As offsite construction of the Blantyre Pit Disaster memorial commenced, back in Blantyre, it was thought that putting a time capsule at the memorial would be appropriate. In late September 1977 the staff at the Clydesdale Bank in Glasgow Road had prepared a small exhibition of the contents of a large boxed time capsule for public display.
This time capsule full of mementos and historic Blantyre items was sealed and buried at the monument in early October 1977. The Committee had organised to be among the contents, safety equipment donated by the National Coal Board, history articles from Neil Gordon and a little synopsis about Neil (the designer) himself, plans showing the proposed new ASDA development, a solid silver Jubilee Crown, and the star of the show — a miner’s lamp (1 of just 5) that had been salvaged from the pit at the actual time of the disaster.
On Wednesday the 5th of October at 10 a.m. Rev. Jonathan Silcox, assisted by the children of the Eager Beaver Playgroup, (whose names were also included in the large box), was watched by a crowd of interested onlookers as he buried the time capsule near the memorial base. Rev Silcox was also on the committee which organised the community events surrounding the anniversary. There was a solemn moment, when it was realised that everybody attending the burial of the capsule that day would likely not be alive, even the children, by the time far into the future when it would eventually be re-opened. What would the people of Blantyre make of the contents of this box when it is excavated again?
The capsule, in an undisclosed location and depth, remains untouched to this day and scheduled to be dug up by Blantyre schoolchildren in 2077, on the 200th Anniversary.
