Modiesburn – Auchengeich Miners Memorial
Situated off Gartferry Road and adjacent to the Auchengeich Miners Club is a bronze statue of a miner, with his head bowed, standing between a pithead wheel and some plaques on a wall.
The miner is mounted on a circular plinth, holding a pickaxe, with two rings of stones that have the names of victims of the mining disaster in 1931 and the names of the dozens of men who died in another disaster in 1959. Trees have been planted and memorial benches have also been put in place.
The 6ft tall statue was unveiled on 50th anniversary of the Auchengeich Mining Disaster that occurred on the 18th of September 1959, when forty-seven men lost their lives in a colliery fire. Only one miner survived the blaze, which was caused by an electrical fault 1,000ft below the surface. It was considered to be one of Scotland’s worst mining accidents.
The previous disaster occurred on the 22nd of January 1931, when an explosion took place around 4am in the James Nimmo & Co colliery. Six miners were killed and five were injured. The accident was caused by an accumulation of gas.
The statue was created by John McKenna.
To see more works by John McKenna, click HERE.
To visit John McKenna’s website, click HERE.
