On Tuesday 7th August 1894, almost 130 years ago, William Shepherd a miner of High Blantyre stood in court accused of stealing coal. Now it’s easy to look back at historical entries in newspapers and conclude that somebody was simply a thief, just because history has them up in court for that charge, but in […]
The Woman’s Signal was a weekly British feminist magazine published by Marshall & Son, London, from 4 January 1894 to 23 March 1899. It was edited by Lady Henry Somerset, Annie Holdsworth and Florence Fenwick-Miller. Although primarily a temperance paper, it dealt with several feminist issues including fair wages, working conditions and equality for women. During its first year in November 1894, […]
A few other Blantyre stories of events which were happening in April 1896, some 127 years ago. Miners were worried about the lack of coal being extracted and a downturn in work. Though they were still kept on in employment, wagons stood empty in some collieries, where they had once been queued full. In one […]
Photos next from September 1986 and to the north of Blantyre is Blantyreferme. This photos represent the reduction of the Colliery bings, a significant effort to restore the ground back closer to the existing field levels. The large remnants of the colliery bings removed and taken away, removing most of the signs of the former […]
A meeting of Blantyre miners was held the Public Park on Saturday 14th May 1921 to discuss the position of some miners who were working a number of outcrop seams in the vicinity and who were selling the coal and reaping good harvest. Some miners had been working illegally at Auchentibber on an outcrop […]
Let’s travel across the other side of the world now to Malaysia and in particular to the former Empire colony of Labuan. During the 1920’s, there lived there a most interesting personality known as “Rajah” Smith, a businessman overseeing an extensive coal mining operation. Formerly a High Blantyre miner, the “Rajah” was then one of […]
In September 1925, a serious situation arose in Blantyre when coal and mineral trains were continually being raided. In the dock in early October that year was James Cotter, miner, 52 Auchenraith Road, Blantyre, who was charged with stealing a quantity of coal from moving waggons at Auchinraith Road on the branch of the […]