Further information from Bill Riley.
Hymn copied from the Durham Miners Gala, 'Big Meeting' programme.
"Gresford" (The Miners Hymn).
Creator, who with marvellous design
The world and all that is within did make;
The lofty mountain, and the mine:
Hear now our prayer for Jesu's sake.
Lord of the oceans and the sky above,
Whose wondrous grace has blessed us from our birth,
Look with compassion, and with love
On all who toil beneath the earth.
They spend their lives in dark, with danger fraught,
Remote from nature's beauties, far below,
Winning the coal, oft dearly bought
To drive the wheel, the hearth make glow.
Now we remember miners who have died
Trapped in the darkness of the earth's cold womb;
Brave men to free them, vainly tried,
Still their work-place remained their tomb.
All who were shattered in explosion's blast
Or overcome with fatal gas have slept,
Or crushed neath stone, have breathed their last;
And the bereaved, who for them wept.
O Saviour Christ, who on the cruel tree
For all mankind thy precious blood has shed;
In Life Eternal trusting, we
To thy safe keeping leave our dead.
Coal mining has endured hundreds of disasters in its history. The Gresford colliery disaster is one of the most horrific I have come across in British coalfields.
In 1934 on the 22nd. of September, at approximately 2am. in the Dennis part of the pit, there was an explosion which then resulted in what was described as a
"wall of fire".
266 miners were killed and it was impossible to recover their bodies due to the immense dangers from, fire, subsequent explosions, and noxious gases. On the 23rd. September, 1934, all men involved in the rescue operations were withdrawn from the mine, and the mine shaft was sealed off.
Gresford Colliery was worked until 1973, but it was in a completely different section of the mine. The Dennis part of the pit was never mined or opened up again.
What caused the explosion?
Sir Stafford Cripps concluded that the the disaster was caused by a shot being fired at the coalface which ignited a large pocket of Firedamp (Methane Gas) which had accumulated due to inadequate ventilation brought on by the lack of monthly readings contrary to sect 29 of The Coal Mines Act 1911.
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THE GRESFORD PIT DISASTER.
Composed by J.E. Crookes.
A bitter wail of anguish, rings out on the wintry air;
Women and children clasp their hands, and moan in deep despair ;
Infirm and aged parents, their eyes made dim -with tears,
Mourn for their sons, the hope, and pride, of life's declining years.
In the Gresford Pit, near Wrexham, shut off in deepest gloom,
A band of miners lay at rest, their toiling place their tomb.
To the loud explosion's violent force or the fire that swiftly spreads
These once brave toilers of the deep are numbered with the dead.
Picture these weeping women with helpless little ones,
Picture distracted parents calling vainly for their sons.
Mothers and sweethearts call out for loved ones down below ;
Where' er you turn its one dark scene of misery and woe.
All round about the pit they stand, poor creatures in despair,
And sobs, and sighs. and pitying cries, float like dirges on the air.
The call went out for volunteers, the rescue work to begin,
And rescuers prepare at once , in spite of all the din.
And as brave men descend, hope reigns in many a breasts,
On mercy's mission fully bent, they mean to do their best
And when they stop exhausted, a fresh band takes their place,
And so, for many weary hours they fight death face to face,
A few poor souls were brought out there, safe from that cruel death,
And sobbing mothers clasp their sons, and wives their husbands dear
Once more th rescuers descend, once more dangers braved,
Not one they think about themselves, while a soul may be saved.
And the crowd at the top wait anxiously till hope gives way to fear,
As hours pass on, and still no more, are brought to the surface there.
But when morning dawns upon them, task they've to resign
The fire vanquishes these heroes and the victory's with the mine
We talk about our heroes, but what about these men !
Tell of the noble work they did, again and yet again
They've just as brave as our soldiers bold, who fought in field of strife,
Only their mission was not slaying foes, but saving human life.
Beaten, they were, in the conflict, more is the pity be it said,
For they well deserve a victory for the brave attempts they made.
And these brave men who tried so hard to get their comrades from the pit.
Are that low class called miners, at whom are hurled base insults and coarse wit
To-day there are families starving in the Gresford district yon'd
To-day over two hundred many bodies lay, as yet, unseen by man
Scoffers at unskilled labour, Lords, Dukes, or what ere you be,
Pluck still holds a place in colliers' breasts, so does humanity
If you'll atone for the wrong you've done lessen these poor people's grief
By subscribing now, and handsomely, to the fund for their relief.
Paul Padley sent the poem, he also added,
On your web page you have listed the Gresford or Miner's Hymn and I was
hoping that you may be able to tell me who wrote it.
My interest is that my Great Grandfather (J.E. Crookes) appeared to be active in this
period in support of miners rights (he was a miner himself) and he wrote a
poem that was sold to raise funds for the families.
I found out recently the piece is a reworked version of
something he produce for the Bentley Pit disaster something I am still
researching in an attempt to date the work and others. My Grandfathers Name was
Joesph Emanuel Crookes and if you reproduce his work in any of your pages I
would appreciate it if you gave him credit.
J.E. Crookes was also an excellent cricketer, if anyone has any information which will help Paul please email Pitwork.net.
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