General Chat

Dear All

Thank you very much for adding to the post.

It is much appreciated.


Take gentle care
Sincere wishes
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

R.I.P

don't forget Gleishon

One of my OH's great uncles on his mother's side was killed in the Senghenydd explosion. Annie, I think he was one of those whose wife and family were evicted from their house. Alun and I have tried to find out more about him and his family, but there are so many names the same it's difficult to find out anymore information about them.

Sallie.x

There was a bad explosion in Cwm in the 1920s. It's heartbreaking to walk through the cemetery there and see the graves of sons and the fathers from the same family. In Senghenydd the families lived in houses owned by the colliery so were evicted when the breadwinner was no longer there and they couldn't pay the rent which compounded their utter misery.

Annie

All of these disasters since 1959:

WALTON. Wakefield, Yorkshire. 22nd. April, 1959.
AUCHENGEICH. Chryston, Lanarkshire. 18th. September, 1959 - 47 suffocated
BICKERSHAW. Leigh, Lancashire 10th. October, 1959.
SIX BELLS. Newport, Monmouthshire. 28th. June, 1960.
HAPTON VALLEY. Burnley, Lancashire. 22nd. March, 1962.
TOWER. Hirwaun, Glamorganshire. 12th. April, 1962
BARONY, Ayrshire 8 Nov 1962 – 4 killed by fall
CAMBRIAN. Rhondda, Glamorganshire. 17th. May, 1965.
ABERFAN. Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire. 21st. October, 1966.
MICHAEL. Fife, Fifeshire. 9th. September, 1967. 9 killed by fire
CYNHEIDRE-PENTREMAWR. Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. 6th. April, 1971.
LOFTHOUSE. Wakefield, Yorkshire. 21st. March, 1973.
SEAFIELD. Kirkaldy, Fife. 10th. May, 1973. 5 killed.
MARKHAM. Chesterfield, Derbyshire. 30th. July, 1973.
HOUGHTON MAIN. Barnsley, Yorkshire. 12th June, 1975.
BENTLEY. Doncaster, Yorkshire. 21st. November, 1978.
GOLBORNE. Golborne, Lancashire. 18th. March, 1979.

And we have had fatalities very recently in a drift mine in Neath Valley. Lest we forget

such a high price to pay for coal

So many people have ancestors who suffered in the cause of "black" gold. It gave them a good wage, good living and made mining villages what they are today.

But there is hardly a cemetery that does not have a mass grave for miners following one disaster or another.

In May 1965, there was an explosion in the Cambrian (pronounced Cam - Brian with stress on Cam) in Clydach Vale in Rhondda (place where Tommy Farr, boxer, was born). 31 fatalities were buried across the valley in Trealaw (home of Speaker George Thomas, MP).

And, of course, a year later, we had that terrible slurry slip on the school in Aberfan in the nearby Taff Valley (near Merthyr Tydfil). 21st October 1966 - 116 children and 28 adults died.

I think it is good that future generations can learn about these tragedies when they visit places like Big Pit, Aberfan and Senghennydd.

Thanks so much for posting, Elizabeth :-)

Dear All

Hello


A national memorial was unveiled to mark the event and other mining tragedies
in Wales.

Hundreds of people turned out in the streets of the Caerphilly county village where an explosion killed 439 miners and a rescuer at the Universal Colliery
on 14 October, 1913.


Descendants of the men and boys who died were among those who attended.

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The explosion happened just after 8am and had been caused by a build up of firedamp (methane) gas being ignited.

The blast disturbed coal dust on the mine floor, raising clouds that then also caught alight, spreading the destruction further.

The fire was mainly confined to the west side of the mine, with the east side blocked with noxious gases.

The result was over 400 men trapped underground.

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Following the unveilings, a minute's silence was held before the UK and Welsh national anthems were sung, and a hooter marked the end of the service.


Senghenydd is a village that has not forgotten those who did not come home
that day.


This post is dedicated to those who died.


Take gentle care
Sincere wishes
Elizabeth, EOS
xx