- MOUNTBATTEN'S KILFINAN EGG! -

By Catriona A MacColl

The inside story of a visit by Mountbatten to a small hotel in rural Argyll and the egg carried away in his leather gloved hand.

 ~ The Kilfinan Egg ~

During the war years Sheena Simpson lived with her parents, Jean and Adam Campbell, at the Kilfinan Hotel in the little parish of Kilfinan, near Tighnabruaich on the shores of Loch Fyne, Scotland. She now lives in Canada with her family but reminisces about a VIP guest who arrived at the hotel in February 1942.

It was early in the month and her mother had just had a visit from a Major Harrap and another officer informing her that the hotel was to be commandeered for about a week to 10 days while a Combined Operations exercise took place. She was also told that, on the final days of the exercise, they would be receiving, for breakfast, a VIP guest with his equerry. "Mother almost fainted. She was so sure it was going to be King George. 'Only royalty have equerries!' she gasped to which I replied: 'No mother, I think it will be Lord Louis Mountbatten.' This made sense to me as it was to be a Combined Operations exercise and Mountbatten was the top man.

There was quite a buzz in the hotel that week with MPs guarding the doors and lots of saluting and stamping of feet every time an officer went past. It was like something out of a British movie. Lord Mountbatten arrived in a Jeep type vehicle and wore regular naval uniform, whereas most of the other officers were in battle dress with warm sheepskin jerkins on. The weather that February was very cold . Other VIPs that met at the hotel on that final day of the exercise with Mountbatten were General Alexander, General Festing, Air Marshall Harris and also the War Minister at that time, Sir James Grigg. The hotel didn't need too much preparation for our visitors but the dining room was rearranged to accommodate everyone for the final breakfast. There were two sittings; first the lesser ranking officials and then approximately 20 top brass. I was very impressed with the concern and courtesy shown to mother and myself by the big wigs. We were provided with help for serving from General Festing's servant and he was just super at his job.

The hotel had been issued with extra rations so we were able to make bacon and eggs for everyone much to Lord Mountbatten's delight. Later on that afternoon Mountbatten and his equerry came back on their own looking for a very quick cup of tea. As the kettle was going to take too long to boil Lord Mountbatten decided to have a small ginger ale instead. This I got from the bar, but mother was getting in a flap having this handsome, charming, courteous man, in naval uniform, with all the gold braid of an Admiral, actually in her kitchen. It was all getting too much for her. Mountbatten's equerry asked how much was owed for the ginger ale. Mother laughed and coyly said 'Oh nothing , nothing at all.' To me, all of 17 years, this seemed unfair and I piped up politely, 'I think it's thruppence ha'penny.' This said Mountbatten's aide produced the exact change. 

At this point they asked if we had any eggs left they could buy - there was only one! The egg was produced, this time no charge, and was carried away by Lord Mountbatten in his leather gloved hand. All this constitutes a picture which is clearly etched on my memory and I often wonder if the Kilfinan Hotel egg made it back whole to the destroyer anchored out on Loch Fyne. We were all worn out by the end of the week and everything seemed so quiet. Later that year was the raid on Dieppe with Mountbatten in charge. I wondered if that week's exercise had all been part of the training." 

Why was the Kilfinan Hotel used for such a VIP gathering? Maybe because it was out of the way yet at the heart of the Combined Operations Training Area and not far from the Loch. Many VIPs visited Argyll during the period to watch training methods being used.

With a Combined Operations training centre at Inveraray specialising in amphibious assault techniques, and an army base at Ardlamont, Loch Fyne, over a quarter of a million servicemen and women spent time training in and around the area during the early to mid 1940s. Many of them have made the trip back to Argyll over the years in memory of the men and women who lost their lives in the fighting.

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