ON THIS DAY: 52 miners remembered in double Doncaster pit tragedy

The month of November is always one of sorrow and mourning in the proud mining village of Bentley.
The memorial to the lost miners.The memorial to the lost miners.
The memorial to the lost miners.

For it was in that month in both 1931 and 1978 that dozens of men lost their lives in two tragic mining accidents.

On November 20, 1931 at approximately 5.45pm, an explosion of firedamp at the colliery resulted in the death of 45 men and boys.

52 men died in the tragedies which were years, but only one day apart on the calendar.52 men died in the tragedies which were years, but only one day apart on the calendar.
52 men died in the tragedies which were years, but only one day apart on the calendar.
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The youngest victim was a lad of 17. One miner was working in another part of the mine just before the explosion. Having come up to the surface, he immediately volunteered to join the rescue parties. He went down, where he found his own son lying unconscious.

He dragged him out, so that he could be taken to hospital, but it was the last time he saw him alive.

If that wasn’t enough, 47 years later and almost to the day, tragedy struck again on November 21, 1978.

An underground train crash resulted in the deaths of seven men, while nineteen others were injured.

The cost of winning coal often paid a heavy price.The cost of winning coal often paid a heavy price.
The cost of winning coal often paid a heavy price.
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A paddy train, used to shuttle the miners and haul coal, crashed at speed and derailed.

Each November, the lives of the 52 men killed are commemorated with an service at Arksey Cemetery where a memorial is erected.