During World War I the modern day Keavil House Hotel was used by the Admiralty as a location to base high-ranking officers, the naval base at Rosyth (Rosyth Dockyard) being of a much greater size and importance at the time. During 1917 the First Sea Lord, Prince Louis of Battenburg and his son (Earl Mountbatten of Burma) were in residence when their names were officially changed to Mountbatten in order to reduce the Germanic image. This was very common in the UK at the time given the situation of total war being prosecuted against Germany. Prince Louis wrote in the visitors' book at Keavil ""July 9th: arrived Prince Hyde. July19th: departed Lord Jekyll." " From 1955 until 1975/6, the building was used as the Martha Frew Childrens Home for children placed in care by Dunfermline town council. Responsibility shifted between the newly formed Fife Regional Council and Dunfermline District Councils before being sold privately and renovated as a hotel in 1978/9.