Drumlemble excavations – 1982

Article in the Campbeltown Courier, 2nd April 1982. Courtesy of Campbeltown Library.

Following on from the article by Elizabeth McTaggart about the Drumlemble Diaspora  here is an extract from a conversation I had with someone who was involved in the excavations.

Jan Nimmo

“I was involved in the NCB (National Coal Board) investigation of the old mine workings at Coalhill, Drumlemble, in I think it was in the early eighties.

“I was employed at that time with McFadyen’s Contractors, and was tasked with excavating an area of ground in the gardens of number 19 Rhudal Cottages, and 30 Rhudal Cottages. Mr and Mrs Beattie (nee Flo Brown) lived at number 19, and Flo’s mother Mrs Mary Brown occupied number 30. So, mother and daughter lived directly across from each other. 

“Two representatives from the NCB were present and explained to me what the excavation entailed: I was to dig down until I hit rock, which they expected to be fairly deep below the surface.

“I started digging roughly midway between the two houses, and there was a huge heap of spoil by the time I actually reached the predicted rock. At one point, I was beginning to doubt whether or not I would have enough reach with the digger to actually hit rock. It was eventually exposed, and after a good deal of measuring the depth, it was located. The men from the NCB had maps and documents that they were checking and, after some deliberation, I was instructed to burst a hole through the rock, as they were certain that the area I had exposed was the roof of one of the old mines said to be in that area; so off with the digging bucket, and on with the rock breaking attachment. The first few thumps from that brought Mrs. Brown running from her home in fright! She said the banging from the breaker made her house shake, and she was scared it would fall around her. After some banging away at the rock, I managed to break through. The hole was made large enough for one of the men to go down into with, if I remember correctly, a ladder. I had lowered him into the excavation with the digger. He took some photographs down there, and said that it was indeed an old mine working. It wasn’t all that deep or wide, and the direction it seemed to go in was roughly between 22 and 23 Rhudal Cottages, and across the road and under 8 or maybe 9 Rhudal Cottages.

“The hole in the roof of the shaft was covered over, and the entire area was filled and levelled. In a matter of weeks there was very little sign that anything had been done there”.

Looking north towards Drumlemble. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

 

Memories of Archie McGeachy, shotfirer, and of Drumlemble by Betty McSporran

Archie McGeachy, shot-firer at Argyll Colliery. Photo courtesy of Betty McSporran ©

My Dad, Archie McGeachy, was born on 11^th September 1924. As we grew up, Dad often spoke in detail about his times at the coal mine in Machrihanish and of the camaraderie between the men. He worked as a shot firer.

There were mine shafts which extended to the Aros Farm, north of Machrihanish, and out under the sea. I recall there was actually flooding in the mine before the fires [and total extraction] eventually closed it down.

One of the things I remember is my Mum and aunts talking about the time a Clydesdale horse was turned out into the field, above Coalhill, between there and Trochoillean Farm. In the morning it had fallen down a hole which appeared in the field. The horse was called Jacopa (I hope that is the correct spelling of its name). It was a sore loss to the farmer concerned.

In the heavy snowfall of February 1963 my Dad and I got stranded at Westport cottage and spent from the Tuesday till the Friday with a retired teacher, Miss McDougall, and her brother. There was quite a number of us including two policemen who divided all of us into two groups and the remainder went to Low Balevain Farm to enjoy the hospitality of the Binnie family. Drifts were above the Telegraph poles but Mr Binnie walked through the snow every day bringing baking, milk and potatoes to help feed us. We had the Jacobs Biscuits traveller with us too but his only samples were coconut mallows to help supplement our diet. I have never been able to eat one from that day till this! Hughie Anderson from Machrihanish was stranded as well. He drove the pit lorry and it was loaded with coal. Craig’s coal lorry was stranded likewise. Miss McDougall’s coal bunker was well filled .

