The Alcan Chemicals (formerly British Aluminium) plant in Burntisland closed in 2002 after 85 years of production. Among the documents which came to light after closure was a cartoon which was drawn during the Second World War. This remarkable cartoon reflects the plant's production process in a light hearted and humorous way, and I hope that former employees and others will find that it evokes both nostalgia and laughter.

The original of the cartoon is very large, and the copy below does not do it justice. However, if you click on the copy, this will launch a larger version (600Kb) in a new window. This can be browsed using the scroll bars.

If you look closely, you'll see that the cartoonist has fitted in frequent representations of the Morse Code for the letter V -

'dot dot dot dash'   (··· ^_)   meaning V for Victory!

Thanks to Jim Teape and Andy Wight-Boycott for providing the copy, and explaining the dots and dashes!

IAIN SOMMERVILLE
E-mail: iars@fife40.freeserve.co.uk