The People's History Show Season 5 Episode 1

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Transcript

00:00Hello,

00:29and welcome to the People's History Show,

00:31where we travel the country to bring you some amazing stories from Scotland's past.

00:35I'm Jennifer Reuch.

00:36And I'm Fergus Sutherland.

00:37Coming up on tonight's show...

00:39We'll be taking a trip down memory lane

00:42as we look back at the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival

00:45to discover how it helped to transform the city.

00:48And I'm off to East Weems in Fife

00:50to learn about one of Scotland's worst coal mining disasters.

00:54But first, I'm travelling to New Lanark

00:56to learn about the origins of the beautiful town

00:58nestled beside the Falls of Clyde.

01:07There the river Clyde flows down between the stately hills.

01:11A noble and useful stream drives the toiling mills.

01:15The water runs so clearly and on a rushing tide.

01:19And, oh, it is a lovely place for anyone to bide.

01:22There's no place in Scotland that I like so well.

01:26For, oh, they were happy days when I was in the mill.

01:29I'll never forget the place I love.

01:31New Lanark and its mills.

01:37Nestled in a dramatic gorge in the upper reaches of the River Clyde,

01:41lays a small village which is both beautiful and globally significant.

01:46New Lanark.

01:47It's important as an early and very fine example of a model factory village.

02:06For most people, one name comes to mind when thinking of New Lanark.

02:10Robert Owen.

02:13Undoubtedly, Owen was key in the development of the area.

02:16However, the man who started it all,

02:18and arguably the unsung hero of New Lanark,

02:21was David Dale.

02:22Dale was actually Owen's father-in-law.

02:25Dale was a self-made man,

02:26a pioneer in employee welfare,

02:29regularly donating to charities.

02:30But his crowning achievement

02:32was the stunning New Lanark.

02:35Dale was born in 1739

02:36and brought up by a poor family in Ayrshire.

02:39But his hard work and determination paid off.

02:42He went from a weaver's apprentice

02:43to a textile merchant

02:44and ultimately opened up the new Lanark mill.

02:48He was brought here by an MP called George Dempster.

02:51Now, George Dempster was very concerned

02:53with displaced people following the Highland clearances.

02:57And he looked to wealthy merchants

02:59to set up enterprises

03:00to provide employment and accommodation.

03:02So he invited Richard Arkwright and David Dale

03:06to the Royal Borough of Lanark

03:08and decided that because the river's quite unusual here,

03:11it's extremely fast for its width,

03:13this would be an ideal place

03:14to site a water-powered cotton mill.

03:17The three men started working together,

03:20but both Dempster and Arkwright

03:21left the project early on,

03:23leaving Dale to take charge.

03:27David Dale is most famous

03:29as a benevolent entrepreneur or a philanthropist.

03:32He decided to implement changes

03:35that were really quite revolutionary

03:36for this sort of enterprise.

03:39As you can see from all the machinery around me,

03:42I am currently in the mill room.

03:44This is where all the workers

03:45would work from dawn till dusk every day

03:47on machinery very similar

03:49to the machines that are behind me right now.

03:52Dale felt it was important

03:53to ensure the welfare of his workers,

03:55which was pioneering at the time.

03:57In fact, to many of his workers,

03:59Dale was seen as a kind

04:00and paternalistic manager.

04:02He believed in offering

04:03not just employment,

04:05but also board and lodging

04:06and the chance to learn new skills

04:08to keep workers healthy and happy.

04:11There was a definite philanthropic element

04:13in the creation and management

04:15of New Lanark,

04:17and that's important too,

04:18is the notion that wealthy people

04:20have a responsibility.

04:21In the late 17 and 1800s,

04:31it was commonplace for children

04:33to be working in mills,

04:34especially those so-called

04:35apprentice or pauper children.

04:38Orphans were regularly brought in

04:40from the charity workhouses

04:41in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

04:44What David Dale did differently

04:45was value the welfare

04:46and of course the education

04:48of the children.

04:49There's a value that Robert Owen

04:50took on, developed

04:51and created this very classroom

04:53that we're standing in right now.

04:56Robert Owen made education compulsory

04:57and he banned the use of child labour

05:00so any workers under the age of 10

05:02were not permitted to work

05:04in New Lanark Mills

05:05and instead were sent to school.

05:12New Lanark Mill became famous,

05:14not just here in Scotland,

05:15but across Europe and America

05:17with visitors flocking to see

05:19the successful business.

05:21But not just that,

05:22they wanted to see business,

05:23philanthropy and education

05:25all working together successfully

05:27for the first time.

05:28In a five-year period,

05:30New Lanark had something like

05:313,000 visitors,

05:33mill owners and entrepreneurs

05:34from across the world

05:35to come and see what was going on here

05:38and to see how it worked out

05:39with the quite scary and draconian

05:42ideals of steam-powered factories.

