Coal has been extracted from the Cardowan area since the 1800s and the Cardowan Colliery was begun by James Dunlop & Co who sunk 2 pits between 1924 and 1928. The colliery finally closed on 26 August 1983 and shortly afterwards the site was cleared to make way for the houses that you can see around GZ.
The mine at Cardowan had several accidents. There was an explosion in 1927; John Kilpatrick , Maurice McBride and George Jackson were killed. GZ is close to the junction of Jackson Drive and Kilpatrick Drive which are named after 2 of these miners. Another explosion in 1932 killed 11 miners; William Bradley, Michael Flynn, Peter Frati, William McAlister, John McNab, James McVey, Richard Maroney, George Mullen, James Reynolds, John Watt and John Whiteford. Other streets on the estate are named after some of those victims. In 1982 there was another explosion 1700 feet underground and 2 miles from the pit head, resulting in 41 injuries. Further details can be found on Wikipedia.
Since placing the cache, a memorial has been built at the end of Kirkpatrick Drive to commemorate the miners. The memorial has been built at the near the site of the colliery gates.
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