The campaign to fund a memorial to the Senghenydd mine disaster has been boosted after First Minister Carwyn Jones announced a further £23,000 from the Welsh Government.
Senghenydd was the site of the worst mining disaster in British history when 440 men and boys were killed in 1913 following a huge explosion at the Universal Colliery.
The Aber Valley Heritage Group is developing plans to create a landmark memorial close to the former Universal Colliery site. It will be dedicated to all mining communities across Wales, whilst also honouring the victims of the disaster at Senghenydd.
The National Mining Memorial is set to be unveiled on the October 14 2013, marking the 100th anniversary of Britain’s largest mining disaster.
The Welsh Government has already provided £26,000 to the project via funding to Caerphilly Council. This latest donation brings the total provided by the Welsh Government to £49,000.
Making the announcement, the First Minister said: “In 1913 the disaster at Senghenydd sent shockwaves around the world and changed the lives of almost every household in the Aber Valley. It was a tragedy that came to symbolise the dangers and sacrifices made by those who went underground in search of coal, but never returned home. I am delighted we are able to play our part in supporting this valuable memorial.”
Heritage Minister Huw Lewis added: “Senghenydd is a fitting location for a monument to all those who have lost their lives to mining, an industry central to the story of Wales. Not only will it serve as a poignant reminder of the tragic events that took place in Senghenydd, but also act as a memorial to all those from across Wales whose lives ended in tragedy while in the pits.”
A host of Welsh superstars have lent their voices to a special fundraising CD, now on sale in aid of the Welsh National Mining Memorial at Senghenydd.
Supporters of the Memorial are now able to pre-order a copy of “A Miner’s Song”, which was recorded between November 2012 and February 2013 in Wales, London, USA and Canada.
The recording includes over 300 performers including three choirs, a children’s choir and a brass band as well as the voices of some well known Welsh stars, including Aled Jones, Boyd Clack, Ioan Gruffudd, Joe Calzaghe, Michael Sheen, Paul Potts and many, many more.
The money raised from the sale of the CD will go towards erecting a statue, a memorial wall, and a landscaped garden on the site of the former Universal Colliery.
The CD costs just £6.00 and people can pre-order their copy now at www.nationalminingmemorial.co.uk. For more information about the National Mining Memorial visit www.abervalleyheritage.co.uk or call 02920 830444/5.
Thanks for the cash from Cardiff, but don't get soppy over it. What they've given doesn't count for more than a farthing, compared with how much they get already from Westminster.
More important though is that the monument is worth coming some way to see, which means I don't have high hopes.