Rev William C MacDougall was the founder of the Convalescent Home for Miners in Saltcoats and ran the institution in 1898. However, prior to his time on the west coast, he had been in Blantyre for some time, including being present during the Pit Explosion of 1877. In November 1898, Rev MacDougall held a social […]
I was very honoured to receive a nice gift in the post in December 2021 from Blantyre Project reader, George Park. Wrapped very careful in cotton wool, was this small, delicate miner’s lamp. George had already corresponded with me, so I knew it was coming by post and thanks to our conversations knew the story […]
Lisa Stebbing has provided this sad story of a woman who lost 6 grandsons in the Blantyre Pit Disaster of 1877. Lisa kindly put together a story which certainly supplements the mining stories on the Blantyre Project website. If your surname is Gemmel, Muir or Reid, this may be particularly interesting. Elizabeth Reid lost six […]
This morning, as with each year on this particular day, we remember the 215 men and boys who sadly lost their lives in the Blantyre Pit Disaster. At 8.45am on 22nd October 1877, a huge explosion caused by fire damp occurred in Pit 3, also significantly affecting Pit 2 in High Blantyre. Deep below the […]
This week, as we approach the 145th Anniversary of the Blantyre Pit Disaster, as usual, we’ll be exploring some new and further stories and accounts of the tragedy and remembering the miners who died. On Monday 22nd October 1877, the following men made their escape from No. 2 Pit in High Blantyre immediately after the […]
The concluding part of the story by Keir Hardie. Published in a Labour Newspaper from 1909, it tells a story around the Blantyre Pit Disaster of 1877. In this final part, continued from Parts 1 and 2, Keir writes about a rare rescue: “Meanwhile the scene on the pithead was one of woe and desolation […]
This is the tragic story of one of the miners who lost his life in the Blantyre Pit Disaster of 1877. James Brodie, was the son of John Brodie (shepherd) and Mary Turnbull. Born in 1851 in Lanarkshire. Coming to Blantyre between 1871 and 1874, the timing fits well with new opportunities for coalminers being […]