Wrexham remembers the 266 lives lost at Gresford
Wrexham is marking 92 years since the Gresford Colliery disaster, which claimed 266 lives and left a lasting scar across the area's mining communities.
The Gresford disaster
- Explosion
- 2:08am
- Lives commemorated
- 266
- Men who escaped
- 6
- Rescue workers sent down
- More than 200
- Anniversary
- 92 years
The annual memorial ceremony was scheduled for 11am on Tuesday 22 September at the Miner's Wheel Memorial on Bluebell Lane in Pandy. Wrexham Council describes the disaster as the city's greatest tragedy and says almost every village in the county borough lost someone.
The explosion at 2:08am
An explosion tore through the Dennis section of Gresford Colliery at 2:08am on 22 September 1934. Many miners had been working an extra shift to be free for Wrexham's football match later that Saturday. Six men escaped.
More than 200 rescue workers were sent underground. The council says 11 bodies were recovered, including three members of the first rescue team. After about 40 hours, rescuers concluded that nobody remained alive and the affected shafts were closed.
Why the memorial records 266 lives
The National Archives gives a breakdown of the 266 people commemorated: 261 miners killed in the explosion, three rescue workers, George Brown, who was killed by flying debris on the surface, and 22-year-old Frederick Strange, who died in hospital on 14 October 1934.
The disaster left 200 women widowed, 800 children without fathers and 1,600 people without work, according to the council's history. A relief fund raised more than £550,000 at the time. Cover Wales has not converted that historic sum into a modern value because the result would depend on the measure used.
Another chance to hear the story
Wrexham Library will host a further commemoration on Thursday 24 September from 4pm to 7pm. The free event includes a screening of The Terrible Price documentary and poetry readings. Places must be reserved through the library on 01978 292090 or at library@wrexham.gov.uk.
The wheel at the Pandy memorial came from the former colliery's pithead winding gear. The memorial was unveiled in 1982 and now provides the permanent focus for the annual act of remembrance.