Memorial to 35 killed in pit tragedy is unveiled
MONUMENT IS ABOVE SITE OF 1898 DISASTER
PULLEY WHEEL
A LASTING tribute to the victims of Leicestershire’s worst mining disaster has been unveiled.
The memorial, in Percival Way, Hugglescote, commemorates the 35 men and boys who died in the Whitwick Mining Disaster when they became trapped due to an underground fire on April 19, 1898.
The youngest victim was 13, while 12 men remain entombed underground to this day.
It is a tragedy etched into North West Leicestershire, but until now no designated memorial existed.
In a touching ceremony, hundreds of descendents of those who died were in attendance to see the culmination of a major collaborative project to honour the victims.
Several groups have worked together to form the Whitwick Colliery Disaster Memorial Project and make the memorial a reality.
The disaster happened underneath the new Grange Road housing development.
The memorial comprises a headstock pulley wheel, which used to be a part of Whitwick Colliery, along with seating.
A number of musical pieces were played by Desford Colliery Band, while a moving piece from Whitwick parish councillor Susan Colledge was read out.
The ceremony also saw the appearance of actor Stephen Graham, who lives nearby in Ibstock.
He laid a wreath to commemorate those who lost their lives and also spoke a few words in a solemn tribute. “I’ve lived around these parts for a long time and when I was asked to be involved, I didn’t hesitate,” said Stephen.
“For me to be a part of this is an absolute honour and I think it’s a beautiful sculpture.
“The pride and sense of being a part of this community must resonate within all of you. It’s an honour to be adopted as one of you.”
The memorial is the work of organisations including David Wilson Homes and Barratts Homes as well as Hugglescote and Donington-le-Heath Parish Council and Whitwick Parish Council.
The Leicestershire Coal Industry Welfare Trust Fund, Leicestershire County Council Museums Fund, Snibston Heritage Trust, Coalville Heritage Society and Whitwick Historical Group also worked on the project.
The memorial project’s chairman, Stuart Warburton, said the monument was vitally important.
He said: “I cannot thank David Wilson Homes enough for its help and assistance in the creation of this, the first purpose-built memorial to those men who gave their lives to power the industrial strength of the nation.
“The partners have worked tirelessly as volunteers over the past 18 months and without their dedication and
the families waiting nervously for news of their loved ones trapped 250 yards underground.
It soon became clear the news from the rescue parties was grim.
The fire was fierce. To get to the men, the rescue party had to extinguish the yards of blazing coal seams. Despite repeated attempts, it proved impossible.
As women wept, John Bird, an old Whitwick miner, gave the Mercury reporter the benefit of his considerable experience.
“They’re all dead, my lad,” he whispered. “I have worked in the pit 70 years and I know.”
The carbon monoxide fumes had accounted for the lives of 35 people, including 13-year-old John Albert
Gee - the deputy’s boy who ran to inform miners working furthest away of the impeding danger.
Also William Greasley, who was dragged through the smoke-clogged inferno by his son George - only to collapse yards from safety. Cousins William and Samuel Stacey suffocated together, unable to escape.
Relatives were told that their proud husbands, fathers and sons were discovered at the pit bottom, clasping each other for strength as the fumes filled their lungs.
The report in the Mercury concluded: “Leicestershire is in mourning for a body of toilers whose struggle was with powers far beyond their own.”