Here’s a fantastic previously unseen photo of miners at Dixons Pits, High Blantyre. Believed to be the 1920s, the blue cross marks at least one known person, John ‘Jock’ Deccs. These eleven hard working men pose for the camera, some with the tools of their trade, depicting their particular job within the mining industry. Each […]
An alarming occurrence at Blantyre took place about one o’clock Tuesday 16th November 1920, when the Craighead colliery bing, which belongs to Messrs William Baird and Co., gave way! Around two thousand tons of sludge and stones cascaded down the Bing and was scattered across the Whistleberry Road. The who incident was a most unusual […]
William Dixon and Co narrowly avoided another major catastrophe in 1921, when the shaft of their Larkfield Pit 4 collapsed. The question arose immediately as to whether it was an accident or another outrage. That was the problem which mining experts faced when they examined the enormous havoc wrought at the Blantyre colliery, a task they […]
Every now and again a little gem of a photo arrives. This amazing photo was sent to me from James D Brown via his cousin in London. The tall man in the photo is Mr George Brown, the great grandfather of James. The story given was that he was one of the people responsible for […]
Blantyre Pit Disaster Anniversary Hope this is shared far and wide. As we all head to work and start the week this Monday morning in Blantyre, we remember another much more tragic and gloomy Monday morning exactly 141 years ago. One, which claimed the lives of over 215 men and boys, wiping out around 6% […]
George Park shared this little article which dates from 27th October 1935. Blantyre Mining Disaster Recalled – Death of a Hero’s Wife The terrible Scottish Mining disaster which occurred at Blantyre Colliery on 22nd October 1877 when 226 men and youths were killed is recalled by the death yesterday in her 84th year of […]
Between one and two o ‘ clock on the afternoon of Thursday 18th August 1927, a fatal accident occurred in No. 1 Pit, Bardykes Colliery, Blantyre, which belonged then to the Summerlee Iron and Coal Co. Ltd. The victim was Patrick M’Donald (20 years) , who resided with his widowed mother at 44 Dixon Street, Blantyre. […]