05:45Dale's kindness and charity

05:49is much documented

05:50and was undoubtedly inspired

05:52by his religious beliefs.

05:55His religious beliefs

05:57coloured everything he did.

05:59He was a supporter

06:00of the establishment

06:02of the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow,

06:05the Trades House of Glasgow

06:06and a man who always had an eye

06:09to the public good.

06:10Dale died in March 1806,

06:15at his home in Glasgow.

06:16On the day of his funeral,

06:17the shops in the city all closed

06:19and crowds gathered on the streets

06:21to pay their final respects.

06:24He was a splendid man,

06:27an absolute model

06:28for what a man can do.

06:35New Lanark continued to be a working mill

06:37until it closed in 1968.

06:40Afterwards, it fell into disrepair.

06:43It was painstakingly restored

06:44and, in 2001,

06:46became a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

06:48not just celebrating its natural beauty,

06:51but also its international importance.

06:54The ideas that were put into practice here

06:56in this small village,

06:57started by David Dale,

06:59have gone on to have a huge global impact,

07:01not only on our businesses,

07:02but on all of our working lives.

07:10New Lanark is one of my favourite places.

07:12It is beautiful.

07:13It was amazing.

07:14Great stories as well.

07:15Well, in keeping with the industrial theme,

07:17I'm off to East Weems in Fife now

07:19to learn about the coal mining industry

07:21in Scotland

07:21and the scene of a very tragic accident.

07:24Employing over 2,000 workers,

07:33producing 17,000 tonnes of coal per week,

07:36the Michael Colliery

07:36was the largest mine of its kind in Scotland.

07:40Mining was hot, physical work,

07:43deep underground,

07:45and all for this,

07:46the power of the nation, coal.

07:48The Scottish coal industry

07:52over a couple of hundred years

07:54from the late 18th century

07:56till the 1980s

07:57was an incredibly important

07:59sort of cog in the Scottish economic wheel.

08:01Coming into the 60s,

08:03a lot of the pits were closing down.

08:04Power stations gradually going on to nuclear

08:06and the men with the knowledge

08:09were drifting away from the pits.

08:12Working in a coal mine

08:13was a very dangerous job

08:15with a constant threat of injury

08:17and even death.

08:19Every miner goes to work

08:20with fear in his heart

08:21and death at his elbow.

08:23Death from gas,

08:25flood, explosion, fire, roof falls.

08:29He can never be sure.

08:30And although every precaution is taken,

08:32especially today,

08:33everything is done

08:34to make pits safe

08:35as far as they can be made safe,

08:37but a pit's an unpredictable place.

08:39On the 9th of September, 1967,

08:42workers at the Michael Colliery

08:43discovered how unpredictable

08:45a mine could be.

08:46The pits in this area

08:49were prone to spontaneous combustion,

08:51which means that the coal

08:52can go and fire at any time.

08:55There was a fire discovered

08:56during the night shift

08:57at about 3.30 in the morning,

08:59and at that point

09:00there were 311 men underground.

09:023,000 feet below the surface,

09:04the pit was filling with flames and smoke.

09:08The inquiry afterwards

09:09said that the cause of the fire

09:10was spontaneous combustion of coal.

09:12But one of the big problems

09:13was that there was some polyurethane lining

09:16in some of the tunnels.

09:19The coal board hoped the polyurethane

09:21would curb the combustion,

09:22but the consequences were catastrophic.

09:25That caught fire,

09:27which produced some really noxious fumes

09:29and also some really dark black smoke,

09:33so it made visibility very, very poor.

09:37This is what it must have been like

09:39for the miners in the Michael Colliery,

09:42deep underground,

09:43where it was dark and claustrophobic

09:46and so, so far from help.

09:49One of the deputies at Michael realised

09:51that there were people working on the coal face,

09:53but they couldn't be reached by telephone,

09:56and he actually went down himself to the face,

09:58found this group of men,

10:00organised them so that they came back up to the surface,

10:03basically in a chain,

10:05holding onto the belt of the man in front.

10:08Similar acts of bravery occurred

10:10throughout the colliery

10:11as courageous miners put their lives on the line

10:14to rescue their co-workers.

10:16and friends.

10:18Of the 311 that entered the pit that night,

10:21nine lives were claimed by the blaze.

10:25It was just the people's faces,

10:28and the fear and the worry,

10:29and the smoke spewing out the number two pit shaft.

10:33You know, as a miner,

10:34you realise that that was really serious stuff,

10:37and we didn't think there was going to be any chance

10:39of getting as many men out as they did get out,

10:42but if it hadn't been for the efforts of the rescue

10:44and some of the miners themselves,

10:46if it went back into the smoke,

10:47a lot more people would have died.

