Every week, we delve into the dusty archives of the Largs and Millport Weekly News to uncover surprising gems of information about the distant and not so distant past of Largs. This week we discover how a local boathirer made the most of an unexpected Royal visit to the Clyde and the story of a Doctor who played a pivotal role in eradicating typhus fever from the local area.

The Nardini family opened their main cafe in Largs in 1935 but the family had been running a well-known local restaurant starting in the 1920s. What was it?

Nardinis opened Fryfare in Nelson Street, Largs, in 1929 before starting their world famous cafe further down the street six years later. The name Fryfare maintained an the Italian connection until recently when the Bertozzi family sold the cafe which is now an Indian restaurant but still retains the historical Fryfare name.

Where does the Noddle and the Greta burn names come from?

According to Reverend W L Low, who gave a presentation on local place names in 1887, Noddsdale means the valley of cattle or cow-glen; Greta means the cleft-rock burn or perhaps the gowk"s burn (or cuckoo"s burn). They are all of Norse derivation.

When did the Duke of Edinburgh unexpectedly visit Fairlie?

The village enjoyed an unaccustomed place in the limelight in November 1953 when a surprise visit to the Duke of Edinburgh to join the royal yacht, Britannia. A pinnace from the royal yacht was brought into London by a tug on Sunday afternoon, and early on Monday morning the pinnace left for Fairlie Pier to await the Duke"s arrival.

To the public his arrival was a complete surprise, but the police had been notified and among the officers at the pier were Inspector James Colville of Largs Police.

Several hundreds, mostly women and children, including railway workers and tradesmen, gathered on the pier and the Royal Highness was loudly cheered on his arrival. A party of 36 children between the ages of two and five are on holiday at Southannan residential nursing home in Fairlie. The Duke then headed on a visit to the home of Mr A.B Allan at South Cottage, Portencross, a director of Gourock Ropework company before heading to Edinburgh to catch the late train to Aberdeen.

How did a Largs boathirer try and take advantage of the Duke"s visit?

Largs boathirer, Mr Frank Roche, enterprisingly advertised a cruise from Largs to meet the royal yacht on its return and he was fully booked in an hour to so. His passengers had an excellent view of the Duke as Mr Roche"s boat the Carefree, circled round the Britannia as she sailed into the channel between Fairlie and Cumbrae.

In 1910, how was the news broadcast of the new King announced in Largs?

Before the days of tv and radio, Bailie Archibald Boyd read the Proclamation of the Accession of King George V on May 10 1910 (see picture). The Bailie was joined on the podium, based in Hyndman Green, is Mr Peter Morris, the Town Clerk.

How did a long-serving Doctor help fight typhus fever when it gripped the district?

Doctor James Caskie began his business in a small shop near the Post Office in Tron Place in February 1826. As a sanitarian, Dr. Caskie had few equals, in fact, the sanitary improvement of Largs for 50 years was his hobby. He was engaged in promoting sanitary improvement by house-to-house visits and in 1856, following the outbreak of cholera in the district, he published a detailed address on the subject.

An 1878 Largs journal entitled the Largs Mirror said: 'This address did much good. Many people believed that it assisted in a great measure in promoting and inaugurating the excellent system of drainage whereby every street and lane is flushed with the waters of the Gogo, thereby tending to remove the cause of typhus fever, which epidemic had hitherto frequently prevailed in Largs.' In 1855, a Clyde steamer collapsed at the Gogo in the middle of a storm. How many survived the famous Steamer wreck which was driven ashore at the Gogo burn?

It was the morning of April 10 1855 that the Mars - built 10 years previously for McKellar"s Largs and Millport fleet- left in "very boisterous and stormy weather" and upon approaching Largs, her paddle-shaft snapped. Sails were hoisted but the gale was so high that they blew away, and she was driven ashore at the Gogo Burn. Everyone on board contrived to scramble aboard, and within a couple of minutes, the Mars had gone completely to pieces and scarcely anything of her was to be seen.

The wrecked vessel was later put up for auction but did not receive any buyers as most of the wreck had been scattered several miles around the coast. The loss was complete for the Mars owners because she wasn"t even insured - partly because the low takings from fares weren"t enough to provide a premium!