Gresford disaster

The memorial at Gresford Heath, incorporating the old pit wheel, commemorating the victims of the Gresford disaster.

The Gresford Disaster occurred on September 22, 1934 at Gresford Colliery, Gresford near Wrexham, in north-east Wales when an explosion killed 266 men and boys. The cause was never proved but an inquiry found that a number of factors such as failures in safety procedures and poor mine management contributed to the disaster. Gresford remains one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters and mining accidents. Only eleven bodies were ever recovered, the remains of the other victims were left underground when the damaged sections of the mine were permanently sealed.

Background

Work began sinking the pit at Gresford in 1908 by Westminster and United Collieries Group. Two shafts were sunk 50 yards (46 m) apart: the Dennis (named after the industrialist Dennis family of Ruabon who were the pit owners) and the Martin. Work was completed in 1911. The mine was one of the deepest in the Denbighshire Coalfield with the Dennis shaft reaching depths of about 2,264 feet (690 m) and the Martin shaft about 2,252 feet (686 m).

By 1934, 2,200 coal miners were employed at the colliery, with 1,850 working underground and 350 on the surface. Three coal seams were worked at Gresford: the Crank, Brassey, and Main.

The explosion would occur in the Dennis section of the Main seam. This section was divided into six "districts": 20's, 61's, 109's, 14's and 29's. The sixth district was a very deep area known as the "95's and 24's". All the districts in Dennis were worked by the longwall system where the coal face was mined in single blocks. All the districts in the Dennis section were mechanised except 20's and 61's, which were still worked by hand, because they were furthest from the main shaft.

Conditions in the mine prior to the explosion were presented into evidence at the inquiry into the disaster. Firstly underground mine ventilation in some districts of Dennis were probably inadequate, in particular, the 14's and 29's districts were notorious for poor air quality. The main return airway for the 109's, 14's and 29's districts was said to be 4 feet (1.2 m) by 4 feet (1.2 m) and far too small to provide adequate ventilation. Secondly working conditions in the 2,600 feet (790 m) deep 95's and 24's district was always uncomfortably hot. Thirdly there were also numerous breaches of safety regulations such as the firing of explosive charges in 14's district and the failure to take of dust samples.

The disaster inquiry was told one of the pit deputies (whose job was in theory to oversee the safety of the workings) admitted that he also carried out shotfiring during his shifts, in addition to his other duties. It was revealed that he fired more charges during his shift than a full-time shotfirer could have safely carried out. Furthermore the colliery had made an operating loss in 1933, and the pit manager, William Bonsall, had been under pressure from the Dennis family to increase profitability. He admitted he had spent little time in the Dennis section of the pit in the months before the disaster, as he was overseeing the installation of new machinery in the "Slant", an area in the south-eastern part of the Martin section of the mine.

Explosion

On September 22 at 2:08 a.m. a violent explosion ripped through the northern part of Gresford colliery. The blast reached as far as the entrance to the 29's district, which more than 1 mile (1.6 km) from the bottom of the Dennis shaft. At the time a total of 500 men were working underground at the colliery on the night shift. The night overman, Fred Davies, who was on duty at the bottom of the main shaft, immediately telephoned the surface. Bonsall, the manager, went into the mine to try to establish what had occurred. Workers in the colliery's other section, the Slant, were called to the pit bottom and ordered out of the mine. It was quickly reported that parts of the Dennis main road were on fire beyond the Clutch (a point where the main line took a 60° left deviation) and that a large number of miners, up to half the night shift, could be trapped beyond the blaze.

Only six men escaped from the inferno that engulfed the Dennis districts. The group, named as Robert (Ted) Andrews, Cyril Challoner, Thomas Fisher, David Jones, Albert (Bert) Samuel, and Jack Samuel, was sitting taking a mid-shift break about 300 yards (270 m) north of the Clutch when they felt the initial explosion. A colleague advised them to leave the district via the "wind road" which was the 29's air return drift. Around 30 men working in the 29's district were also told to follow them. But as the six-man lead group went ahead attempting to fan the air to mitigate the effects of the deadly afterdamp, they soon realised the other miners had not followed them. After a long and difficult escape up 1:3 gradients, several ladders, and past rockfalls, the six miners eventually rejoined the Dennis main road and met up with Andrew Williams, the under-manager, who along with Bonsall had immediately descended the Dennis main shaft on being notified of the explosion.

