A lot of people have joined Blantyre Project this year, so here’s a quick synopsis of the most tragic event in 1877 which several people have enquired about. On 22 October 1877, an explosion tore through Blantyre Colliery, owned by William Dixon Ltd. In a matter of seconds, 215 men and boys—some as young as 11—were killed […]
The following is an extract [Page A3/A4] from the Blantyre Colliery Explosion Inquiry Report, dated 21st December 1877. In particular a sub report by Messrs Ralph Moore, TE Wales, and James Willis, Inspectors of Mines. Transcribed word for word by P. Veverka this extract has the pit inspectors speculating as to how and where the […]
From my forthcoming Blantyre mining book, “Hollow Earth & Hardship“. It wasn’t just those who were underground who were injured or died in the Blantyre Pit Disaster. The force of the explosion also reached people on the surface! On that morning of Monday 22nd October 1877, the fearful dull rumbling sound heard above ground was […]
On 22nd October 1927, Blantyre stopped to remember the great pit disaster in High Blantyre that had happened 50 years earlier. Today, 139 years later we do the same and I thought I’d share a few things about the 50 year remembrance. In 1927, the pit disaster was still relatively fresh in Blantyre’s history […]