Dad’s Navy Days: PT 2 - A door opens at the King’s Arms Hotel

Because of a mishap prior to an important training exercise with the Merchant Marine, which was to proceed under the watchful eye of Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Winston Churchill, my father - cold, wet and bedraggled - fell into the warm surroundings of a pub in Irvine, Scotland.


["The figure in the dark coat and hat might be G.D. Harrison; Commander Koyl, far right. Irvine, Scotland 1941 or 42"]

He hurried through the doors early in the morning, in the year 1941 or 1942; he left in the afternoon, topped up with hot porridge, rum, and dry clothes (“All of this help came from ladies,” wrote my father years later.), and within a few weeks or months he was aboard a ship bound for Sicily and action in World War II.

After reading his story I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to thank any remaining members of the family that owned the pub, i.e., the Skinners? All I need is an address.

My father had said that “it was late afternoon before we left the pub (the Royal Sovereign or King George?)” and that it was now known as the Harbour Light. (Accompanying his story is a photo of the King’s Arms Hotel).

Last year I found a postal address online:

The Harbour Lights
6 Harbour Street,
Irvine, Ayrshire,
KA12 8PY

I mailed letters on more than one occasion.

Dear Proprietors, I discovered recently a few words about your fine establishment in a story written by my father concerning a naval training mishap off the Ayshire coast near Irvine in 1941 or 1942...

I included great detail about my father’s adventure not far from their front door. I said “I write this letter to ask if The Harbour Lights was once known as the King’s Arms Hotel? And to ask if any members or relations of the Skinner family from the early 1940s still remain in Irvine, visit your pub on occasion and can remember or verify my father’s fine story? If so, I’d love to hear from them.”

Over a year has passed since my first letter. No reply was returned to it or subsequent letters.


["Stink. I should have first tried to contact the King's Arms!!"]


["But the caption said the name had been changed to Harbour Lights. Goose chase!"]

Recently I came to the conclusion that The Harbour Lights must be closed down, or I had the wrong pub or address. I decided to try another tack.

Online I went again, a week ago today, this time in search of information concerning the King’s Arms Hotel.

I found a news article entitled ‘King’s Arms family snap up the Harbour Lights.’ It was written on August, 2008 by John Woods of the Irvine Herald.

It begins as follows:

IRVINE'S best-known family of publicans have added another string to their bow.

The Scotts, who have been running the town's Kings Arms Hotel since the 1950s, have taken over the lease of the Harbour Lights and will move into the pub near the end of next month.

So, in one quick stride I learned that the Harbour Lights is alive but so is the King’s Arms, and the King’s Arms had not been renamed Harbour Lights as mentioned in my father’s story. And I fell into two good contacts, i.e., The King’s Arms Hotel website and a link to a writer at the Irvine newspaper.

I asked myself, Who should I write to first?

I picked the pub. I love pubs. I typed a brief message in the 'contact us' box.

Stay tuned.

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Please click here to read PT 1 A door opens at the King’s Arms Hotel

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