255 men and boys are still buried never found in UK disaster which still causes pain

Many miners working at Gresford Colliery on September 22 1934 were running double shifts so they could see Wrexham play when their shift ended; for 266 of them, they would never see the light again

When a huge explosion ripped through the mine during a night shift at Gresford Colliery in 1934 it caused the deaths of 266 men and boys, and left a community in tatters. The tragedy, in the early hours 90 years ago Sunday, is one of Britain’s worst ever mining disasters.

There was nationwide anger at the time as colliery bosses refused to give grieving relatives the pay for the shift. The Daily Mirror organised a relief fund to help the families – and our loyal readers raised what would be millions of pounds in today’s money. One of our front pages back then said: “A family of nine young children is fatherless; a bride of a week ago is a widow; a girl who had just finished her wedding dress is wearing black and two mothers have each lost three sons.”

Now relatives of those who died in the disaster in Gresford near Wrexham are coming together to ensure the miners are never forgotten. There are many Remembering Gresford events across the area. Wrexham football club are also supporting the memorials. The club’s owners, Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, arranged for the year “1934” to be sewn on the team’s away strip.

Some of the miners died because they swapped shifts or did double shifts so they could be free to watch Wrexham play at home against Tranmere hours later. Husband and wife Al and Margaret Jones, both 78, are among those who are honouring the men and boys killed on September 22, 1934. Al’s grandad Josiah Jones changed shifts with his cousin Jabez Jones, who subsequently died in the disaster. Jabez’s brother-in-law, William Lloyd, also perished.

Margaret, secretary of Friends of Gresford Colliery Disaster Memorial, said: “There are still over 250 men entombed down there. It’s so important that they are remembered every year. They waited 48 years to have a memorial, but now they have one.”

Mining historian George Powell, of the Wrexham Miners Project, said: “Wrexham were playing Tranmere at the Racecourse Ground, and [the miners] were working a double shift so they could go to the game. It was Friday when they started, and the explosion happened in the Dennis shaft in the early hours of Saturday morning. They couldn’t recover 255 of them and they’re buried down there, many with their pay packets in their pockets. The owners refused to pay the families because they said the money had already been paid.”

Only 11 bodies were ever recovered. All the remaining 255 men and boys remained entombed underground in sealed-up tunnels. Of those who were killed, 38 had the surname Jones. There were 19 called Davies, 18 called Roberts and 12 with the surname Williams. The youngest victim was Bill Jones aged 14. He was one of 10 who would never reach their 18th birthdays.

Professor Joe Yates, vice-chancellor at Wrexham University, said: “The Gresford mining disaster is a devastating part of Wrexham’s history – and one of the worst coal mining disasters in British history. It impacted the community across Wrexham, with every village in the area losing someone. I also know that many colleagues have loved ones who were impacted by the disaster, which is why we feel it is important to take time to remember those men and boys who lost their lives.”

An official inquiry was held to try to determine the cause of the explosion but it proved inconclusive. It is believed a build-up of gas was ignited by a spark from a metal tool. The massive blast then caused a fire deep underground. The inquiry led to the mine’s manager William Bonsall being charged with failing to keep records of air flow and was fined £40 with £350 costs – a total of about £20,000 in today’s money.

A range of memorial events are planned for this weekend. Wrexham brothers Jonathan and Robert Guy, the founders of the NEW Sinfonia orchestra, have worked with the Wrexham Miners Project to organise the local commemorations, with support from the Arts Council of Wales. A woman whose father narrowly avoided being caught up in the disaster is singing in a new opera marking the tragedy’s 90th anniversary.

Ivor Owen Bellis injured his hand while down the pit on the night before the deadly explosion. When the small cut turned into a large and painful blister, the 18-year-old’s concerned mother refused to let him go to work. Now, 90 years later, his daughter, Gillian Davies was determined to be part of the new community opera, Gresford: Up From Underground. She said she might never have been born had it not been for what she described as a strange twist of fate.

The 70-year-old will be a member of the New Voices choir that will be performing the opera with the NEW Sinfonia orchestra at one of the Remembering Gresford events in Wrexham to mark the milestone. Gillian said: “If it wasn’t for my grandmother insisting he stay at home, Dad might have been among those killed. His mother woke him up in the morning to give him the dreadful news after she heard it on the radio. So many of his lifelong friends and workmates were killed. It’s impossible to imagine how devastated he felt. Our father often told us the story of the disaster as my sister Lynne and I grew up. He told us he was the luckiest man to be alive.”

There will also be a poignant candle lighting ceremony today to mark the men and boys descending into the pit for the last time. The Wrexham Miners Project will light 266 candles – one for each life lost. A vigil will then be held until 2.08am tomorrow when the candles – shaped like Davy lamps – will be extinguished. This will be the same time and date that the blast erupted and fire engulfed the Dennis section of the colliery.

Albert Rowlands, who was a teenage lamp boy at the colliery when disaster struck, was the last of the survivors. He died in 2020 at the age of 100.