Memorial and museum display planned for Hamstead pit disaster
A memorial and a museum display to mark the Hamstead Colliery disaster are both in line for improvements.
The proposals were unveiled at the first public ceremony to be be held at the memorial, situated at the junction of Hamstead Road and Old Walsall Road near Great Barr, since the coronavirus outbreak.
Organisers reinstated the annual event, held to commemorate 25 miners and one rescuer who died in the Hamstead pit fire in 1908.
The ceremony was followed by a reception with refreshments at Tanhouse Community Centre nearby.
Tony Ward, of the trust, said: "We have got exciting plans for the next 12 months. I will be designing a mine display which will be part of the museum at the Tanhouse centre.
"It is aimed to attract young visitors. It will feature a model of a miner, and will give the effect of working in a mine. It will look and smell like a mine."
He added that the outdoor memorial would also get a facelift.
Deputy Mayor of Sandwell, Councillor Richard Jones, was among the dignitaries at the event attended by 15 supporters. Prayers were led by the Rev Siobhan Bridge, vicar of St Paul's Church, Hamstead.
At the time the 1908 Hamstead Colliery Disaster filled the pages of national newspapers and more than 8,000 people surrounded the pit for days, waiting for news from the two teams of rescuers, who were trying to reach the men trapped down the mine.
During the rescue attempt John Welsby, a member of Altoft Mine Rescue team, died after being overcome by the fumes and smoke that killed 25 miners.
