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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 05:47 |
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Ceremony recalls the last major Barnsley-area pit RELATIVES of some of the 58 men killed by a coal dust explosion at Wharncliffe Woodmoor colliery on 6 August 1936 attended a ceremony to mark the relocation of a memorial to the Barnsley pit disaster.
They were joined by Cllr Len Picken, Eric Illsley MP, civic leaders, NUM representatives and others who supported efforts to relocate the memorial – a wheel from the winding gear at Wharncliffe Woodmoor colliery. The ceremony took place at the entrance to Wharncliffe Business Park at Carlton in Barnsley.
The winding wheel had stood at Athersley Memorial Park where, in recent years, it has been vandalised. A carved brick memorial depicting the rescue operation has also been moved to the new site.
Complementing the refurbished memorial is a plaque listing the names of the 58 victims, and an information board, written by local historian Brian Elliott, describing the explosion, rescue efforts and the impact of the disaster on the community. The winding wheel was re-dedicated by the Mayor’s Chaplain, Father Rodney Marshall, of St Helen’s Church at Athersley.
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