About five o’clock on Friday morning of 2nd October 1931 the lamp cabin at the Priory Colliery, Blantyre, belonging to William Baird & Co Ltd., was gutted by fire and the lampman, John Doran, who resides at 5 John Street, Blantyre, was removed to the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, suffering from serious burning injuries.
On inquiry at the colliery, a press representative was informed that, before being removed the infirmary, Doran said he had been unscrewing the bottom of lighted oil lamp, when it slipped from his hands and fell into tray of oil. Immediately flames burst out all over the cabin, and he was badly burned on the arms and body. There Were over 700 lamps in the cabin, some of them being lit with oil, but the greater number of them are lit by electricity, and these were temporarily rendered useless. In consequence, the colliery was totally idle on that Friday.
Pictured in 1948 is Priory Colliery bing and the Miners Rows, no longer there today.
