Miners’ Demonstration

The demonstration in support of the striking miners in Stirling 33 years ago this month was significant both for Stirling and for Scotland. During the 1984 – 5 Miners’ Strike, most of the big support marches took place in the cities, and protests were held at collieries where there were

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Polmaise: Stirling’s Star Ship

  30 years after the closure of Polmaise No 3 and 4 Pits, it is important to remember the significance of the achievement of the coal industry and the men who made it. Recent additions to the Stirling Smith collections include a Stirling District Council publication, Polmaise, The Facts, arguing

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30th Anniversary of the Polmaise Colliery Closure

 This month sees the 30th anniversary of the closure of Polmaise Colliery 3 & 4, the pit which was first out in the Miners’ Strike of 1984, and last to return when the strike broke in 1985. British Coal announced the closure of Polmaise Colliery on 15 July 1987. Two

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The Victimised Miners of 1984-5

In 1984, when Polmaise 3&4 Colliery was threatened with flooding through non – use, four miners went underground to prevent this, through a three day sit-in. A press photographer, given access by the National Union of Mineworkers, went underground and took this photograph. Left to right are miners Jim O’Hare,

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Stirlingshire Collieries

  This rare plate, donated to the Smith collections by colliery workers William McKinlay and Raymond Frew, attempts, to sum up the significance of the Stirlingshire collieries. That the miners and the mining industry were as important to Stirling, as Stirling Castle, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce is undeniable.

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