Hughie, Dad and I set off on the Friday and walked the shore line to the Backs Water where we parted company. Dad and I stopped off at West Trodigal farm where Mrs Armour fed us with a bowl of homemade soup. We then stopped off at the miners’ canteen at Argyll Colliery where Dad bought some cigarettes – he hadn’t smoked for days. When we reached home we had to call the police station and let them know that we had made it! The  Campbeltown Courier reported the story. I was the only female stranded but they obviously thought I didn’t merit consideration as they made no mention of that fact. I may add that I was the only person who went back in person to thank Miss McDougall. Dad and I were so grateful and felt we were lucky to be alive as we wouldn’t have stood a chance against the snow.

I remember playing in the houses in Drumlemble that ran along from the hall to where the bus shelter now stands. The roofs were off the houses by then and the windows were covered by corrugated iron. The side row houses’ ruins were really only an outline of where the houses had been, as were the ruins next to Coalhill cottage. On the left hand side down the side row there were a few allotments and some had wee sheds standing on them.

Postcard of Drumlemble Main Street showing the now demolished miners’ houses on the RHS. Courtesy of Charlie McMillan.

Drumlemble Mission Hall, now a private residence, and where a row of miners’ houses used to stand on the Campbeltown – Machrihanish road. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

There was a miners’ bus transporting the men from town out to the pit at Machrihanish to suit the shift times. We used to walk from Drumlemble to Campbeltown on a Sunday and catch a lift home with the miners’ bus.

Miners’ gala days and Christmas parties were always so exciting for us as we grew up. The Miners’ Welfare Hall in Bolgam Street in Campbeltown was where the parties were held. The picnics were huge family outings and are well remembered for such happy times.

My Dad developed a lung disorder due to the coal dust and spent a year in the sanatorium in Oban due to that. He was never able to do mine work after that and actually never able to do any manual work. He passed away as a young man aged 43 on 8^th January 1968.

In 1982, when part of the playing field collapsed in Drumlemble, the whole of Rhudal cottages were decanted but the four houses in Burnbank were left. We were literally over the fence from this gaping hole. My brother, Leslie, worked with McFadyen Contractors then and he had a Coal Board official on the bucket of his JCB, with arm extended, in the shaft that ran between numbers 19 and 30 Rhudal cottages. I also recall where a mound appeared further along the playing field and the water spouted out of it like a fountain. Many years later the National Coal Board had to backfill underneath the self same Burnbank homes as one of the houses was sinking.

Katrina, Cameron, Betty McSporran (née McGeachy), Betty’s sister, Margaret Blaylock and Alice McMurchy. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

The bard of Kintyre is an ancestor of ours (James McMurchy). Interestingly enough his art has passed down through the generations. I myself have been published on six occasions and have written some lyrics for songs. At present I am working with Charlie McMillan who had written a pipe tune and I have added the words. We are at present in the process of trying to get it recorded to a CD. My brother, Leslie McGeachy, and my sister, Margaret Blaylock, are both prolific in the poetry genre as well.

Leslie McGeachy , Betty’s brother, and Debbie. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

 

 

 

 

 

That sinking feeling – the evacuation of the Drumlemble.

Article in the Campbeltown Courier, 2nd April 1982. Courtesy of Campbeltown Library.

In April 1982, the newspaper headlines confirmed what Drumlemble residents had suspected for many years. The area was seriously undermined by coal workings which went back into history, for which no plans were extant, and whose existence threatened the survival of the village.

Article in the Campbeltown Courier 1982. Courtesy of Campbeltown Library.

Fears of no return: an article about Drumlemble’s problems with subsidence due to serious undermining by coal workings. Campbeltown Courier, 4th June 1982. Courtesy of Elizabeth McTaggart.

The building of the new school, which eventually opened in 1975, had been delayed by the discovery that the existing school, about to be replaced, sat on top of old mine workings which were so close to the surface, that building on the existing site was impossible. Meetings were held in the village hall between councillors, Argyll Council architects, and the population of Drumlemble, Machrihanish and surrounding area. One of the proposals at that stage was to close and flatten the school and move the children to schools in Campbeltown. After pretty heated exchanges, this idea was dropped. The Council negotiated a site east of Drumlemble village and work on construction of a new school began.

