THE SENGHENYDD DISASTER                              TRYCHINEB SENGHENYDD
Channel: A48 Theatre Company
Date: 2021-03-31

On the morning of Tuesday, October 14, 1913, 950 men and boys were underground at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly. John Walters was not amongst them. He overslept as his young daughters had kept him awake much of the night. At 8am, there was a massive explosion with such force that it sent the cage in the Lancaster pit up the shaft and crashing into the pithead gear. The force of the blast smashed the wooden platform on which the banksman, John Mogridge, was standing and he was decapitated by a large splinter of timber.As there was little damage to York pit, the manager and other men descended the shaft but they were blocked by girders 530 yards down. Mine rescue teams from the Rhymney Valley, Porth, Aberdare and Crumlin raced to the scene but they were hampered by raging fires, thick smoke and roof falls. One rescue worker William John was killed in a roof fall.At 11.30am, an advanced party of rescuers managed to find a man and young boy alive and unharmed in the Bottanic district of the mine. By 1am the following morning, a group of 12 trapped miners were found alive behind a roof fall. A short distance away, another four were found unconscious but still alive. Twenty bodies were recovered from that district.Rescue teams continued to be hindered by further outbreaks of fire, roof falls and gas. After three weeks, only a third of the victims had been brought to the surface. Eventually rescuers reached the districts known as Ladysmith, Pretoria, Mafeking and Kinberly where the majority of bodies were found.More than 90 bodies were so badly mutilated that they could not be recognised. Some had to be identified by their clothing. One young boy’s identity was confirmed when his mother recognised a patch she had sewn into his vest. Another was identified by a champagne cork in his water bottle given to him by a friend and Aaron Manders was recognised by the new boots worn for the first time that day.By the end of the rescue mission, 439 were confirmed dead. Nearly every household in Senghenydd had lost somebody. It was estimated that 1,500 dependants were left without a bread winner.During a Court of Enquiry, several breaches of regulations were uncovered, the most serious being the inability of the ventilating fans to reverse the airflow contrary to legislation implemented on January 1, 1913. It is estimated that if the current of air had been reversed, hundreds of lives might have been saved. This led to 17 charges against the colliery manager and four against the company and they were fined a total of £24.The disaster was the second explosion to cause loss of life at the colliery. Just 12 years before, on Friday, May 24, 1901, a gas and coal dust explosion killed 81 of the 82 men underground at the time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2011/10/the_senghenydd_pit_disaster.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senghenydd_colliery_disaster
https://www.abervalleyheritage.co.uk/documentary-about-the-disaster/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Owen Thomas is an award-winning Playwright whose previous plays include ‘The Wood’ and ‘Grav’ for the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, where he is proud to be an Associate Artist. ‘Grav’, has toured widely, enjoying successful runs in London, Washington, New York, and a special one-off performance for the Welsh National Rugby team prior to their Six Nations victory against England in 2019. His breakthrough play ‘Richard Parker’ won ‘Best International Show’ at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Los Angeles in 2012. In 2019, ‘West’, his first American commission, premiered in Milwaukee, to a standing ovation. ‘West’ toured Wales in Spring 2020 with performances in London and New York. ‘An Orange in the Subway’, his new play about homelessness, was performed at the Vaults Festival in London in 2020 where it was nominated as Best Show.Owen has spent lockdown writing monthly radio plays for RCT Theatres and ‘Isolationship’, an online play. He also wrote ‘Who Runs Towards a Fire’ and ‘Peerless’ for the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Thomas_(playwright)
https://getthechance.wales/2019/08/13/an-interview-with-welsh-playwright-owen-thomas/ 

If you would like to receive this information in Welsh please contact a48theatrecompany@gmail.com.