Burngrange
Encyclopedia
Burngrange is an area of the Scottish
village West Calder
. Situated at the far west of the village it mainly consists of housing constructed for the areas mining industry in the early 20th century.
On 10 January 1947, Burngrange was witness to its worst underground mining disaster, in which 15 miners perished.
Burngrange Shale Mine
was situated 16 miles south-west of Edinburgh
in the Parish
of West Calder
in the County of Midlothian
. It was owned by Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co., Ltd., which at the time was a subsidiary of Scottish Oils Ltd and was one of a group of 12 mines working the oil shale
s in the Counties of Midlothian
and West Lothian
.
The Report on the causes of, and circumstances attending the Explosion and Fire which occurred at Burngrange Nos. 1 and 2 (Oil Shale) Mine, Midlothian, can be found at .
David Brown was awarded the Edward Medal
(Later the George Cross
) for his actions on the day. He was an overman at the mine .
reported on 13 January 1948 that:
The Scotsman
newspaper reported on 30 January 1948:
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
village West Calder
West Calder
West Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland, located 4 miles west of Livingston. The village was an important centre for the oil shale economy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. West Calder has its own railway station. It is also has the most northerly centre of the Dogs Trust, closely followed...
. Situated at the far west of the village it mainly consists of housing constructed for the areas mining industry in the early 20th century.
On 10 January 1947, Burngrange was witness to its worst underground mining disaster, in which 15 miners perished.
Burngrange Shale Mine
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
was situated 16 miles south-west of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of West Calder
West Calder
West Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland, located 4 miles west of Livingston. The village was an important centre for the oil shale economy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. West Calder has its own railway station. It is also has the most northerly centre of the Dogs Trust, closely followed...
in the County of Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
. It was owned by Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co., Ltd., which at the time was a subsidiary of Scottish Oils Ltd and was one of a group of 12 mines working the oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
s in the Counties of Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
and West Lothian
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
.
The Report on the causes of, and circumstances attending the Explosion and Fire which occurred at Burngrange Nos. 1 and 2 (Oil Shale) Mine, Midlothian, can be found at .
David Brown was awarded the Edward Medal
Edward Medal
The Edward Medal is a British civilian decoration which was instituted by Royal Warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers...
(Later the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
) for his actions on the day. He was an overman at the mine .
Press reports
The London GazetteLondon Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
reported on 13 January 1948 that:
"The KINGMonarchA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
has been pleased to award the Edward MedalEdward MedalThe Edward Medal is a British civilian decoration which was instituted by Royal Warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers...
to David Brown in recognition of his gallantry in the following circumstances: -
An explosion occurred in the Burngrange Shale Mine, West CalderWest CalderWest Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland, located 4 miles west of Livingston. The village was an important centre for the oil shale economy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. West Calder has its own railway station. It is also has the most northerly centre of the Dogs Trust, closely followed...
, MidlothianMidlothianMidlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
, at about 8pm on Friday, 10th January, 1947, when 53 persons were at work underground in the district. FiredampFiredampFiredamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous...
was ignited by an open acetyleneAcetyleneAcetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
cap lamp and the initial explosion started fires which spread rapidly.
David Brown, the overman, descended the pit and proceeded with a firemanFirefighterFirefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
to explore the narrow workings where men were trapped. Though they encountered smoke for a time it was not sufficiently dense to prevent progress but as they passed the junction of another heading increasing smoke compelled their withdrawal. After waiting a few minutes Brown made another attempt, alone, to get inbye. He actually got in to No. 3 Dookhead, where he shouted but got no response. He saw no signs, of the inbye men nor of their lights, and he was forced to withdraw again. On his way outbye, he again met the fireman, who said he had been trying to improve the atmospheric conditions in the inbye section by a partial opening of some brattice screen doors, but this step was of no avail. The atmospheric conditions were getting worse all the time, to the spreading of the fires, the extent and seriousness of which even then were not generally realized. Brown, however, did realize the seriousness of the position in relation to the trapped men and immediately sent word explaining the position to the manager who was dealing with fires elsewhere, asking for all possible assistance and making it quite clear that there was no hope of undertaking further exploratory work without the use of rescue teams wearing self-contained breathing apparatus. He then set out to discover for himself where all the smoke was coming from.
Although the National Fire Service was never intended for fire-fighting underground in mines, nevertheless, a team at once volunteered for this duty. Two members of the team donned their one-hour Proto-Breathing Apparatus. Underground, they met the overman, Brown, who pleaded for the use of the two sets of Proto-Apparatus, so that he and another trained member of the Burngrange Mines Rescue Team could make another attempt to get into the workings beyond No. 3 Dook. Using the one-hour apparatus borrowed from the N.F.S. Brown and his companion made an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the trapped men. At 11.15 pm under the captaincy of Brown a fresh team wearing goggles and using a life-line again attempted to reach the men but were forced to return as the temperature was very high and the smoke so dense that their lights could not be seen. There had been a fall of stone and sounds of strata movement were heard. A further attempt along another level led to the discovery of another fire and it became certain that there was no hope of saving the men until this was under control. The work of firefighting continued for four days and it was not until the night of 13th/14th January, that it was considered practicable to send a rescue team beyond the fire area. With one exception the bodies of all the 15 men who lost their lives by the effect of afterdamp and fumes were in No. 3 Dook."
The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper reported on 30 January 1948:
"The CarnegieCarnegieCarnegie may refer to:*Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, for whom many entries on this page are named*Dale Carnegie, motivational speaker and author*David Carnegie , Scottish-Swedish industrialist...
Hero Fund Trustees at DunfermlineDunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
yesterday awarded an honorary certificate and grants of £25 and £15 respectively to David Brown, mine oversman, 82 Parkhead Crescent, and James M'Arthur, shaleminer, 12 Kirkgate, both of West CalderWest CalderWest Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland, located 4 miles west of Livingston. The village was an important centre for the oil shale economy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. West Calder has its own railway station. It is also has the most northerly centre of the Dogs Trust, closely followed...
, MidlothianMidlothianMidlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
, who on January 10, 1947, attempted to rescue a number of workmen who had been trapped following an explosion in a colliery at West CalderWest CalderWest Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland, located 4 miles west of Livingston. The village was an important centre for the oil shale economy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. West Calder has its own railway station. It is also has the most northerly centre of the Dogs Trust, closely followed...
. Brown has already been awarded the Edward Medal and M'Arthur received the King's Commendation."