Three aspects that should be considered.

Three aspects that should be considered.

On 22nd October the early shifts of more than 230 men had gone down the mine as usual at 5.30am. It was a gloomy start to the Monday and the villagers were beginning to go about their business when, at 8.45am, a huge underground explosion heard for miles around rocked Blantyre and sent flames from two of the five pits.

Whilst we should always remember the Blantyre Mining Disaster on that day and of the 216 men and boys who lost their lives, together with thoughts of their families and loved ones, there are three aspects that also need some consideration of that catastrophic day.

Firstly, of the 216 miners who lost their lives (the numbers of dead vary as to which source you use, between 207 – 216), 94 were aged under 21 and 48 of them 16 and younger. Three of them were only 12 years old. Take a moment to imagine your own son, nephew or grandson going down the Pit at that young age and losing his life in the process. My memory fails me at the time of writing, but I do recall that one of the 12 year olds who died was on his first day down the Pit.

Secondly, we all imagined, or at least I did, that most were killed down the pit and on that fateful day. However, if you look at the date of registration of deaths, it suggests that not all died at the scene:-

And thirdly, how some of them were connected to each other as Fathers, Sons, Brothers, Cousins etc.

And never forget the widows aftermath, when some were evicted and some married in haste in order to keep their tied cottages…

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