HISTORY

The following brief history is taken from notes supplied for the 2005 AGM

Notes about the Dunfermline Trondheim friendship link compiled for the 2005 AGM and civic reception.

A friendship link between the youth of Dunfermline and young people in one of the occupied countries was first suggested at the Dunfermline District Committee of Youth Organisations in June 1944. Norway was chosen, and Trondheim was suggested by the Norwegian Society Information Office in Edinburgh, giving the reason that:

‘Trondheim was to Norwegians what Dunfermline was to Scotland; it was a historic town where in olden days Norwegian Kings lived and where King Haakon was crowned’

A bond of friendship between the youth of Dunfermline and the youth of Trondheim was adopted at a ceremony held in Dunfermline’s Regal Cinema on 6th May 1945. The ceremony was attended by 1100 people, including representatives from West Fife youth organizations - Lochore, Glencraig and Cardenden sent 45 representatives - and 50 Norwegian sailors. The Dunfermline Press reported that “there was an atmosphere of expectation and jubilation at a ceremony which is unique in the annals of Dunfermline.”

The adoption ceremony was chaired by Provost D Thompson Kennedy of Dunfermline, and was addressed by Mr Robert Saddler, Chairman of the Young People’s Committee (who may be present at the meeting on Thursday). The bond of friendship was then passed to Commander Phipps RN of the destroyer HMS Mackay which sailed from Rosyth to be one of the first boats into Trondheim. The bond of friendship was presented in a “solemn act” to Mayor Ivar Skjanes who had only recently been released from a Nazi concentration camp.

At the start the friendship was pursued through sending gifts of clothing and blankets to young people in Trondheim. The Scouts thought to send a football which prompted a letter of thanks from the Trondheim Scouts for the “special present” as footballs had not been available under the Nazi occupation. Where would Rosenberg FC have been if it hadn’t been for the West Fife Scouts?

The following year a group of 22 young Norwegians travelled to Dunfermline and were given welcome they would never forget. Host families were organised in Dunfermline. Two years later a group of 20 youth centre members from Dunfermline visited Trondheim, and this started a regular pattern of visits which were continued for many years by Carnegie Youth Centre organiser Nettie Dick. The work done by Nettie Dick was recognised by the Norwegians in 1970 when she was presented with the St Olav’s medal - a Dame to us. A number of reciprocal visits by Dunfermline’s Provost and Trondheim’s Mayor were made in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The Dunfermline Trondheim Twinning Association was established in 1997 with the aims:

To continue and enhance the Bond of Friendship with the Youth of Trondheim established by the Youth of Dunfermline on 6th May 1945 and to promote and foster friendship and understanding between the people of Dunfermline and the people of Trondheim in Norway and those of other communities with which the Association may later form links, and

To encourage visits by individuals and groups to and from linked communities, particularly by children and young people, and the development of personal contacts, and by so doing to broaden the mutual understanding of the cultural, recreational, educational and commercial activities of the linked communities.

The Association has been active in organising, and hosting visits to and from Trondheim and these have created numerous links which have in turn led to contacts being made between young people of Dunfermline and young people in Trondheim. Some of the things that have happened:

• A pathfinding visit to Trondheim by representatives of different organisations ranging from Home Start to the Fife Council Housing and Education.
• An EC funded Comenius project involving Queen Anne High School and Rosenberg Skole. Pupils are now studying the history and culture of their respective towns, and making plans for exchange visits to take place.
• A visit to Queen Anne High School by 60 pupils from Rosenberg Skole, Trondheim.
• Community Education workers have organised numerous youth exchange visits in collaboration with Granskogen Skole, Trondheim.
• a 90 piece youth band - the Bispehaugen Skole Band - visited Dunfermline in June 2003 to coincide with the Dunfermline Gala week, participating in parades in the town, performing at primary and secondary schools in the area, and marching on Trondheim Parkway.
• A visit to Dunfermline by musicians and singers from Trondheim to perform at local schools, conduct workshops on Norwegian song, and perform at a gala event in Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall
• a twinning link has been created between Abbeyview in Dunfermline and the Byassen district of Trondheim. Lyneburn School is exploring possible links with a primary school in Trondheim.
• A sculpture project is being undertaken in conjunction with the redevelopment on Trondheim Parkway which is involving young people in creating a sculpture to commemorate the 60 years of the Trondheim link.
• Various visits by groups including community leaders to and from Trondheim have been organised, including the return to Dunfermline of members of the 1946 visiting party to revisit old haunts, and renew friendships.

In all of this activity the Association’s work has been matched by continuing activity, interest and commitment from the Twinning Association in Trondheim.