Rescue attempts

By early morning large crowds of concerned relatives and off-duty miners had gathered silently at the pit head awaiting news. Volunteer rescue teams from Gresford and Llay Main collieries were assembled to enter the pit. However their initial efforts to enter the Dennis section were hindered by the ferocity of the fire in the main road and a lack of water and fire-fighting equipment.

Three members of Llay No. 1 rescue team, the first to enter the mine after the explosion, were asphyxiated by afterdamp after being ordered to proceed up the mile-long return airway of the 20's district. The route, which would have circumvented the fire in the Clutch, would have eventually reached the workings of the 61's. John Charles Williams, the Llay team's leader, after finding the airway ahead narrowing to 3 feet (0.91 m) by 3 feet (0.91 m) and less, tried dragging another team member for over 40 yards (37 m) towards safety before being overcome himself by poisonous gases. Williams would be the only survivor; he was said by his family to be the man who later wrote the anonymous broadside ballad "The Gresford Disaster", which was highly critical of the mine's management.

As the Llay team's attempt to gain access via the 20's return airway had proved fatal and the previous escape route from 29's was also found to be full of afterdamp, rescue efforts became focused on trying to fight the fire in the main road of the Dennis section. It soon became clear the blaze and rockfalls at the entrance to the 29's prevented the escape of any men from the trapped districts. Likewise the miners beyond the 29's in the most northerly districts, the 20's and 61's, would have been more than a 1 mile (1.6 km) on the wrong side of the fire.

Throughout the day, firefighters and mine rescue teams were sent into the mine with ponies to help clear debris. Hopes were raised that evening as the fire in the Dennis main road seemed to be being brought under control; families waiting at the surface were told rescue teams would soon be able to reach the miners in the 29's, the nearest district beyond the Clutch. However, by the evening of the next day the mood had changed when it was realised that given the extremely hazardous conditions in the pit and because further explosions had been heard on the far side of the fire, it was deemed impossible that anyone could have survived. In the early hours of 24 September relatives were informed that all the shafts into the Dennis section would be capped because it was now too dangerous to enter the pit and recover further bodies.

Further explosions occurred within the pit over next few days. On 25 September, a rescuer named George Brown became the disaster's final victim when he was killed by flying debris after one blast blew the the cap off the Dennis shaft.

In total, only 11 bodies were ever recovered from the mine. Inquests recorded the cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning. The mine shafts remained sealed for six months. Gradually unaffected districts were re-entered although the Dennis section was sealed and never reopened. None of the bodies of the remaining 254 victims of the disaster were ever recovered from the sealed districts.

Inquiry

By the end of September 1934, 1,100 Gresford miners had signed on the unemployment register. Relief funds were set up by the Mayor of Wrexham, the Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire and the Lord Mayor of London. Their efforts raised a total of more than £500,000 for the dependants of the victims (£81m in 2010).

On October 25, 1934, the official inquiry by the UK Mine Inspectorate opened at Church House on Regent Street in Wrexham. It was chaired by Sir Henry Walker. The miners were represented by Sir Stafford Cripps; the mine owners, mindful of the fact they could face criminal charges, hired a formidable team of barristers including Hartley Shawcross.

Both miners' representatives presented theories at the inquiry as to cause of the explosion. Cripps said he believed an explosion was triggered in 95's by shotfiring near a main airway. This ignited a pocket of firedamp which had accumulated in the drift due to inadequate ventilation and the lax attitude of the mine owners to monitor gas levels contrary to section 29 of The Coal Mines Act 1911. The miners' appointed assessor also theorised a large quantity of methane gas had accumulated at the coal face in 14's district was ignited by an accident with a safety lamp or from a spark from a mechanised coalcutter.

