Dear Fellow Listers; I recently read the following information concerning Safety Lamps used in Coal Mining, and after having some communication with a fellow researcher regarding Coal Mining in Kilmarnock I thought this would not only interest her, but possibly some on this List. The following pertains to the use of Safety Lamps in the Coalfields of Vancouver Island, and the extensive use of "The Kilmarnock Lamp". The method by which a miner lighted his work was an emotional issue, charged with the difference between life and death. Naked flame, whether from a candle, which was used in Britain until the end of the nineteenth century, or from a fish oil lamp, the light of choice on Vancouver Island, both which could cause an explosion in the presence of methane gas. Sir Humphrey Davy had addressed the problem of naked flame lamps in 1815 when he discovered the qualities of wire gauze. From that date it was possible to supply miners with a lamp that would not cause explosions, but no one was able to supply a lamp to give enough light to satisfy the working miner. The early shallow mines of the Nanaimo coalfield were said to have the "least possible trace of firedamp", so the Davy lamp was deemed unnecessary. It is likely that the first English miners to arrive were accustomed to candles, but the Scottish miners were used to oil lamps, and since the Scots were the first miners to arrive it is likely that their preference prevailed. The first lamps made by the blacksmith drew complaints from the miners because the spout was only half the height of the lamp, therefore wasting more oil than it burned allowing the fishy extract to run down the forehead of the miner. "The Kilmarnock Lamp" then came to the rescue. A tinsmith in Fort Victoria was instructed to copy a lamp sent down by Joseph MCKAY. This lamp very likely belonged to Ayrshire's Robert DUNSMUIR or Boyd GILMOUR and was a vast improvement over the homemade ones the miners had complained about. A hinged lid fitted down snuggly over a beveled rim well soldered into place, and a two-layered spout allowed excess oil to run back down into the lamp. This homely little pot, functional but ungainly was fitted onto the soft caps of thousands of Vancouver Island coalminers over the next sixty years. Very dangerous, but bright, the "Kilmarnock Lamp" was used until electric lights replaced them in 1917. On a personal note, I have searched for years to add one to my own collection, but there are few surviving Kilmarnock Lamps to be found. I have seen 3 in the mining museums here on the Island and one in a private collection. There is a list of approx. 3000 miners at http://www.rootsweb.com/~canbc/chinese.htm This is a database of miners signing a Petition against Chinese and Japanese workers in Coal Mines. From the Sessional Papers of the British Columbia Government. May be worth a look for those "lost: miners on your search. Footnote: Boyd GILMOUR returned to Scotland and lived his life out in Riccarton, dying there in 1860. With regards, Linda ........... Researching Ayrshire's PENNAL, LOGAN, LOVE, MCKEAN, REID, FREW, YUILL, KILPATRICK, & JAMPHRA