Join us here on Facebook and on the main website (www.blantyreproject.com) from next Tuesday to explore the Blantyre Pit Disaster.
For the last 8 years I’ve posted information about the disaster and held a series of talks in schools and clubs. This year, as well as the commemorative service and remembrance events, over a whole week, the story of the disaster will be told here in unprecedented detail, hour by hour as it happened, the product of many weeks of research.
I’m excited also to exclusively announce within that week, I’ll also be posting my research for many of the miners who died, part of my overall project to eventually tell the life stories of ALL the boys and men who died. Exploring their backgrounds, putting each of their stories in context on that terrible day and showing what became of their families left behind. The hope is in a few years, the individual stories of every one of the 215 miners who died will be told and freely available on Blantyre Project.
Needless to say, I’ve scheduled some fantastic research for that whole week. All this forms part of my Blantyre Mining Heritage book for release next year, “Hollow Earth & Hardship.”
Don’t forget too, my very good friend Gordon Cook is kindly presenting the story of the disaster next Tuesday evening on screen at Blantyre Old Parish Church. Gordon is very informative and knowledgeable, especially on this subject so I hope you can make it along that evening too.
I don’t know if I had relatives during the disaster, but know I had relatives in Blantyre who were coalminers in the early 1900s, I remember our neighbour Mrs Mary Dick could sing the song about the disaster in a beautiful solemn voice without music and I wish I had captured her rendition on tape, but there you are that was a long time ago. All the best for the broadcast next week, I’m not on facebook to see it unfortunately will miss it, but hope you can send some by you tube?? thanks again for all your work and passion to keep “Auld Blantyre” alive.