Carmel McMurdo Audsley

Ours, Yours and Mines tells the story of the McMurdo families living in overcrowded miners' rows in Ayrshire Scotland in the mid-1800s to early 1900s. The story begins with Thomas and Margaret McMurdo and their growing family and describes their simple lives crowded into a two-room dwelling. You will be introduced to their children, and particularly their eldest son George who (against her mother's wishes) marries 18-year-old Mary Hamilton, a carefree, educated young woman. If there must be a heroine in this story, then it is surely Mary for she is courageous and true in the face of great hardship. You will read of the family's friendship with well-known union activist Keir Hardie. It is a story about the struggles of the miners and their families - the men who slaved away underground facing daily dangers, and the women who worked hard, bearing and raising large families and praying that their men would return unharmed from the pits. There is a sense of overwhelming sadness - and to make the story more poignant, it actually happened.… (mehr)