Gillham, John

John Gillham was born on July 27, 1886 in Bolton, Lancaster, England. He married Edith Thompson, likely in England. He died on March 17, 1971 at home (538 Auburn Crescent) in Princeton, BC. He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery.

Edith and John Gillman came to Canada in 1909. In 1911, they were living in Princeton and he was working in a mine. The Princeton Star reported that they had moved into Princeton from Blakeburn in 1924. The 1931 Census shows that they were living in Princeton in 1931 and he was working as a fireboss.

He completed building his house in Princeton in May 1929.

John Gillman was employed by the Vermilion Forks Mining Company (later Princeton Land and Coal Company). In 1929, there is reference in the newspaper to his employment at the Copper Mountain mine. In October 1935, the Similkameen Star reported that he had joined the supervising staff at the Blue Flame Mine and in November that he was now the manager of the mine. However, in September 1938, he was living in Princeton and working at Copper Mountain. In March 1943, the couple moved to Telkwa, BC, where John Gillham accepted a position as manager of the Telcoal Company mine. He retired in 1948.

John Gillham was one of the organizers of the first-ever first aid competition at the Princeton Dominion Day celebrations in 1929. He was the captain of the wining five man man, three man and the two man teams from Copper Mountain. He competed in the first three annual events. In the fourth year (1932), due economic restraints, only Blakeburn and Princeton competed at the competition.

He served on the first board of the Princeton Center of the St. John Ambulance Association in 1930. In 1932, he was vice president. In that year, the association held their meetings in the Mine Rescue Station in Princeton. Their main event was the annual Princeton & District’s Ambulance and Mine Safety Association’s Annual Competition at Allison Flats. He was still on the executive in 1936. He was named Secretary in 1938 (and the newspaper reported that he was from Copper Mountain). He retired as secretary-treasurer but continued to support the event as field manager in 1940 and 1942.

He was installed as Nobel Grand in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in January 1937.

After the mine explosion at Blakeburn (August 13, 1930), he served as a Princeton man on Blakeburn rescue duty. He later gave evidence at the inquest. The Similkameen Star, on October 9, 1930 (pages 4, 5) reported: “J. Gillham, holder of first class miner’s certificate expressed the opinion that gas in the mine when he entered after the explosion was a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. He said the flame safety lamp was burning in the main slope.”

In 1945, they were living in Michel, BC. They returned to Princeton in 1948.

See also: Gillham, Edith (Thompson)