Although recovery teams wearing self-contained breathing apparatus had re-entered the sealed pit in March 1935 (for purposes of the inquiry),the Westminster and United Collieries Group only allowed its own officials to go as far as the entrance to the 29's district. No examination or inspection of the deeper parts of Dennis were ever undertaken. The company cited the dangerous conditions and remains of the victims as the reason.

However this decision was widely perceived as a deliberate attempt by the mine owners to cover up any evidence of their culpability in the cause of the explosion. As there were no other reports from the deeper parts of the pit, the inquiry had to accept the explanation presented by the legal representatives of the pit's management. They countered the miners' theories suggesting firedamp had actually accumulated in the Dennis main road just beyond the Clutch (at a drift named the "142 Deep"; this was part of the main road where the underground haulage machinery was located). The gas was ignited at the Clutch when a telephone was used to warn miners of the influx of firedamp. A year before the inquiry published its conclusion coal production resumed at Gresford from the South-East Martin section in January 1936.

In 1937 the inquiry, which had considered management failures, a lack of safety measures, bad working practices and poor ventilation in the pit, issued its findings. However Walker drew very cautious conclusions in his final verdict about the cause because the two assessors chosen by the miners and by the pit's management, and the barristers representing them, gave widely different suggestions as to the source of the explosion. With the absence of any proof, the inquiry could not attribute any outright blame or definitive cause for the disaster. This uncertainty also meant the Dennis districts would remain sealed.

But in a debate in the House of Commons in February 1937 following the release of Walker's report, the politician David Grenfell condemned the management of the colliery because the miners' testimonies had told:

...of lamps having been extinguished by gas, blowing the gas about with a banjack, of protests and quarrels about firing shots in the presence of gas. There is no language in which one can describe the inferno of 14's. There were men working almost stark naked, clogs with holes bored through the bottom to let the sweat run out, 100 shots a day fired on a face less than 200 yards wide, the air thick with fumes and dust from blasting, the banjack hissing to waft the gas out of the face into the unpacked waste, a space 200 yards long and 100 yards wide above the wind road full of inflammable gas and impenetrable for that reason.

Later in 1937, court proceedings were started in Wrexham against the pit manager, the under-manager and United & Westminster Collieries Limited, the owners of the mine. Aside from the evidence of poor working practices, it was discovered that Bonsall had after the accident instructed an assistant surveyor, William Cuffin, to falsify records of dust samples when none had actually been taken. However the court dismissed most of the charges without the mine owners ever being called to give evidence. The only conviction against the management at Gresford Colliery was for inadequate record-keeping, for which Bonsall was fined £150 plus costs.

Legacy

Despite being portrayed as a ruthless and cynical manager by Cripps and others, researchers now think Bonsall is more likely to have been a "weak man driven beyond his capabilities", whose public demeanour was reduced by the extreme exhaustion and stress of enduring over 20 hours of cross-examination at the inquiry. In contrast Williams, the under-manager, was singled out for praise because he was found to have made genuine attempts, unlike other bosses, to improve working conditions for the miners since taking the job at Gresford Colliery.

Cripps used the evidence obtained at the inquiry to call for nationalisation of the coal industry. This eventually occurred in 1947 when the pit, and others like it, were taken over by the National Coal Board. However as part of the takeover agreement, nearly all the operating records and correspondence relating to the private management of Gresford Colliery were deliberately destroyed.

Gresford Colliery finally closed on economic grounds in November 1973. In the 1980s the site was redeveloped as an industrial estate. In 1982 a memorial to the victims of the disaster was erected nearby; it was constructed from the wheel from the old pit-head winding gear.

