Service Held To Commemorate 80th Anniversary of Gresford Mining Disaster

A service to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Gresford Mining Disaster took place this morning.

Crowds gathered at the Gresford Mining Wheel at 11am to take part in the service and pay their respects to all those who lost their lives in the tragic incident 80 years ago.

On September 22nd 1934 an explosion took the lives of 266 Wrexham men. The men were killed as a result of an explosion that ripped through the Dennis section of the mine.

Only 11 bodies were ever recovered. 255 men still lay beneath Wrexham to this day.

At this morning’s service respects were paid to those who had lost their lives and their families, with a moving speech and prayers said to mark the event.

The service was led by Canon David Griffiths, a former vicar of Gresford. David has conducted the annual open-air remembrance service at the memorial since it was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1982.

A second service is to be held at the Gresford All Saints Church at 2pm this afternoon.

The recently established ‘Friends of Gresford Colliery Disaster Memorial’ were also in attendance and spoke of their ongoing work to raise awareness of the disaster and a new plaque for the site.

Earlier this year British Pathé released its entire collection to YouTube, making more than 85,000 rare 20th Century videos available to the public, many seen for the first time. The footage released included news footage of the Gresford Mining Disaster.

You can view the footage and read previous coverage of the Gresford Mining Disaster here.