The question of whether the village was safe for its inhabitants still hung in the air. The houses in Rhudal Cottages had all been built since 1964 and were relatively modern. In the years immediately following the building of the new school, anxieties over possible subsidence diminished and it seemed that life would go on as normal.

Rhudal Cottages, Drumlemble built in 1964. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

At the start of the 1980s, signs of subsidence in some of Rhudal Cottages dwellings became more acute. Eventually after a period of heavy rain, part of the play area became like a bouncy green trampoline. Those children who managed to sneak in to bounce on its surface were quite thrilled, but their parents were rightly alarmed. A site inspection was conducted and the Council declared the playpark a ‘no-go area’. Police notices and coloured tape were stretched across the entrances. Mining engineers were called in to the village to assess the extent of the damage and prepare reports and recommendations. For the village, these reports were doom laden.

The play park at Rhudal Cottages, Drumlemble. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

From the Council’s point of view, action needed to be taken quickly, and various proposals were put to the residents in letters and public meetings.

Local councillors meeting the residents of Drumlemble. Campbeltown Courier 1982. Courtesy of Elizabeth McTaggart.

The options eventually centred round:

1. Clearing the site and building alternative accommodation elsewhere for 30 families
2. Shoring up the area by piping thousands of litres of ‘grouting’. This latter option also meant temporary housing outside the village for those affected.

Seen as the lesser of two evils, the tenants acquiesced in the Council’s choice of the latter option.

What an upheaval! Over the summer of 1982, people left Rhudal Cottages. The scene was reminiscent of the departures of the homesteaders in The Grapes of Wrath, albeit with more good humour and an optimism that returning was on the cards.

In the event, not all the tenants returned. Some were given the option of staying in their new Campbeltown homes. They found they had enjoyed the proximity to shops and jobs. Older people welcomed their ability to get out and about without the anxiety of ‘missing the bus’ to get home.

Those of us who returned were all safely back by Christmas 1982, to cold houses and snow on the ground and neglected gardens.

                                                                                                     Elizabeth McTaggart

April 2017

Trodigal Cottage: A song by Willie Mitchell

Bobbins’s Cottage or Trodigal Cottage. The original cottage is the part on the left hand side of the photo.  Beyond that you can see, on the right, Trodigal Farm and beyond that the site where  Argyll Colliery once stood. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

Trodigal Cottage, a song by Willie Mitchell was written about Bobbins’s Cottage (or Trodigal Cottage) situated on the Machrihanish – Drumlemble Road at Kilkivan, where the track leads uphill to Kilkivan Cemetery and to Kilkivan Quarry. The cottage took it’s name from Robert Hamilton, the father of three miners at Argyll Colliery, Bobby, Malcolm and Stewart. The house was well known as a great meeting place and somewhere to take a dram in good company. Bobbins and his house were immortalised in this song by Willie Mitchell, who was a great friend of Bobbins. Agnes Stewart, Willie’s daughter, remembers that her father used to say “The Queen has got four Marys but Bobbins has four Willies!” – they were Willie Colville, Willie Broon (Brown), Willie McArthur and Willie Mitchell.

Trodigal Cottage

It was down by Machrihanish
Some jovial friends and I did meet,
We called at Trodigal Cottage
A kind old cronie there to greet.

Oh the liquor it was plenty,
With foaming beads in every glass,
We joined in song and story,
And heeded not as time did pass.

Chorus

For it is not time to go, my boys,
To go my boys to go away.
It is not time to go my boys,
We will booze it out till break of day.

Good whisky gives us knowledge
To talk of matters deep and wise.
We took so much of learning,
That from our chairs we could not rise.

Chorus

It was early in the morning,
Kilkivan’s cock did loudly crow,
He sounded us a warning
That to our homes we then should go.

Chorus

Here’s a health to Trodigal Cottage
And the grand old man who long lived there,
We’ll ne’er forget the nights we met,
His hospitality to share.

Willlie Mitchell.

