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Mines RescueAuchengeich Colliery Fire - 18th September, 1959 - Page 15 - Emails, Page 6
47 Died Log Hand written log by Jimmy Simpson, Coatbridge Mines Rescue
Memorial

William Burns - Auchengeich Disaster - Looking For Iain Urquhart
Robert Harvey - James Harvey died in the disaster
Bob Price - Auchengeich 1959 - 2011

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 William Burns
20 July 2014
Auchengeich Disaster - Looking For Iain Urquhart

Fionn,
I came across your web site re Auchengeich Disaster recently and found it very interesting. I was at work in Auchengeich that day and managed to escape via the Square Pit  along with Tommy Halpin and a few others. We were probably the last miners to get to safety that day.

Among the Emails on your site I noticed some from Iain (John) Urquhart who like me was doing his face training at the time. I lost contact with Iain when I left Cardowan in 1966. I would be obliged if you would send my Email address to Iain. It would be great to hear from him again.

Yours sincerely,

William Burns.
From:
Sent:
Subject:		 John Urquhart
12 Dec 2015
Auchengeich colliery

Fionn
I have had a visit from William Burns who contacted you re my e-mail address and, like myself, was underground at Auchengeich Colliery on the day of the fire. As well as working at the same colliery we did our higher national and national diploma at Strathclyde University together in 1960.

After I left Cardowan Colliery in 1965 I lost contact until he made enquiries via your site.

Many thanks to you and your site as we hope to meet up again in the near future.

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 In MemoryRobert Harvey
2 June 2012
James Harvey died in the disaster

Hi, thank you for your website.

I am the grandson of James Harvey who died in the disaster. My dad Robert was fourteen when this happened.

James 44, from Muirhead was a husband and a father of 8 children – Jim, Robert, Colin, John, Alex, Senga, Alice and Christine.

Myself and some of my family where at the unveiling of the memorial statue and it was a memorable and fitting tribute to all the miners who lost their lives.


From:
Sent:
Subject:		 In MemoryBob Price
29 September 2011
Auchengeich 1959 - 2011

I Have recently decided to restart investigating my family tree I started to look up some details on my father who was killed in the 1959 Auchengeich disaster. I Googled Auchengeich (something I have deliberately avoided until now) and hit on your site.

I was 18years of age when my father was killed and the memories are still fresh, 5 days at the pit head being told everything is going fine "no news is good news" by the pit management and also seeing my fathers' fellow workers who were doing everything they could, coming back up out of the pit with their bird cages in their hands shaking their heads, and their little canaries lying dead - they were the true heroes risking their lives for friends and also letting "US" the worried relatives know the real truth.

Rab Price (my Father) and Aaron Price (my uncle, and father to Joan Price McEwan) - always remembered.

Unfortunately I will never be able to forget the newspaper reporter who came to our door on Wednesday evening the 23rd Sept., asking for a photo of my uncle, I apologizes saying "I know you’re only doing your job, but we did not want any publicity". Had I known at the time he was after a headline scoop because one miner was missing - yes my Uncle Aaron - I would have killed the b*****d.

There was also the local window cleaner’s wife that came asking for a loan of money the following week as her husband hadn't been able to work because of rain, all because the papers were forecasting large pay outs from a fund.

Or the lawyer who held off paying out my father’s estate for three years, due to me - an eighteen year old at the time - willing and signing a letter giving everything to my mother, but did he bother to say my letter was not legal until I was twenty one? - did he hell.

Can you wonder why I kept away from anything to do with Auchengeich?

Bob Price