Life underground and its difficulties!

Working in a coal mine was not an easy job for anyone. Before health and safety was improved during the 1940’s life underground was fraught with danger! One wrong move could lead to broken bones, loss of limbs or even death. In 1947, the coal pit at Polmaise was nationalised and safety was vastly improved but from when it opened in 1904 till then, 35 miners had lost there life and more than this were severely injured. 

A coal miner at work underground (Image taken from Wikimedia Commons).

Most of the accidents in the pit were because of underground explosions caused by sparks coming off boring hammers which ignited any gas in the surrounding air. Another main cause of accidents was due to rock fall and this was often due to the limited amount of tools the miners would have with them that consisted of a shovel and a pick. The most important thing when working in the pit was to get the supports up to prevent rock fall and potential accidents.

With the death of a miner, many families were left without the main breadwinner and the family would be left to endure many hardships. In a small village like Fallin, neighbours, relations and friends would band together and help the family. With the change in safety laws, this improved the lives of many families as well as the community of Fallin and other nearby coal mining villages such as Plean and Cowie.

Miners waiting to head home from the coal mine (Image taken from Wikimedia Commons).

Below are only a handful of fatal accidents that happened in the early years at Polmaise Colliery pits 3 and 4 at Fallin (taken from Scottish Mining Website http://scottishmining.co.uk/352.html):

12^th February 1923- miner killed and another seriously injured at number 3 pit at Polmaise Colliery, Fallin when a large portion of the roof of one of the roads fell on them.

8^th May 1923- body of a fireman from the mine was found in the morning in number 3 pit after he went to make an inspection of the pit. On failing to return a search party was sent to look for him and he was found dead.

2^nd October 1925- fatal accident of a miner in number 3 pit when 2 tons of rock fell from the roof. The miner was pinned under the debris where he was found dead.

26^th February 1926- large stone weighing 13 cwts fell and seriously injured a miner about the head and he was taken to Stirling Royal Infirmary where he later died of his injuries.

16^th November 1928- Miner crushed by large stone at number 3 pit and was removed to Stirling Royal Infirmary where he died shortly after arrival. He was employed at Polmaise Colliery in Fallin for 21 years.

30^th August 1931- Miner dies in Stirling Royal Infirmary of internal injuries from rock fall from the roof of the mine the previous week.

1^st July 1934- Miner killed and several injured after an accident in the cages at number 3 pit after they overwound the cage. Seven men were descending the pit at the time and six were coming to the surface. The miners in the descending cage, which struck the pit bottom, were most seriously injured. The accident occurred when the afternoon shift was succeeding the day shift and miners going to their work helped carry the injured men from the pithead to the ambulance room. The joiner's shop was utilized for this purpose. The injured men were brought to the surface using number 4 shaft. Another miner later succumbed to his death.