The Price of Coal - Welsh National and Universal Memorial Garden, Senghenydd, Mid Glamorgan 17 October 2013
A Torfaen (Eastern Valley) pit represented on the semi-circular walk.
In 1901 an explosion ripped through the Universal Colliery at Senghenydd, killing 81 men and boys; management ignored safety reports and in 1913 another, even more devastating explosion killed 439 men and boys, the worst mining disaster in British history. The subsequent inquiry found the management guilty of failure to comply with regulations, and a £24.00 fine with £10.00 costs was levied - this equated to one shilling and a penny farthing (5.5p) per dead miner. To mark the centenary of the 1913 disaster, on 14 October 2013, a memorial garden and statue were unveiled, The Welsh National and Universal Memorial Garden, commemorating all pit disasters in Wales incurring five or more casualties. Ceramic plaques are laid with the details of all colliery disasters in Wales with five or more fatalities, a plaque has also been produced with details of every miner who died in the 1901 and 1913 explosions. The youngest were 14, the oldest 65. The centrepiece is a dramatic and moving statue of a rescuer supporting one of the 18 survivors, created by Les Johnson FRBS.
The Price of Coal - Welsh National and Universal Memorial Garden, Senghenydd, Mid Glamorgan 17 October 2013
A Torfaen (Eastern Valley) pit represented on the semi-circular walk.
In 1901 an explosion ripped through the Universal Colliery at Senghenydd, killing 81 men and boys; management ignored safety reports and in 1913 another, even more devastating explosion killed 439 men and boys, the worst mining disaster in British history. The subsequent inquiry found the management guilty of failure to comply with regulations, and a £24.00 fine with £10.00 costs was levied - this equated to one shilling and a penny farthing (5.5p) per dead miner. To mark the centenary of the 1913 disaster, on 14 October 2013, a memorial garden and statue were unveiled, The Welsh National and Universal Memorial Garden, commemorating all pit disasters in Wales incurring five or more casualties. Ceramic plaques are laid with the details of all colliery disasters in Wales with five or more fatalities, a plaque has also been produced with details of every miner who died in the 1901 and 1913 explosions. The youngest were 14, the oldest 65. The centrepiece is a dramatic and moving statue of a rescuer supporting one of the 18 survivors, created by Les Johnson FRBS.