Spreading the Workd: Remembering the Wrexham Miners

Ever since former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders took over as manager at Wrexham, I have been following the fortunes of the Welsh club to see how he is doing. In all honesty, it hasn't been a great season for them so far and a season that started off with the hope of promotion is being played out in the bottom half of the Conference.

This week, however, something special took place at Wrexham. Not because they beat Luton 3-0 at home - even though it was an important result - but rather because of what happened before the game.

In a touching ceremony, 266 black baloons were released into the sky, each one to commemorate a miner who died in a tragic accident that took place seventy five years ago.

On 22nd September, 1934, during a night shift at Gresford Colliery near Wrexham a violent explosion tore through the mine killing 266 miners. It’s believed that a spark ignited a build up of methane gas trapped down the Dennis Shaft causing a ferocious fire which hampered any rescue attempt.

Every man on the shift was killed apart from six miners who managed to escape. Three members of the rescue team were also killed brining the death toll to 266.

At this point, you might be wondering what all this has to do with football and you would be justified in doing so.

The reason is that Wrexham is a town that is based - or at least was - on it mining comunity and most of the football club's support came from the miners. IndeedWrexham was the only club in the Football League which used to kick off at 3:15pm rather than at 3 o’ clock, giving the miners of Llay and Gresford time to get changed at the end of their shift and make it down to The Racecourse.

Indeed, on that night in 1934, many of the miners were “doubling up” - working a double shift - to make sure they had time off to watch Wrexham v Tranmere Rovers the following day. With the club's training ground, Collier's Park, being situated above what was Gresford Colliery, the ceremony was more than fitting and is something about which the club's fans should be proud.

YNWA

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