The victims

Surname	Forename	Address	Age	Occupation
Amos	Max	Holydyke Road, Barton	21	Collier
Andrews	Alfred	Benjamin Road, Wrexham	43	Collier
Archibald	Joe	Finney Street, Rhosddu	47	Collier
Archibald	Thomas	Council Houses, Pandy	42	Collier
Byrne	Colin	Goxhill	40	Collier
Bateman	Maldwyn	Lorne Street, Rhosddu	15	Collier
Bather	Edward Wynn	Finney Street, Rhosddu	36	Collier
Beddows	Edward	The Woodlands, High Street, Gwersyllt	63	Collier
Bew	Arthur	Colliery Houses, Rhosddu	45	Collier
Bett	Duncan	St Denys Close, Killingholme	12	Collier
Bewley	Thomas	Park Street, Rhosddu	58	Collier
Bowen	Alfred	Langdale Avenue, Rhostyllen	53	Collier
Boycott	Henry	Offa Terrace, Wrexham	38	Packer
Brain	Herbert	Pentrefelin, Wrexham	31	Collier
Bramwell	George	Western Road, New Broughton	30	Collier
Brannan	John	Ffordd Edgeworth, Maesydre, Wrexham	32	Collier
Brown	George	Birkett Street, Rhostyllen	59	Surface worker
Brown	William Arthur	Hightown Road, Wrexham	22	Haulage
Bryan	John A.H.	Llewellyn Road, Coedpoeth	20	Collier
Buckley	A.	Windy Hill, Summerhill	21	Collier
Burns	Fred	Bennions Road, Huntroyde, Wrexham	41	Collier
Capper	John A.	Wrexham Road, Broughton	35	Collier
Cartwright	Albert Edward	Florence Street, Rhosddu	24	Collier
Cartwright	Charles	Florence Street, Rhosddu	24	Collier
Chadwick	Stephen	Kenyon Street, Wrexham	21	Collier
Chesters	Edwin	Beales Cottages, Bradley	67	Fireman
Clutton	Arthur	Lorne Street, Rhosddu	29	Collier
Clutton	George Albert	March Terrace, New Rhosrobin	20	Collier
Clutton	John T.	Council Houses, Pandy	35	Haulage
Collins	John	Council Houses, Pandy	62	Shot Firer
Cornwall	Thomas	Bennions Road, Wrexham	30	Collier
Crump	William	Council Houses, Bradley	36	Collier
Darlington	Thomas	Mountain Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	28	Collier
Davies	Arthur	Havelock Square, Wrexham	24	Collier
Davies	Edward	Cyngorfa, Rhosllannerchrugog	53	Collier
Davies	George William	Farndon Street, Wrexham	26	Collier
Davies	Hugh T.	Holly Bush Terrace, Bradley	26	Collier
Davies	James	Williams Cottages, Moss	31	Collier
Davies	James	Boundary Terrace, Green, Brymbo	37	Collier
Davies	James Edward	Farndon Street, Wrexham	21	Collier
Davies	John	Meifod Place, Wrexham	64	Collier
Davies	John	Fernleigh, Rhosrobin Road, Wrexham	45	Collier
Davies	John E.	Bennions Road, Wrexham	32	Collier
Davies	John R.	Fernleigh, Rhosrobin	69	Collier
Davies	Matthias	Erw Las, Maesydre, Wrexham		Collier
Davies	Peter	Newtown, Gresford	50	Collier
Davies	Peter	March Terrace, New Rhosrobin	25	Collier
Davies	Peter	Glanllyn, Bradley	21	Collier
Davies	Robert Thomas	Mountain View, Caego	34	Collier
Davies	Samuel	Woodland View, New Rhosrobin	35	Collier
Davies	Thomas	Erw Cottage, Caergwrle	31	Collier
Davies	William	Acton Terrace, Rhosnesni, Wrexham	33	Collier
Dodd	Thomas	Maeseinion, Rhosllannerchrugog	39	Collier
Duckett	Fred	Beech Terrace, Ruabon	29	Collier
Edge	John	Nelson Street, Hightown	28	Collier
Edge	Samuel	South Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	30	Collier
