Thousands visit Hednesford miners' memorial
More than a thousand people gathered in Hednesford to mark the dedication of a miners' memorial.
More than a thousand people gathered in Hednesford to mark the dedication of a miners' memorial.
A service was held to celebrate an additional 1,450 names of miners from the Cannock Chase coalfields being added to an existing memorial – six years on from the first phase.
At that time the miners' torch with 1,200 names was first put in place. The new names are situated around a garden. The names of former miners from Cannock were engraved on bricks at a cost of £20 each.
The Cannock Chase coalfields once supported as many as 48 coal mines with the last, Littleton, closing in 1993. Mike Mellor, who helped to organise the event on Saturday, said:
"It is really about recognising the people who worked in the mining industry." Tom Maybury, aged 79, of John Street, Chadsmoor, worked in a mine in Littleton.
His father George died of a stroke after being down in a pit in Littleton and being close to the smoke when a fire broke out. His father is remembered on one of the bricks. He said: "I think today is very important. We must never forget the miners."
