The Senghenydd Mine Disaster
Today marks the 100th anniversary of one of the worst mining disasters ever, and certainly the worst in Wales. “Britain’s worst ever mining disaster has been remembered a century after 439 miners and one rescuer lost their lives in an explosion at Senghenydd in South Wales. A new monument has been unveiled on the site of the old mine and a memorial garden opened to remember more than 5,000 miners killed in accidents across Wales since the 18th century.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24516312 The explosion killed almost the entire male population of the town. “The demand for Welsh steam coal before World War I was enormous, driven by the Royal Navy and its huge fleet of steam battleships, dreadnoughts and cruisers, and by foreign Navies allied to Britain and the British Empire. Coal output from British mines peaked in 1914, and there were Read more…