James Gilfillan

James Gilfillan delivers a lyrical elegy for his childhood in Glasgow. His memoir provides details of life in a mining family from the point of view of a small boy, recalling his basic education, his environment and his memories of having to scrub his father's back after the latter's return from the mine. He also notes the irony of growing up to work in the same job that would end his father's life.

The Great Depression hit Glasgow hard, with only a third of the mines that were sunk in the previous century remaining operative. By 1947, the year of nationalisation of the mines, just five pits survived.