Willie Mitchell, songwriter. Photo courtesy of Agnes Stewart ( née Mitchell) ©

Agnes Stewart relates that it was quite amazing the number of people that could be squeezed into the cottage during these sociable occasions. Willie Colville wrote a rhyming couplet about his friend, Willie Mitchell, heading home by bicycle to Campbeltown after a few drams at Bobbins’s Cottage:

Wi’ erse weel up and heid weel doon, He set his course for Cam’ltoon!

Willie Colville.

Drumlemble Football Team 1919-1920

Following on from the article written by Alex McKinven about miners and football in South Kintyre we’d like to share a photo, courtesy of Drumlemble born man, Willie McMillan. Alex describes Drumlemble as “a hot bed of mining and football”. This photo portrays the 1919 -1920 Drumlemble Football Club who were winners of the Charity Cup that year.

Drumlemble Football Club – Charity Cup Winners 1919-1920. Photo Courtesy of Willie McMillan, Campbeltown. ©

The inset photo is of Donald McArthur. Back row: L-R Hector Thomson, Hugh Sinclair, ? McPhail, Red McGougan, Donald McGougan and the handyman from the Argyll Hotel (Machrihanish). Middle row: L-R David Thomson. Ryal (?) Munro, Jim Munro, Black McGougan, ? McLean and Angus Brown. Front row – David Craig and Jimmy McArthur.

Miners and Football in South Kintyre – Alex McKinven

The Road to Drumleman archive blog is delighted to publish this article by Alex McKinven, once an employee of Argyll Colliery, Machrihanish and author of the the book Kit and Caboodle, The Story of Football in Campbeltown. As a follow on to Alex’s article we’ll post some newspaper cuttings from the Campbeltown Courier which were collected by Kenny McMillan, once the manager of Argyll Colliery FC. You can visit the Kit and Caboodle Facebook page here.

The Story of Miners and Football in South Kintyre – Alex McKinven

Although now in my early seventies, the memory of working as part of the surface team at Argyll Colliery still holds a very special place in my heart. Yes, the work was physical and demanding, but the hard daily graft paled into insignificance when compared to the light-hearted camaraderie that was always available at the drop of a hat. The end of shift encounters with a sea of blackened faces soon made me aware that underground workers were a special breed of men, a race apart when it came to making light of the everyday dangers that surround them. However; apart from assisting the engineers to renew the haulage cable system, for the most part my experience underground was non-existent. Nevertheless; even a small glimpse of the conditions the miners endured filled me with admiration for my fellow man. As often heard – life ‘down under’ was like entering another world.

The approach to Argyll Colliery from the Campbeltown road to Machrihanish. Still from the 1955 film Kintyre by Iain Donnachie, NLS/Scottish Screen.

Away from daily toil, it never ceased to amaze me how organised the miners were when it came to spending their leisure time, whether it was in sport, the arts or other forms of recreation. However; in all of these activities this group of ‘Titans’ had a secret weapon – the assistance of the wonderful Miners Welfare Association. A small deduction from wages helped to fund a multitude of local activities, culminating in the annual Gala Day in which every child – colliery related or not – was treated to day out thanks to the kindness of the miners. The Miners’ Welfare Hall – Old Courthouse in Bolgam Street – doubled as the nerve centre for social activities, and it was here as a youth that I sat watching live football beamed onto a large screen via a contraption called a television set – unbelievably, this some sixty plus years ago.

The Old Courthouse, once the Miners’ Welfare Hall, Bolgam Street, Campbeltown. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

The mention of sport, in particular the wonderful game of football, has helped to draw back the veil of time. Back then the miners of Argyll Colliery, like their fellow workers throughout the industry, had a special relationship with the ‘beautiful game’. Nevertheless; it came as a surprise to find an Argyll Colliery team had existed as far back as 1926, a period in which the club won the Ainsworth Cup – an Argyll-wide                       competition organised by the Mid-Argyll Football Association. Sadly, this sporting success was earned during a catastrophic period for the town’s traditional industries. The local shipyard at Trench Point was first to close its doors in 1922, a disaster for the local economy that was followed by the collapse of the whisky industry. The town’s unprecedented collection of distilleries failed due to Government capitulation to the temperance movement, this coupled with high taxation and the advent of prohibition in the USA. Of course, local distillers used Machrihanish coal as the main source of fuel, resulting in a chain-reaction that led to the closure of the colliery itself in 1929. The collapse of local industry preceded the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in history – a period known to history as the Great Depression (1929 – 1939).

