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Gresford Colliery

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Gresford mamorial

Gresford

Gresford mamorial

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Gresford Colliery was a coal mine located a mile from the North Wales village of Gresford, near Wrexham. The North Wales Coalfield, of which Gresford was part, runs from Point of Ayr, on the Flintshire coast to the Shropshire border. Although coal mining records date back to the 15th century, it was not heavily exploited until the 18th century. By 1900, more than 12,500 miners produced three million tonnes a year.

One of the worst mining disasters in the history of Britain occurred at the colliery. The Gresford Disaster occurred on Saturday 22 September 1934, when 266 men died following an underground explosion.

As there was a football match on the Saturday afternoon between Wrexham and Tranmere Rovers, on Friday, 21 September, many miners doubled up their shifts so they could attend the match. This meant there were more miners down the pit than there ordinarily would have been.

The explosion occurred in the Dennis district at around 2am, the time when the men would be having their mid-shift snack. Only six men survived the blast. A fire followed the explosion, and the mine was sealed off at the end of the following day. On 25 September, rescuer George Brown was killed on the surface when another explosion blew a seal off the Dennis shaft and he was hit by flying debris. Only eleven bodies were ever recovered. The mine owners docked the men half a day's pay, as they had not completed a full day's shift.

The Gresford Disaster

(Lyrics: Anonymous)

You've heard of the Gresford Disaster,
Of the terrible price that was paid;
Two hundred and sixty-four colliers were lost,
And three men of the rescue brigade.

It occurred in the month of September
At three in the morning the pit
Was racked by a violent explosion
In the Dennis where gas lay so thick.

Now the gas in the Dennis deep section
Was packed there like snow in a drift,
And many a man had to leave the coal-face
Before he had worked out his shift.

Now a fortnight before the explosion,
To the shotfirer Tomlinson cried,
"If you fire that shot we'll be all blown to hell!"
And no one can say that he lied.

Now the fireman's reports they are missing
The records of forty-two days;
The collier manager had them destroyed
To cover his criminal ways.

Down there in the dark they are lying.
They died for nine shillings a day;
They have worked out their shift and now they must lie
In the darkness until Judgement Day.

Now the Lord Mayor of London's collecting
To help out the children and wives;
The owners have sent some white lilies
To pay for the poor colliers' lives.

Farewell, all our dear wives and our children
Farewell, all our comrades as well,
Don't send your sons down the dark dreary mine
They'll be doomed like the sinners in hell.

Source

The disaster left 591 widows, children, parents and other dependents. In addition, over 1500 miners were temporarily without work, until the colliery was re-opened in January 1936. After each newspaper opened its own fund, they and national donations by September 1935 totaled £565,000. The sum was divided equally split between the Lord Mayor of London's "Mansion House Fund" and the Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire's "Denbighshire Fund." The local committee which met in Wrexham took monies from both funds, and appointed a visitor to ensure that immediate relief was distributed in the form of grants and temporary weekly allowances.

The two funds were amalgamated in July 1935, under the provision of a trust deed to form the Gresford Colliery Disaster Relief Fund, with three trustees: the Lord Mayor of London, the Governor of the Bank of England and the Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire. They devolved power to a local administration committee, who paid monies via an honorary actuary. The fund was wound up after the deaths of the last dependents, and donated residual monies to the creation of the memorial to the victims unveiled in 1982.

Coal mining was the only employment in the area at the time and people were desperate for work, minors were paid about £90 ($115) per week in today's currency. Wrexham's Co-chairman Rob McElhenney has mining connections in his family on his fathers side. In season 2 episode 10 of the documentary Welcome to Wrexham, Rob McElhenney stated that plans were in place to relocate one of the colliery wheels from the mamorial to the SToK Cae Ras (The Racecourse) as part of the new Kop development.