The date of this photo is 6th January 1947. The occasion is the day the mines were nationalised by the Coal Board. The venue is Priestfield Colliery 1 (Dixons Pit 1) and this plaque was erected on the same day the NCB flag was hoisted above the pit offices.
Andra McAnulty was guest of honour that day in High Blantyre. Also that year, the pit operated at peak capacity with a record tonnage of coal extracted. It would have been a day of hope for the future and little did everybody know, there would be just 10 years of coal to be won, before the pit (and the last of Dixons collieries) was closed for good.
