gold rings and coins – but this is by far the best thing.

"You spend days and days bringing up rubbish. I’m more interested in the history than the actual finds.

"Social history is much more interesting to me. It is something that is much more personal.”