The following story was told to George 'Mac' McKenzie, who was at Blairs from 1928-1934, by one of his contemporaries, Fr DJ Boyle. Fr Boyle is now 80 yrs old and is chaplain to a hospice in Dunfermline.

Having recently read about Mac in the Scalan News, he went to his local library in an attempt to trace his address in the phone book (he hadn't seen him since their time at senior seminary at St Sulpice in Paris, and had been told at one point that Mac had been killed!). Amazingly, at the same time Hugh Farmer, the journalist from the Universe who covered the reunion on 28 April, was phoning him at home to give him Mac's address!

Mac, Fr DJ and Fr DP Boyle (former rector at Blairs) had been at senior seminary in St Sulpice in Paris. By the time war broke out Mac had left, but DJ, DP and others were evacuated to Limoges. DJ takes up the tale

in his own words:

"This was alright until Mr Hitler decided to invade Holland, Belgium and France. At first we did not appreciate just how dangerous things had become. It was only late in June 1940 that we began to realise that the Germans were getting nearer.I had my last 'canonical exam' two hours after Pétain gave his capitulation speech. Then there was only one thought; 'Get out of here'. DP managed to get hold of a car and next day we set out, and with many adventures and the help of guardian angels, saints and a bit of brass neck, we won through to St Jean de Lux, where a navy man, whose name I found out by reading his life story, got us onto a small boat and we were picked up in the middle of the Bay of Biscay by the Ettrick Castle. The man's name was Ian Fleming of 007 fame."