Edwards	Albert	Nr Kings Head, Moss	62	Collier
Edwards	Ernest	Green Road, Brymbo	16	Collier
Edwards	E. Glyn	Woodland View, New Rhosrobin	23	Collier
Edwards	Ernest Thomas	Queen Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	53	Collier
Edwards	Frank	Chestnut Ave, Acton, Wrexham	23	Collier
Edwards	James Sam	Top Road, Moss	87	Collier
Edwards	John Edward	Glanyrafon, Maesydre	39	Collier
Edwards	John C.	Coronation Cottages, New Road, Southsea		Collier
Edwards	Thomas David	New Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	40	Collier
Edwards	William	Church Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	32	Collier
Edwardson	John	High Street, Gresford	41	Collier
Ellis	George	Council Houses, Pandy	43	Collier
Evans	Fred	Grange Road, Rhosddu	50	Collier
Evans	John	Ness Cottage, Park Wall, Gwersyllt	32	Collier
Evans	Norman	Grange Road, Rhosddu	45	Collier
Evans	Ralph	Pentre Lane, Llay	34	Collier
Fisher	Len	Maple Avenue, Acton	44	Collier
Foulkes	Irwin	Bryn Gardden, Rhosllannerchrugog	21	Collier
Gabriel	Richard George	Crispin Lane, Wrexham	61	Collier
Gittins	Johm Henry	Abenbury Street, Wrexham	42	Collier
Goodwin	John	Chapel Road, New Broughton	51	Collier
Griffiths	Edward	Brandie Cottages, Ruabon	21	Collier
Griffiths	Ellis	Cyngorfa, Rhosllannerchrugog	50	Collier
Griffiths	Emmanuel	High Street, Penycae	53	Collier
Griffiths	Charles	Gardd Estyn, Garden Village	25	Collier
Griffiths	Frank	Oxford Street, Wrexham	57	Collier
Griffiths	Walter	Victoria Road, Brynteg	50	Collier
Hall	Walter	Church Road, Brynteg	49	Collier
Hallam	T.W.	Railway Terrace, Gwersyllt	32	Collier
Hamlington	Arthur	Yew Tree Cottage, Summerhill	62	Collier
Hampson	Frank	Ruabon Road, Rhostyllen	32	Collier
Harrison	Arthur	Moss Hill, Moss	21	Collier
Harrison	Charles Edward	James Street, Wrexham	15	Collier
Hewitt	Phillip	Poplar Avenue, Rhosllannerchrugog	56	Collier
Higgins	William	Finney Street, Rhosddu	27	Collier
Holt	Alfred	Pentre Lane, Llay	31	Collier
Houlden	John Henry	Second Avenue, Llay	21	Collier
Hughes	Cecil	Tanygraig, Minera	23	Collier
Hughes	Daniel	First Avenue, Llay	56	Rescuer
Hughes	Francis O.	Acton Terrace, Rhosnesni	60	Collier
Hughes	Harry	Hill Crescent, Spring Lodge, Wrexham	44	Collier
Hughes	John	Percy Road, Wrexham	58	Collier
Hughes	Peter Joseph	Tanygraig, Minera	27	Collier
Hughes	Robert John	Lorne Street, Rhosddu	29	Collier
Hughes	Walter Ellis	Rosemary Crescent, Rhostyllen	24	Collier
Hughes	William	Long Row, Brymbo	43	Collier
Hughes	William	Jackson's Houses, New Rhosrobin	54	Rescuer
Humphreys	Ben	Vernon Street, Rhosddu	34	Collier
Humphreys	John	Edwards Road, Brynteg	30	Collier
Husbands	Thomas	Manley Road, Wrexham	40	Collier
Jarvis	Ernest	Ddol, Bersham	41	Collier
Jenkins	William	Heol Offa, Tanyfron	25	Collier
Johns	Percy	Ffordd Edgeworth, Maesydre	27	Collier
Jones	Albert Edward	Nelson Street, Wrexham	31	Collier
Jones	Azariah	Westminster Road, Moss	37	Collier
Jones	Cyril	Main Road, Rhosrobin	26	Collier
Jones	Daniel	Western Road, New Broughton	33	Collier
