The 89th anniversary of the Gresford Colliery disaster, which killed 266 men and boys, is today.
Few people in North Wales need to be reminded of the importance of September 22. The Gresford Colliery catastrophe of 1934, which claimed 266 lives, is an indelible part of our history.
The tragedy was something we regularly wrote about throughout my ten years as a writer for the Daily Post, beginning in 1989, says Ian Herbert. The tribute to the lost – a massive wheel retrieved from the pithead winding mechanism that was ultimately built at Pandy, in the grounds of the Gresford Colliery Club, in 1982 – brings it to mind.
Gresford had to be a cornerstone when the opportunity to publish a book documenting the amazing previous few years in Wrexham emerged. “Tinseltown” is the title of my novel. It weaves the tales of the people and places, the history and identity that shape the area. Gresford has its own chapter in my book.
A total of 500 men signed in for a double shift all those years ago, intending to work till Saturday morning so they could witness Wrexham face Tranmere Rovers on Saturday, September 22. A thrilling match was predicted. Tranmere Rovers lead the Third Division Northern division with 11 points from a potential 12. Wrexham were also undefeated.
READ MORE: ‘I watched as they hauled the dead up, expecting to locate Dad’ – the last witness to the mining accident dies
A tremendous explosion burst into the Dennis sector of the mine, where more than half of the workers on that shift were working, at 2.08 a.m. that morning, without warning. A fire broke out, closing off all access routes to the remaining parts. Over 250 soldiers were stranded on the wrong side of a fire, gas and tumbling rocks, with no way out and no prospect of rescue.
Only six of the men who worked in this region survived. Only 11 corpses were discovered. Geoff Charles, a teenage reporter for the Wrexham Star, was among the first on the scene following the explosion, having been alerted by his nursing girlfriend. Hospitals and physicians were swiftly notified of the incident in order to prepare for an inflow of casualties.
Charles had recently finished his catastrophe reporting course, especially in covering mining disasters. He understood that going straight to the lamproom at the pithead was the quickest way to obtain a solid idea of how many miners were missing.
The pit owners published a statement claiming that up to 100 miners were trapped underground, which was extensively reported in national publications. Geoff Charles reported with some assurance that the number of missing lamps was likely to be at least 200.
The article was chastised at first for exaggerating the data, but Charles’ statements were quickly proven true. The medical crew waited for the wounded to arrive, but there were none.
