The Welsh National Mining Memorial, which will be unveiled in Senghenydd later this year, has received support from miners in Durham.
Members of the Aber Valley Heritage Group travelled to Durham for the Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday July 13 to raise awareness of the Senghenydd mining disaster.
The worst mining disaster in British history, the Senghenydd disaster happened on October 14 1913 and claimed the lives of 440 men and boys.
At the Durham Miners’ Gala, volunteers handed out more than 800 brochures. Over £350 was raised at the Gala through the sale of special fundraising CDs, books about the Universal Colliery disaster and general donations.
The National Mining Memorial will be officially opened on the centenary of the disaster on October 14. It will feature a bronze statue of a miner carrying a colleague to safety and a memorial wall featuring the name, age and address of every man and boy who perished in the 1913 disaster as well as the 81 who lost their lives in an earlier disaster at the same colliery in 1901.
There are also plans to construct a memorial garden and a “Path of Memory” honouring all those who have died at a Welsh mine during a disaster that killed five or more miners. Donations and sponsors are still being sought to ensure this part of the memorial can come to fruition.
A host of Welsh superstars 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 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.
A copy of the CD can be ordered at www.nationalminingmemorial.co.uk.
The song is also available at Welsh Tesco stores and is available for download through iTunes and Amazon.
Donations can also be made by contacting the Aber Valley Heritage Group by emailing senghen.heritage@btconnect.com or calling 02920 830445 / 02920 830444.