As the economic crises receded another human disaster was about to unfold – the rise of Nazi Germany. Between 1939 and 1945 the world was plunged into a destructive war; nevertheless, the cessation of hostilities brought hope with a new Labour Government and a policy to reopen a nationalised Argyll Colliery at Machrihanish in 1946. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of mining in Kintyre, a period superseded by an influx of experienced key workers to educate the next generation of miners and give the town immediate relief from the threat of post-war unemployment.

Argyll Colliery Workers, 1965. Left to Right – Unidentified, Archie McKerral, Robert Brown, Neil Munro, Angus McKinlay, Sandy Smith, Unidentified, David Mitchell, Robert Martin, ? Livingston, and Tommy Woodford. Front, Left to Right Hamish McNeil, Jock Kerr, Jackie Galbraith, Malcolm Milloy, Kenny McMillan and Jock McGeachy. – Photo Courtesy of Morag McLean (nee McMillan)

The lack of fit and proper housing was a major post-war problem, a shortcoming partially alleviated by the creation between 1946 and 1948 of a new housing estate at Meadows – known locally and colloquially as the Steel or Miners’ Hooses. It would take a few years for the ‘Pit’ to reach full production, but between times the thoughts of miners turned to a ‘real’ priority of life – the game of football and creation of two new sides to represent the colliery workforce. Early summer of 1951 saw NCB Strollers and NCB Athletic join the ranks of the newly formed Artisans League, an amateur administration named after the skilled working classes who promoted the game during the Victorian era; however, this was a ploy and merely a ‘Sprat to catch a Mackerel.’ Grandiose plans were already in place to create a junior side and apply for membership of the town’s football elite – the historic Campbeltown and District Junior Association.

So was born Argyll Colliery Junior Football Club, a team that would have a novel beginning to life in the ranks of semi-professional non-league football. At this level players could receive remuneration for their services – but I’m sure very few did in the local game. Embarrassment would reign during the first round of matches, as the players were asked to wear old-fashioned black and white jerseys with tie cord collars. Where on earth did they come from? The answer to the question can be found in an earlier reference. The jerseys were a legacy – somewhat unwanted – of the team of 1926, a relic from the last time a miner’s team had taken to the field of play.

The new management team of Kenny McMillan and John Docherty were quick off the mark to purchase a brand new football strip – although knowing glances were exchanged when confronted with their choice of colours. Both men were die-hard Motherwell supporters, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when the famous ‘claret and amber’ emerged from the wicker hamper at Kintyre Park. It would prove a memorable beginning, as within a few weeks of starting the miners claimed their first trophy – the McCallum Cup. In a competitive final, two long range efforts from Donald Paterson and a solo effort from Sam Batey were enough to see off the ‘mighty’ Glenside – one of Campbeltown’s legendary junior football clubs.

Challenge Match – Argyll Colliery FC versus Shotts Bon Accord (Lanarkshire League Leaders) 2nd May 1953, KIntyre Park, Campbeltown. – Campbeltown Courier, 19th March 1953

For the best part of a decade Argyll Colliery FC was a ‘magnificent obsession’ for the management team, so much that Kenny McMillan was inspired to keep a diary of the team’s performances and results. Little did he know his humble archive would become extremely important, a precious record of the club’s exploits in all matches – including ‘blue ribbon’ Scottish Junior Cup ties. Meetings with the famous junior club Shotts Bon Accord were also included, a side Kenny simply referred to as ‘our Shotts friends.’ Against such exalted opposition the results weren’t half bad either. The ‘Miners’ drew 1-1 draw with Shotts at Kintyre Park in May 1953, before losing the return match in September that year by 3 goals to 1. From these results alone we are immediately made aware that Argyll Colliery FC was more than capable of holding its own against teams from the much vaunted Central Scottish League, at this time the best junior league in the country.

