David Colraine led a group of friends in starting up the Clydebank Asbestos Group (CAG) in 1992, aimed to provide support, advice and information for victims of asbestos and their families.

On Friday, October 14, CAG celebrates 30 years of helping sufferers of diseases such as Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, and Asbestosis.

Speaking to the Post, David explained it was a friend who was suffering with illness that convinced him something had to be done.

He said: “It was a friend who was dying from cancer.

“He had been a big strapping man and when I looked at him he was a shell of a man. I decided something had to be done.

“Four of us started it, but no, I could never have envisioned it would have grown to and helped the people it has.

“We started it for justice for asbestos victims, to get something done.”

Clydebank has a long association with asbestos and the asbestos industry.

The town was named the asbestos capital of Europe due to the high scale of heavy industry in the area.

As such, it was proposed by CAG that there should be a memorial in Clydebank for the known and unknown victims of asbestos disease.

This was built on Glasgow Road, overlooked by the Titan Crane, and was unveiled in May 2015.

The Queen Elizabeth II built at John Brown’s in Clydebank between 1965 and 1967 provides a prime example of the extensive use of asbestos in ship construction at this time, and at peak more than 3,000 workers were employed in the ship’s construction.

Many of these, across a whole range of trades (including laggers, joiners, plumbers, French polishers, plasterers, and electricians) were exposed to asbestos dust.

Rachel Gallagher, charity co-ordinator at the group, told the Post: “Clydebank Asbestos Group is very much part of the local community.

“It was set up because of the high number of people in Clydebank being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.

“At the core of what the charity does is to provide support to victims of asbestos and we have become a real campaigning force over the years.”

The group will mark their special anniversary with a celebration event at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel.

The night will honour all the volunteers that have helped over the years, people who founder David says have been vital to the growth of the organisation.

He added “Of you don’t have volunteers, you don’t have anything. It’s volunteers who have kept everything going.”