IT came to my attention, following a talk I gave to Benarty Heritage Preservation Group, that a major commemoration of the explosion at the Lindsay Colliery on December 14 1957 was to take place in Kelty.

The purpose of this letter is to highlight that while it was billed as an accident, in my mind it was not.

It was caused by illegal, wilful and selfish behaviour by miners who lit matches and smoked.

The eight men blew themselves up, caused the death of a comrade attempting rescue, injured 11 and put the lives at risk of another 154 men on the night shift.

You must wonder why I am writing to you about this. I do so for two reasons. First I was given a copy by BHPG of the excellent publication on the Kelty pits produced by the Kelty Mining Heritage Group for the exhibition in March.

I wrote the Kelty Community Council and in the letter I pointed out there was information on the Public Inquiry on the explosion but I was astonished to see there is no mention of the Report into the incident and the findings.

Secondly, I gave up a career in mining for many reasons, including pending pit closures and also on reading the 1958 Report on the Lindsay Explosion by Sir Harold Roberts.

In 1958 I was awarded a scholarship by the NCB to study mining at the University of Edinburgh and started there in October 1958. In early 1959 I spent three weeks at Muircockhall to be certified to work underground. I was then told by the NCB that my training would start at Henderson Mine, Fordell, and a month before I started three men were killed by runaway mine cars when they were walking up the mine at the end of their shift.

Sadly another event caused in part by the behaviour of men.

My most chilling experience was working in Henderson mine with a shotfirer. We were in stoop and room workings roughly under the White Elephant pub near Hill of Beath. He thought that stemming shot holes with coal dust rather than fetching and using sand or clay was a good idea. So with the combination of pits closing and wondering what kind of men I would be working with I gave up the scholarship and was fortunate to go into studying electrical engineering.

If commemorations and exhibitions on mining heritage have any meaning they should surely be factual and truthful so that future generations can learn from past mistakes as well as triumphs.

JAMES MURRAY,

Cargilfield View,

Edinburgh.