Argyll Colliery FC at Kintyre Park, Campbeltown c. 1952. (Amber and Claret strip) Back row – from left to right: ‘Donnie’ Paterson, Coventry Paton, ‘Chas’ McKechnie, David Anderson, Malcolm Hamilton and James /Jimmy Thompson. Front row – Left -Right: Neil McLaughlan, Willie Colville, Sam Batey, Stewart Hamilton and Charlie Farmer. Photo courtesy of Maggie Allen (nee Paton) ©

Argyll Colliery reached its peak as a team in season 1953-54, winning the league championship and three of the four cups available. A quote from Kenny’s memoirs is unmistakable in its praise of the ‘claret and amber’. Having beaten Campbeltown United by 5 goals to 1 in the final of the Sutherland Cup, he goes on to say ‘ We scored five fine goals and George Cook – the scorer of four – has never scored as many goals in his life’. He then goes on to qualify his statement. ‘Of course, he has never played in such a good team. Mr Sutherland would be proud to know his cup couldn’t go to a better team’. In football terms, the miners of Argyll Colliery had struck gold!

Argyll Colliery FC pictured here at the back of the Miners’ Welfare Hall, Campbeltown. Photo from Coal magazine courtesy of the McMillan family. (We’ll add names shortly).

Like in every other walk of Campbeltown life, the characters involved in local football were sometimes better known by their nicknames. ‘The Miners’ team was no different in this respect, and Kenny’s mischievous entries included a number of affectionate by-names that could have graced a Walt Disney film script. The team list occasionally digressed from the ‘norm’ to include references to ‘Orra’, ‘Sleepy’ and ‘Happy’, or when the opposition was mentioned – ‘Feeny’, ‘Tucker’ ‘Roabie’ or such like. There was no malice in this whatsoever – quite the opposite, only good humour and a sense of place and time. Campbeltown revelled in its vast collection of nicknames, in such numbers that set it apart from many other communities on the west coast of Scotland.

As the 1950s rolled on, ‘the Miners’ flew the flag for Campbeltown football in far-flung places; exotic venues like Armadale, Inverurie and Rutherglen were visited. They even created a youth league to protect the future of football in the town, and, I’m delighted to report that the efforts of Bill Adams, Jimmy Stark, Charlie Duffy and Sandy Cunningham achieved this goal. ‘The Miners’ last effort to embrace football was as an amateur side for a two year period in the Kintyre Amateur Football League – 1958 to 1960. Ironically, it ended as it began, with the club wearing black and white striped jerseys, although this time, thankfully, the garments were brand new.

Argyll Colliery may have passed into memory; however, ‘the Pit’ will be remembered as much more than a place of work. Yes, it brought much needed jobs and financial stability to the community, but the National Coal Board also had the welfare of people at its core, values that are very hard to find in modern industrialism. Togetherness and camaraderie was the key to everything that was achieved; a message that echoes loudly through the decades as we take a figurative, if nostalgic journey along the well- loved road to ‘Drumleman’.

Cup Tie Day at Kintyre Park. Colliery Triumph in Rough-and-Tumble Decider: an article from Campbeltown Courier – 8th December, 1955. Cutting from the late Kenny McMillan’s collection, courtesy of Morag McLean (nee McMillan) .

Ramsay Nimmo – underground electrician, Argyll Colliery.

Twins, Ramsay and Neil Nimmo. Photo courtesy of Jan Nimmo ©

Ramsay Brown Nimmo was the son of Robert Nimmo and Isabella “Bella” (nee Brown). He and his twin brother, Neil, were born in 1929, in Drumlemble, a mining village between Campbeltown and Machrihanish. The were the oldest sons of the family of nine.