10:50But the impact of the inferno

10:52would extend beyond the initial tragedy.

10:58Such a tragic story,

10:59and we'll be finding out more about it again in part two,

11:01so make sure you join us after the break

11:03here on the People's History Show.

11:04See you after the break.

11:21Welcome back to the People's History Show.

11:22Still to come, the History Girls,

11:24Rachel and Karen,

11:25tell us how the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival

11:27helped rejuvenate the city.

11:29But before the break,

11:31I was finding out that one of the worst accidents

11:33in Scotland's coal mining history.

11:35Let's return now to the story

11:36of the Michael Colliery disaster.

11:46Smoke continues to belch from the pit,

11:48and that means that the fight to contain this fire

11:50is still going on six days after the disaster.

11:53But one thing is certain,

11:54the men who are tackling this blaze

11:55know they are fighting for very high stakes indeed.

11:58The purse is 44 million tonnes of coal

12:00and jobs for over a thousand men

12:02for many years to come.

12:04You ask any miner or his family in Fife tonight,

12:06and they'll tell you it's a great fight to win.

12:10Workers at the Michael hoped

12:11the devastation of the fire was finally over.

12:15But the future of the colliery hung in the balance.

12:19I think the colliery can open again,

12:21and we are arguing with the board

12:23and with the government at the present moment

12:25to ensure that the first thing

12:27is the restoration of the colliery

12:28and the maintaining of jobs in this area.

12:31We never thought for one minute

12:32the mine was going to close

12:34because there was news flowing through

12:36for the unions

12:37that there was a £5 million investment

12:39agreed with the government

12:40that would get the Michael back on production.

12:44As the flames continued to rise,

12:46so too did the cost of repairing

12:48the extensive damage caused by the blaze.

12:50If you can't contain the fire,

12:53what's going to happen?

12:59The problem will then be

13:03as to whether or not we seal at the shafts.

13:07And that's exactly what happened.

13:10In December 1967, the shafts were sealed

13:13and the Michael colliery was closed for good.

13:16The Michael colliery had been there about 80 years,

13:21so that's what four generations of people

13:22had lived by it, had worked for it, etc.

13:26And for that to suddenly overnight, basically,

13:29disappear from the economy of the area

13:31was quite a blow.

13:32In the aftermath of the Michael colliery disaster,

13:43new safety measures were introduced

13:45to reduce the risks for future generations,

13:48including the mandatory use of self-rescuers.

13:52But this is a story not just of tragedy

13:54and safety reforms,

13:56but of the heroism of the men

13:57who put their own lives on the line

13:59for their colleagues and their friends.

14:02I think the bravery of the individuals involved

14:05should be remembered.

14:06But actually, overall,

14:07I think it's the clear level-headedness

14:11of the people that were underground

14:13and the people that were running that shift.

14:15Their quick, decisive action

14:16in getting on the telephone

14:18and warning people

14:19and actually just staying calm

14:21and not panicking

14:21while people evacuated,

14:23I think that's well worth remembering

14:25because it was a very bad accident, obviously,

14:28but it could have been so much worse.

14:30And it was that composure,

14:32compassion and sense of community

14:34that saved hundreds of souls

14:35at the Michael colliery.

14:49Such a sad story.

14:50Yeah, it really, really is.

14:52But we're moving on in Glasgow now

14:53to find out how the 1988 Garden Festival

14:56transformed the city.

14:58Here are Rachel and Karen to tell us more.

15:09The River Clyde has always been known for shipbuilding,

15:12but after World War II,

15:13it dramatically reduced.

15:15By the 1970s,

15:16the industrial boom was over.

15:19The industry had declined.

15:21The once-bustling shipyards became deserted,

15:24relics of a bygone age.

15:26It was a really bleak city in those days.

15:29It was very grimy, dirty,

15:31not entirely safe,

15:33but it was very friendly.

15:35It was a lot of unemployment.

15:37There wasn't much going on in the town.

15:42However, hope was not lost.

15:44In the 1980s,

15:45an idea was developed

15:47to rejuvenate industrial areas in Britain.

15:49The concept was based on a German idea

15:51called Bundesgardenschau.

15:54Bi-annual horticultural festivals

15:56with the aim of reclaiming large areas of derelict land.

16:00This led to the creation of the National Garden Festivals.

16:03There were five in total.

16:07Liverpool,

16:08Stoke-on-Trent,

16:09Gateshead,

16:10Ebu Valley,

16:11and of course,

16:12Glasgow,

16:12which was by far the most popular.

16:15It was very, very difficult to imagine it

16:17before it took place.

16:19I mean,

16:19Glasgow today is

16:20a tourist destination.