Jones	David L.	Colliery Road, Rhosddu	36	Collier
Jones	Edward	Woodland View, High Street, Gwersyllt	64	Collier
Jones	Edward	Queen Street, Cefn Mawr	56	Collier
Jones	Edward George	Ruabon Road, Wrexham	23	Collier
Jones	Eric	Rosemary Crescent, Rhostyllen	23	Collier
Jones	Ernest	Glan Garth, Maesydre	36	Collier
Jones	Bill	Glan Garth, Maesydre	14	Collier
Jones	Evan Hugh	Marion House, New Brighton, Minera	55	Collier
Jones	Fred	Woodland View, New Rhosrobin	30	Collier
Jones	Frederick H.C.	Bridge Street, Holt	31	Collier
Jones	Francis	Council Houses, Berse	27	Collier
Jones	George	Glan Garth, Maesydre	47	Collier
Jones	George Humphrey	Russell Street, Cefn Mawr	22	Collier
Jones	Gwilym	Glan Garth, Maesydre	52	Collier
Jones	Henry	Gordon Terrace, Rhosddu	59	Collier
Jones	Idris	Nant Road, Coedpoeth	37	Collier
Jones	Iorwerth	Bryn Dolwar, Rhosrobin Road, Wrexham	52	Collier
Jones	Jabez	Morgan Avenue, Rhosddu	43	Collier
Jones	John Dan	Williams Cottages, Moss	42	Collier
Jones	John Richard	Mostyn View, Coedpoeth	33	Collier
Jones	John Robert	Pentre Lane, Llay		Collier
Jones	Llewellyn	Windsor Road, New Broughton	49	Collier
Jones	Llewellyn	Yew Tree Bungalow, Gresford	40	Collier
Jones	Llewellyn	Bersham Road, New Broughton	38	Collier
Jones	Neville	Ffordd Maelor, Maesydre, Wrexham	30	Collier
Jones	Richard Henry	Bryn Terrace, Ruabon	21	Collier
Jones	Richard J.	White House Lodge, Brymbo	34	Collier
Jones	Robert	Trefechan, Penycae	57	Deputy
Jones	Robert	Hillock Lane, Gresford	49	Collier
Jones	Thomas	Council Houses, Gresford	55	Collier
Jones	Thomas E.	Poolmouth Road, Moss		Collier
Jones	Thomas John	Bryndedwydd, Marford Hill	58	Collier
Jones	Thomas O.	Penllyn, Trevor, Llangollen	59	Collier
Jones	William	Lorne Street, Rhosddu	51	Collier
Jones	William	Lloyd Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	21	Collier
Kelsall	James	Florence Street, Wrexham	30	Collier
Kelsall	John	Rose Cottage, Common Wood, Holt	37	Collier
Lawrence	William	Nelson Street, Hightown, Wrexham	43	Collier
Lee	John Lee	Heol Offa, Coedpoeth	30	Collier
Lee	Thomas	Heol Offa, Coedpoeth	16	Collier
Lewis	David	Merlin Street, Johnstown	44	Collier
Lewis	David Thomas	Middle Road, Coedpoeth	46	Collier
Lewis	Jack	Cefn y Bedd	48	Rescuer
Lilly	Joel	Main Road, Rhosrobin	41	Collier
Lloyd	Thomas	Colliery Road, Rhosddu	55	Collier
Lloyd	William	Finney Street, Rhosddu	59	Collier
Lloyd	William Sidney	Pentre Lane, Llay		Collier
Lucas	John	Council Houses, Gwersyllt	59	Collier
Maggs	Colin	Talwrn House, Talwrn	17	Collier
Mannion	Albert	Hill Crest, Spring Lodge, Wrexham	29	Collier
Manuel	Thomas A.	Meadows Lane, Spring Lodge, Wrexham	33	Collier
Martin	William Henry	Newtown, Gresford	37	Collier
Matthews	William V.	Hill Street, Penycae	18	Collier
Mathias	Samuel	Eagle's Place, Moss	42	Rescuer
McKean	John	Cheshire View, Spring Lodge, Wrexham	30	Collier
Meade	William	St. John's Road, Wrexham	39	Collier
Mitchell	George	James Street, Wrexham	23	Collier
Monks	Ernest	Glanrafon, Bwlchgwyn	23	Collier