Ramsay left school at the age of 12 to work on a local farm, West Drumlemble, and when he was old enough, he got a job at Argyll Colliery, Argyll Colliery, Machrihanish. In 1950 was sent to do a course at NCB Mechanisation Training Centre in Sheffield were he was trained as a mine electrician. He lodged with Mr & Mrs Salt in the Greystone area Sheffield and they treated him like a son. He kept in touch with them until they passed away.

Ramsay Nimmo, far right, during his training at the NCB Mechanisation Training Centre in Sheffield. Photo courtesy of the Nimmo Family ©

Ramsay Nimmo, front row, kneeling, far right, during his training at the NCB Mechanisation Training Centre in Sheffield. Photo courtesy of the Nimmo Family ©

Ramsay met his future wife, Kathleen, on a tram in Sheffield, while Kathleen was on her way to work in the wholesale section of W H Smiths. When Ramsay returned to Scotland to his work at Argyll Colliery, their romance continued and they corresponded – in those days people wrote letters rather than Skyping or emailing and Kathleen kept these letters till her dying day.

Ramsey Nimmo in Sheffield. Photo courtesy of the Nimmo Family ©

Before their marriage Ramsay moved to Chesterfield and started work at Markham Colliery, Duckmanton. He lived with Jim & Lil McPhail. Jim was a cousin of Ramsay’s mother who had met a local Derbyshire girl and settled there.

Bob Nimmo, Bella Nimmo, Ramsay Nimmo, Kathleen Nimmo, and Kathleen’s parents, Ivy and Charlie George. Photo courtesy of the Nimmo Family ©

Robert Ramsey and Kathleen Nimmo were married on April the 4th 1954. After their marriage Ramsay continued to work as an electrician at Markham Colliery in Derbyshire until his retirement. He died in 2006 and Kathleen followed him in 2014. They are survived by their three sons, Robert, Andrew and Malcolm.

L-R, Mrs E. Batty, a neighbour, Kathleen Nimmo, Ramsay Nimmo, Malcolm Nimmo (baby), and in the foreground, L-R Robert Nimmo and Andrew Nimmo. Photo courtesy of the Nimmo Family ©

Robert Nimmo ©

Donnie McLellan oncost worker, Argyll Colliery

Donnie McLellan’s mining training certificate for, amongst other things, the use of coal cutting machinery. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

Donnie McLellan was born in Campbeltown and brought up in the Glenside area of the town. Donnie started work at Argyll Colliery in Machrihanish in 1954. He completed three weeks of underground training at the Muircock Hall Colliery, near Dunfermline. He worked at Argyll Colliery as an oncost worker, shifting mining machinery, “trees” and girders underground. He often worked night shifts. His brothers John and Hughie also worked at the mine. He married Sheena Mitchell of Kilkivan, Drumlemble, in 1958 and they moved to the “Steel Houses“, a scheme of houses on the south side of Campbeltown which were built for miners and other key workers. Two of Donnie’s brothers-in-law also worked at Argyll Colliery, Dan Stalker and Willie Colville.

L-R Donnie McLellan and his brothers, John and Hugh, Glenside, Campbeltown. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

On his first day at the mine Donnie met John Anderson (Snr.),  John McAllister and Bob Todd – his other contemporaries at the mine were: Andy McShannon, Andy and Maxie Brodie, Dick Brown, a union delegate, Ian Duncan, Hector Thomson, “Joardie” Thomson, “Seterday Sannie“, a Glaswegian, Bobby Hamilton, the Woodcocks, Donnie McArthur, Sandy Munro, who later left for Corby, John McVicar and Archie Crossan. The manager at the time was Ian Thom.

Donnie remembers the colliery fire, which broke out in 1958 and described it as “Amazing to look at… it was like heather on fire. I can remember it to this day”. Donnie worked full time at the time of the fire, alongside the Mines Rescue Team which had come down to Machrihanish from their base in Coatbridge. He also witnessed the effects of total extraction at Argyll Colliery and what was known by the miners as “The Big Crush” – where the coal walls were all removed to extract more coal and which led to coal falls and parts of the mine literally imploding. “The arched girders that supported the roads, which should have be curved, became “V” shaped – you could hear the trees and the roof cracking”.

