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Aug 28, 2014

So many ways to die at the pit


The miners' memorial in Llanbradach, Caerphilly, commemorates c.165 men who died in many accidents, and in many different ways. Startled pit ponies, falling roofs ...

and runaway coal wagons were among the causes of death at Llanbradach colliery, which closed in 1961. One man fell down the mineshaft, another was scalded to death. Sidney Quick, fatally injured at the pit during the Second World War, had been drafted in as a Bevin Boy. James Mitchell, one of the last miners to die there, was killed the day before he was due to retire. To read the miners' names and the circumstances of their deaths, scan the QR codes at the memorial. Or click here