Let There Be Light.

This memorial to the miners who lost their lives in Bilston Glen Colliery is by the cross-roads in the middle of Loanhead and next to the cog and horn I featured on 18th April.

It is surprisingly difficult to find accurate details about the mine, one could be forgiven for thinking that there is a conspiracy at the root of the problem.
The colliery was sunk during the period, 1952-61, but when coal production started is unclear; when Thatcher brought about the disastrous national strike of 1984/5 the mine was doomed, it was finally closed in 1989 but again, it is unclear whether production stopped immediately or struggled on until the closure.; at its peak, a million tons of coal was produced a year. Over the period the mine was operating (between 23 and 37 years) fifteen men died underground.

While, with hindsight, we can say that it was right to close down the British coal mines for safety, health and environmental reasons, I doubt if Thatcher understood the valid reasons for doing so and she did not choose the best method.

Edit: corrected its location to Loanhead, Thanks Mike for pointing out my error.