Archivist Rory Green continues his journey through the fascinating collections at the Lochaber Archive Centre.
I recently came across some interesting records relating to the silica sand mine in Lochaline, Morvern.
This small but significant collection contains all manner of materials, from National Insurance Accident Books, employee index cards, correspondence, newspaper cuttings and photographs, to the letters and drawings of Lochaline Primary School children following their visit to the mine in the early 00s.
Being from Strontian, a village not too far from Lochaline, and knowing many people who either work or have worked in some capacity at the sand mine, I was eager to have a delve.
I thought I would share a few interesting finds with you in this article and encourage anyone interested in the mine to visit our searchroom for a proper look.
The Lochaline silica sand mine is one of only two underground mines in Scotland and is Europe’s only underground sand mine.
Until the Second World War, high grade silica sand was primarily sourced in mines not far from Paris. When France became occupied by Germany, such a rich deposit of silica had to be located elsewhere.
This was to be Lochaline on the Morvern peninsula and thus a mine was established there in 1940.
The sand from the Lochaline mine was invaluable in the war effort, being used in the glass in bomb aiming sites and submarine periscopes.
The mine has been in operation ever since, closing briefly between 2008 and 2012.
It was perhaps a grim curiosity that first drew me to the accident books, dating from 1969-1979. However, the two small volumes are an illuminating record of the type of work undertaken by sand mine employees and the physical dangers that accompany such work.
Injury to the eyes is a recurrent theme. For example, in the crushing plant, a piece of sandstone flying off the impactor during crushing and striking an employee in the eye and the eye of an employee being burnt instead of the intended target of ‘old bolts and rusty metal’.
I also found a letter, dated November 1968, in which bosses at the mine agree to co-operate with a doctor regularly called out to employees ‘suffering from the immediate and after effects of excessive alcohol consumption’.
However, those in charge write that, ‘in all fairness’ they possess only ‘limited control over the private lives of employees and could not attempt to regulate their drinking habits in any way’.
The phrase about working hard and playing hard comes to mind.
The Lochaber Archive Centre is open from 10am-4:30pm on a Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
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