AT THE beginning of their six-day tour of Scotland which took in Clackmannanshire, Glasgow and Paisley, the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, travelled overnight on the royal train from Euston in London and arrived at Tillicoultry railway station on a whistle stop tour of the Wee County on Friday, June 28, 1963.

At the train station, the royal couple were met by the lord lieutenant of the county, Captain Sir James Younger. School children had the day off, although met at the school to form the procession down to the Devonvale Hall to see the queen and the prince.

Bunting was placed on as many buildings and lampposts as was possible and a large banner with "Tillicoultry Welcomes You" was erected in their honour.

While in the town, she met its leading citizens and planted a flowering cherry tree near to the entrance of the hall. Unfortunately, the weather that morning was rather dreich, but it did not dampen the spirits of the onlookers, nor the queen.

Provost C Eccles later said the queen was delighted to see the children as they welcomed her to their hometown.

The royal couple also visited the Cochrane Hall in Alva where they witnessed a display carried out by the Civil Defence Corps.

At Menstrie, they visited Menstrie Castle, the former home of Sir William Alexander, the 1st Earl of Stirling, which had been saved thanks to the efforts of actor Moultrie Kelsall. By the time of the visit, the mansion had converted into flats.

The queen and Prince Philip also visited the Donbros factory at Hallpark in Alloa. The factory had been established 26 years earlier by the Donaldson brothers, and was a dyers, finishers and knitwear factory.

They then moved on to Alloa Academy where they had lunch. From there the couple travelled to Clackmannan where the queen was informed by local historian Dr T Crouther Gordon about its unique tower, and the history of the Mannan Stone which sits by the ruins of the old Tollbooth and the mercat cross in Main Street.

Their tour of the Wee County took just five hours with their final destination being Dollar, where a commemorative plaque on the Playfair Building of Dollar Academy was unveiled.

With the passing of Her Majesty the Queen at the age of 96 at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire, many in Clackmannanshire will look back fondly on the visit she and Prince Philip made that summer's day in 1963.