Memorial honouring miners who lost theirs lives at Markham Colliery to grow thanks to funding boost

Some of the figures which make up part of the memorial

Derbyshire County Council, together with the Markham Vale Heritage Group, successfully bid for an award from Viridor Credits Environmental Company via the Landfill Communities Fund to further develop the ‘Walking Together’ memorial at Markham Vale, the former colliery site which was reclaimed by the county council and Henry Boot Developments.

It means a further 14 figures can now be added to the 61 already in place to remember the men who died in three major disasters at the pit in 1937, 1938, and 1973.

On January 21, 1937 an underground explosion claimed the lives of nine men. A further 79 miners lost their lives and 40 were seriously injured in a second explosion in 1938.

And 18 miners died and a further 11 others suffered serious injury in the third disaster at the colliery when the mechanical brake on a lift carrying them to the coalface failed on July 30, 1973.

Designed by Cheshire-based artist Stephen Broadbent, the trail will eventually feature 106 figures stretching between the village of Duckmanton in Chesterfield and the former pithead which symbolises a miner’s journey to the pit and back home again.

Each figure carries a tag with the name of one of the miners, along with their age and job role.

Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for economic development and regeneration, Coun Tony King, said: “This is a welcome boost for the project and we hope to put the extra figures in place by the end of the year.

“ As Markham Vale continues to grow delivering much-needed jobs for the area, it’s important we don’t forget our local heritage and the brave men that lost their lives in the three disasters at the colliery that once stood there.

“It’s been an incredibly moving to see this project unfold, and as it nears completion I’d like to thank all the staff and volunteers for the role they have played in helping to research the lives of each of the 106 men and reach out to their friends and relatives to make the project a success.”