Morley	Edward	Council Houses, Bradley	57	Collier
Morris	Alfred	High Street, Penycae	20	Collier
Nichols	Harry	Ashfield Road, Crispin Lane, Wrexham	32	Collier
Nichols	John	Beast Market, Wrexham	29	Collier
Nichols	William Henry	Farndon Street, Wrexham	25	Collier
Owens	Evan Henry	Cunliffe Walk, Garden Village, Wrexham	54	Collier
Palmer	Alex	Kingstown, Maesydre	20	Collier
Parry	Isaac	Western View, Wrexham Road, Brymbo	40	Collier
Parry	Joseph	Western View, Wrexham Road, Brymbo	65	Collier
Parry	John E.	Pisgah Hill, New Broughton	31	Collier
Parry	John Richard	Manley Road, Wrexham	21	Collier
Penny	Stephen	Stansty View, New Rhosrobin	23	Collier
Penny	William H.	Council Houses, Pandy	32	Collier
Perrin	Frank	Finney Street, Rhosddu	23	Collier
Peters	Henry	Pentre Lane, Llay	38	Collier
Phillips	George	Trevanna Way, Spring Lodge, Wrexham	22	Collier
Phillips	Herbert	Haig Road, Hightown, Wrexham	30	Collier
Phillips	John	Gardd Estyn, Garden Village, Wrexham	40	Collier
Pickering	J.	Sycamore Terrace, Old Rhosrobin	22	Collier
Powell	Charles	Dale Street, Wrexham	57	Railman
Price	Ernest	Moss Hill, Moss	27	Collier
Price	Samuel	Oakfield Terrace, Gresford	37	Collier
Pridding	James	Oxford Street, Wrexham	32	Collier
Prince	Mark	Manley Road, Wrexham	59	Collier
Prince	William	Meadow Lea, Spring Lodge, Wrexham	30	Collier
Pritchard	Isiah	Woodland View, New Rhosrobin	54	Collier
Pugh	Ernest	Quarry Rd, Brynteg	49	Collier
Pugh	Thomas	Vernon Street, Wrexham	54	Collier
Ralphs	John	Market Street, Wrexham	53	Collier
Rance	Thomas	High Street, Pentre Broughton	21	Collier
Rees	Albert	Gatewen Road, New Broughton	56	Collier
Reid	Lloyd	Bryn Gardden, Rhosllannerchrugog	20	Collier
Roberts	Arthur A.	Wire Mill Cottage, Bradley	63	Collier
Roberts	Edward	Bryn Estyn Cottage, Rhosnesni	35	Collier
Roberts	Edward C.	Council Houses, Gresford	42	Collier
Roberts	Ernest	Little Penybryn, Abenbury	26	Collier
Roberts	Frank	Bury Street, Wrexham	26	Collier
Roberts	George	Glanrafon, Maesydre, Wrexham	28	Repairer
Roberts	H.	Patison Road, Coedpoeth		Collier
Roberts	Idris	Pumphouse, Highfield, Stansty	16	Collier
Roberts	John David	Lorne Street, Rhosddu	47	Collier
Roberts	John H.	Patison Row, Coedpoeth	33	Collier
Roberts	Olwyn	Hill Street, Penycae	24	Collier
Roberts	Percy	Bungalow, Llidiart Fanny, Coedpoeth	26	Collier
Roberts	Robert	off Brook Street, Rhosllannerchrugog	33	Collier
Roberts	Robert John	Market Street, Wrexham		Collier
Roberts	Robert Thomas	Crispin Lane, Wrexham	57	Collier
Roberts	Robert William	Forge Row, Southsea	38	Collier
Roberts	Thomas James	Kendrick Place, Beast Market, Wrexham	19	Collier
Roberts	William	Princes Street, Wrexham	45	Collier
Roberts	William T.	Pentre Lane, Llay	40	Collier
Robertson	William	Spring Road, Rhosddu	41	Collier
Rogers	Edward Llewellyn	New Houses Lane, Llay	20	Collier
Rogers	Grenville	Wheatsheaf Lane, Gwersyllt	29	Collier
Ross	Harry	Nelson Street, Wrexham	34	Collier
Rowlands	John	Holt Road, Wrexham	36	Collier
Rowland	John David	Old Cross Foxes, Minera	17	Collier