16:23Back then,

16:24Glasgow was a place that people avoided.

16:27It was exciting to have something so big

16:28to come to my city,

16:29especially as

16:31I've been to the Garden Festival in Liverpool.

16:33We stayed in Govan,

16:35so you've seen all the construction of it

16:37as it was going along.

16:39And it was a good time for Glasgow to have.

16:44The Garden Festival logo

16:46was designed by one of Scotland's

16:48first female graphic designers.

16:51One of my bosses came

16:52burling into the room

16:53and he said,

16:53we've got a chance at this great big job.

16:55And he said,

16:56I'm kind of busy.

16:57Would you mind having a go

16:59at doing a second idea for me,

17:01just in case the first one bombs,

17:03you know?

17:03And I had a kind of sense

17:05of what people might really want

17:07was to sort of be in the sunshine

17:09and enjoy each other's company

17:11and, you know,

17:13live a kind of better life.

17:15And I thought,

17:15that's what I want to do with this logo.

17:17I want to capture that sense of happiness.

17:25When I saw an Empire Biscuit,

17:27I knew that something really special had happened.

17:31People liked it that much.

17:35Thursday, 26th of April, 1988,

17:37was the big day.

17:40The Garden Festival was opened officially

17:43by Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

17:45I think they had a ball

17:50because they were looking

17:52from one side to the other side

17:53where everybody dressed differently

17:54and you could just,

17:55I mean,

17:56Diana's face was just a picture.

17:57She was just smiling the whole time.

17:59That's the picture of them

18:01because we were that close.

18:04The festival was something new and exciting,

18:07not only for Scots,

18:08but it also attracted

18:09international visitors.

18:11Over its 152-day run,

18:22a staggering 4.3 million people

18:24came to the festival,

18:26including one million from overseas.

18:29But what was there to do

18:30for people visiting the festival?

18:33One thing that struck me

18:34was it was not so much about plants

18:37as you would think.

18:41Everybody was out to enjoy themselves.

18:52Chinese Garden, I loved.

18:54At that point,

18:54I never ever thought

18:55I'd go into travel,

18:56so I never ever thought

18:57at that point

18:57I will ever get to China.

19:00There was a kind of secret forest

19:01wooded area a bit up the back,

19:03which is, I think,

19:05around about where

19:05the science centre

19:06in the harbour area is now.

19:08And that used to be really good.

19:09You could go in there

19:10and pretty much get yourself lost

19:11and nobody would find you.

19:18The Coca-Cola rollercoaster,

19:19that was great fun.

19:21That was great fun.

19:22There was always a cue for that.

19:24But it was good.

19:25I mean, it was worth the wait.

19:26You could get all this

19:35for a £15 season ticket.

19:37What a bargain.

19:39So it meant that you could go

19:40every day if you wanted to.

19:41We went nearly every day,

19:42even if it was only for

19:43half an hour a day

19:44or an hour a day.

19:45You could have a stressful day

19:46and walk in there.

19:47As soon as you walked in there,

19:48you were as calm as anything.

19:50So it was worth every single penny

19:53it was great for them.

20:01Like all good parties,

20:03it eventually had to end.

20:04So in September 1988,

20:06the gates closed

20:07for the very last time.

20:10It was a shame it closed

20:11because it was

20:11about six months going.

20:14You were so thankful

20:15that it had happened

20:16in the first place.

20:18I was hoping they would

20:19keep some of it in situ.

20:21That was probably

20:21the saddest part,

20:22the fact that you knew

20:23there was going to be

20:23absolutely nothing left.

20:30Sadly, not much remains.

20:32But in the spirit of the event,

20:34this small festival park

20:35was left as a legacy.

20:38It seemed to be the first

20:39big international event

20:41we had for a long time.

20:42after all the unemployment

20:45that it just seemed

20:46to spark life

20:47into Glasgow again.

20:49Glasgow has a lot

20:50to show the world.

20:51There are great things

20:52to see here.

20:53It was just a question

20:54of being able

20:55to take that step

20:57and look outward.

21:00And I think that's what

21:01the Garden Festival did.

21:04Only two years later,

21:06Glasgow was named

21:07European City of Culture.

21:09And in 1999,

21:10Glasgow was the UK

21:11city of architecture

21:12and design.

21:13And this continued

21:14right up until

21:15the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

21:18I think it represented

21:19kind of hope.

21:21Hope for the future.

21:22It represented a hope

21:24for regeneration itself.

21:27And I think that hope

21:29over the years

21:30transformed itself

21:32into a reality.

21:33Oh, what an amazing event

21:45that was, Fergus.

21:47Well, sadly,

21:47that's all we've got time for.

21:49Thanks for watching.

21:50Good night.

21:51Good night.

21:52Good night.

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