Senghenydd Colliery Disaster Memorial

POETS day today and the rain had stopped and sun came out, I even managed to drop the roof on the Mazda, although it was freezing. I drove up to the Senghenydd Colliery Disaster Memorial, I hadn't visited yet and had the place to myself.

Senghenydd is our neighbouring village, most people probably wouldn't have heard of the small mining village, but today the worlds media came to pay a visit for the Centenary of the worst mining pit disaster in the UK.

This is what I wrote last year!

On the 13th October 1913 an explosion killed 439 miners and a rescuer at the Universal Colliery. It 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. It was not the first time tragedy had hit the village, a few miles along the Aber Valley from Caerphilly.
An explosion at the colliery in 1901 killed 81 men and there was criticism that the pit owners did not learn the lessons from it. A report following that explosion recommended certain safety procedures should be followed. An extended deadline of September 1913 to implement the safety measure was missed by the mine bosses. Just six weeks later, 439 miners and a rescuer died when another blast ripped through the colliery.
Families were left devastated, Husbands, Father, Brothers and Sons were killed. Not a house in the village was left untouched by the incident. And the compensation paid to wives who lost their husbands by the pit owner? One Shilling and one penny, and one bag of coal, providing the wife stayed chaste.

The weather has reverted to type and the rain is slamming into the house, but it is the weekend and I'm glad to see it, have a great time my friends, stay safe and dry

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