Donnie like, like many of the miners, was a keen golfer and recalls golfing outings with Malcolm Hamilton and Neil Munro.

When Donnie left the mine in 1961 he went to work for Tarmac and then Melville. Donnie misses his days at the mine “There was great camaraderie – I would go back there today if it was open”. He now lives in Machrihanish.

Donnie McLellan with the carbide lamp he used whilst working at Argyll Colliery. Photo: Jan Nimmo ©

Charles Armour – Fatal Accident at the Coalpit

On browsing through the Scottish Mining Website I came across the following extract relating to the death of Charles Armour, who was killed on 10th November 1875, at the  Drumlemble pit, aged 30.

“Fatal Coal Pit Accident At Campbeltown – Charles Armour, a collier, residing at Macarananish [sic], died on Wednesday from injuries received in Trodigall [sic] Coal Pit, Campbeltown, the day previous. It appeared that while at work a mass of coal became detached above him, which crushed him against the edge of a hutch before he could get out of the way. His injuries were very severe. Dr Cunningham attended him, but he never rallied. [The Dundee Courier & Argus and Northern Warder 12 November 1875]”. 

Here follows a report from the Argyllshire Herald relating to the same accident.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE COALPIT

A pitman named Charles Armour, Employed by the Argyll Coal and canal Company, Drumlemble, sustained an injury on last Tuesday, which resulted in his death the next day. He was engaged in the pit on Tuesday, and was standing before a hitch when a heavy piece of coal fell from one of the supports upon his back, crushing him against the hitch. When found he was in a very weakly condition, an’ was immediately removed to his home when medical aid was procured. Little, however, could be done for the sufferer and he expired on Wednesday. Curiously enough there were no external marks of injury on the body. The deceased leaves a wife and a family.

Report from the Argyllshire Herald on the death of Charles Armour on 10th November 1875. Thanks to Angus Martin for looking through the archives at Campbeltown Library and finding this for us. Courtesy of Campbeltown Library.

There are still Armours living in the area so I’d be interested to know if any of them were relations of Charles and if so, if they could shed any light on Charles and the family he left behind.

Jan Nimmo

Fatal accident at Drumlemble – the death of Donald Kerr

I was looking through the records on the Scottish Mining website to see if there was anything of interest that related to South Kintyre when I came across the following entry.

“1859 July 25th – Drumlemble, Campbeltown (Duke of Argyll) Donald Kerr died aged 40 by getting entangled with the signal wire in the shaft“.

I mentioned this incident to Campbeltown historian and writer, Angus Martin, and he very kindly found this account of the death of Donald Kerr in the Campbeltown Library – this article is from the Argyllshire Herald from August 5th, 1859 and reads as follows:

FATAL ACCIDENT AT DRUMLEMBLE

On the morning of Monday the 25th ult., a fatal accident occurred at the coal-pit at Drumlemble. As three of the colliers were ascending the pit, one of them named Donald Kerr happened to look out of the basket, when unfortunately the recoil of the signal wire which had previously been broken, caught him by the chin and dragged him out of the basket. Before he could be rescued from this perilous position, he lost hold of the wire, fell to the distance of 90 feet, and was killed on the spot. His remains were taken up in a very mangled state. One of the two two workmen who were in the the basket at the time was the son of the deceased. We understand that the men at the bottom of the pit hallooed to the man at the head of it, informing him of the condition in which the signal wire was. Immediately on receiving this intelligence, he communicated it to the person in charge of the engine, at the same time urging upon him to be very cautious, as it was men who were coming up. A widow and seven children survive to mourn the loss of the deceased. It is now 25 years since any fatal accident occurred at this colliery. 

Article about the death of Donald Kerr, collier at Drumlemble Pit. Argyllshire Herald, 5th August 1885. From the collection at Campbeltown Library.

This account makes harrowing reading – that Donald’s son, Alexander, should witness his father die in such a way is quite horrific. I am left wondering how the family survived after Donald’s death and if the Duke of Argyll ever compensated them in any way…

Jan Nimmo