Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald, and today we remember a tragic event that took place on September 18, 1959 – the Auchengeich Colliery disaster, where 47 miners lost their lives in one of Scotland’s most harrowing mining accidents.
The Auchengeich Colliery was located in Moodiesburn, North Lanarkshire, a region synonymous with coal mining, which had been a cornerstone of Scottish industry for generations. Like many collieries across Scotland, Auchengeich provided work to hundreds of miners and was crucial to the local economy. However, mining was also a perilous occupation, fraught with dangers despite improvements in safety regulations after nationalisation in 1947.
That tragic September day in 1959 started like any other, with the miners descending into the pit for the early morning shift. But disaster struck shortly after the shift began. A fire broke out in an underground return airway due to an overheated conveyor belt. The fire quickly spread, engulfing the air with deadly carbon monoxide. Two trains of miners were working in the affected area. The first group managed to escape, but the second, consisting of 48 men, was less fortunate. As the fire intensified, the toxic fumes overcame the miners before they could be rescued. Only one man survived, but 47 perished from carbon monoxide poisoning.
This catastrophe rocked the community and the nation. It was the largest mining disaster in Scotland since the Second World War and served as a stark reminder of the dangers miners faced every day. What made the Auchengeich disaster particularly tragic was that it could have been prevented. An inquiry revealed that the fan belt, which had overheated and caused the fire, had been faulty for months. The colliery’s management had failed to address these safety concerns adequately, a failure that cost the lives of 47 men.
The disaster led to public outrage and highlighted significant shortcomings in the National Coal Board’s (NCB) management of safety. Union leaders, particularly from the National Union of Mineworkers Scottish Area (NUMSA), used the public inquiry to push for stricter safety regulations. Abe Moffat, NUMSA’s president, was at the forefront of this effort, emphasizing the need for heightened vigilance to prevent such tragedies from happening again. His efforts, along with others, resulted in more stringent safety measures in the years that followed, contributing to a significant reduction in mining fatalities.
Despite the safety improvements that came after nationalisation in 1947, mining in Scotland remained dangerous. The rate of fatal accidents had dropped by the 1950s, but the Auchengeich disaster proved that large-scale accidents could still occur, reminding the nation of the inherent risks of underground mining.
In the aftermath of the disaster, the community came together to support the families of the victims. A memorial was erected in Moodiesburn, near the Auchengeich Miners’ Club, to honour the men who lost their lives that day. This memorial garden, established during the 1984–85 miners’ strike, stands as a symbol of the enduring connection between coal mining, the working-class communities it shaped, and the collective memory of those who sacrificed their lives. A bronze statue of a miner with a bowed head, holding a pickaxe, marks the centre of the garden. Around him, the names of the 47 men who perished are etched into stones, serving as a permanent reminder of the cost of coal extraction.
The Auchengeich disaster has become a focal point for annual remembrance ceremonies, attended by family members, community leaders, and trade union representatives. These ceremonies are not only about remembering those who died, but also serve as a testament to the ongoing fight for safer working conditions in all industries. The legacy of the disaster also underscores the critical role that unions played in securing safety improvements for workers, ensuring that such tragedies would become less frequent.
On this day, as we reflect on the events of September 18, 1959, we honour the memory of the miners who tragically lost their lives at Auchengeich. Their legacy continues to remind us of the importance of workplace safety and the collective responsibility to protect workers across all industries.
Thank you for joining me today on This Day in Scottish History. I’m Colin MacDonald, and I hope you’ll join me next time as we continue to explore Scotland’s rich and sometimes sorrowful past. Haste ye back!
September 18, 1959 – The Auchengeich Colliery Disaster