State of miners' memorial is the pits

Nov 9 2011 by Gordon Robertson, Airdrie & Coatbridge

A MONUMENT to three Whinhall men who died in an Airdrie mining disaster has fallen into an “appalling state” of disrepair.

The memorial cairn – erected in 1985 near Leaend Road – overlooks the site of the former Mosside pit in which three men were killed in 1939 after the mine was flooded.

Vandals have smashed a plaque bearing the names of the men – Thomas Lang of Park Street, James Walker of Wilson Street and Alex Kinnaird of Davidson Street – and daubed the cairn with graffiti.

But now moves are afoot to restore and relocate the memorial to a more suitable spot.

Councillor George Devine has led calls for something to be done since he became aware of the sad state of the monument.

He said: “I received complaints about groups using the memorial as a meeting place to drink and generally make a nuisance of themselves.

“On further investigation, I found the memorial to be in a shocking state.

“I was absolutely appalled that it had been allowed to fall into such a deplorable state. It was not a fitting reminder to the brave men who died.

“I have endeavoured to re-site the memorial and restore it to its former glory, and make it a fitting reminder to the three local men who died.”

Councillor Devine believes the “whole community” should be involved in the process of providing a fitting monument to those who were killed.

He said: “I hope to involve the Whinhall Action Group who have the memorial on their action plan, and the whole community, especially the two local primary schools, in finding a new home for the memorial and give it pride of place within the heart of our community where it belongs.”

North Lanarkshire Council say they have no specific plans for the cairn at the moment but that they “could consider works via the local development programme”.

The issue is believed to be complicated as the cairn may not lie on council land.

Martin Dickson, local regeneration manager, said:

“We are currently in dialogue with the Whinhall Action Group and will discuss possibilities when we next meet them.

“We thank the Advertiser and Councillor Devine for bringing it to our attention on behalf of local people.”