Salisbury	William	Victoria Road, Brynteg	48	Collier
Shaw	George	Ashwood, Wrexham Road, Brynteg	63	Collier
Shone	John	Gresford	34	Collier
Shone	Richard	High Street, Gresford	49	Collier
Slawson	Arthur	Crescent Road, Wrexham	22	Collier
Smith	Leonard	Bennions Road, Huntroyde, Wrexham	20	Collier
Stevens	Richard T.	Pisgah Hill, Pentre Broughton	22	Collier
Strange	Albert	Nelson Street, Wrexham	25	Collier
Statford	Stanley	Ninth Avenue, Llay	39	Collier
Tarran	John	Liverpool Road, Buckley	59	Collier
Taylor	William Henry	Church Street, Holt	53	Collier
Thomas	Berwyn	Kent Road, Lodge, Brymbo	26	Collier
Thomas	John Elias	Queen's Terrace, Gwersyllt	29	Collier
Thomas	Robert	Pant Hill, Rhosllannerchrugog	32	Collier
Thomas	Tec	Council Houses, Pandy	26	Collier
Thornton	John	Coronation Cottages, New Broughton	24	Collier
Tittle	Edward	Smithy Lane, Acton	44	Collier
Trowe	Ernest	Huntroyde Avenue, Wrexham	41	Collier
Valentine	Fred	Glan Dwr, Acrefair	24	Collier
Vaughan	John Edward	Alford Street, Wrexham	28	Collier
White	John	Chapel Cottages, Gresford	38	Collier
Williams	George	Gardden Terrace, Summerhill	31	Collier
Williams	Harold	Osborne Terrace, Claypit Lane, Gresford	37	Collier
Williams	Hugh Llewellyn	Park Street, Rhosddu	43	Collier
Williams	John	Cheetham's Lodging Houses, Wrexham	62	Collier
Williams	John	Dale Street, Wrexham	44	Collier
Williams	John	Council Houses, Brynteg	66	Collier
Williams	John D.	Vulcan Cottage, New Road, Southsea	29	Collier
Williams	John Thomas	Brynffynnon, Brymbo	33	Collier
Williams	Morris	Pentre Lane, Llay	24	Electrician
Williams	Reg	Old Rhosrobin	29	Electrician
Williams	Thomas	Park View Stores, Bradley	57	Collier
Williams	William A.	Gatewen Road, Pentre Broughton	29	Collier
Wilson	John Walter	Victoria Terrace, Coedpoeth	32	Collier
Witter	Henry	The Mount, Gresford	56	Collier
Wynn	Edward	Bradley Road, Wrexham	68	Collier
Winyard	J.	New Inn, Cefnybedd	47	Collier
Yemm	Morgan James	Seventh Avenue, Llay	28	Collier

Popular culture

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.

The song was issued as a broadsheet soon after the disaster. It has been recorded by The Hennessys, Ewan MacColl, Alex Campbell and the Albion Band amongst others.

The disaster is the subject of the song "The Colliers" on Seth Lakeman's 2006 album Freedom Fields.

The disaster is also commemorated in the hymn tune "Gresford", which is also known as "The Miners' Hymn", written by Robert Saint of Hebburn, himself also a miner. This tune has been played regularly by many colliery brass bands over the years and is found on a number of recordings, and is also played at the annual Miners Picnics around the North of England, especially at the Durham Miners' Gala.

Sources

• Collieries of Denbighshire, G. G. Lerry 1968

External links

• Underground Plan of the Dennis Section, Gresford Colliery, September 1934
• Virtual Book of Remembrance
• Memorial Gallery
• Gathering The Jewels
• Welsh Coal Mines website - details on Gresford and all the other pits in Wales