Six Bells colliery disaster anniversary today

At around 10.45am on that fateful day, an explosion ripped through the Six Bells colliery, then known as Arreal Griffin. In what was Gwent’s last colliery disaster, 45 miners were killed.

The catastrophe - later found to have been caused by a falling rock which is believed to have ignited gas and coal dust - left families, friends and the whole Valleys community in shock as the extent of the devastation was slowly revealed throughout the day.

The first report in the Argus in a late edition the same day told how the blast “killed at least two” and that rescue workers were desperately trying to reach 40 men believed to be trapped below ground.

The front page of the Argus told how an explosion ripped through the Arael Griffin colliery in Six Bells

How the Argus told of the rescue efforts made at Six Bells

One survivor, Michael Purnell, was sitting having something to eat with another miner Dennis Lane when the lights went out. Mr Lane went to see what had happened and was suddenly hit by the blast, which threw him on top of Mr Purnell.

He later said that he believed that, by saving his life, Mr Lane was killed himself.

An inquest was opened two days later, where fathers, sons, relatives and friends of those killed were told that “the whole nation feels for the relatives of the victims in this moment of tragic sadness.”

The Argus told how these "grim-faced and tired" rescue volunteers were returning to the pithead.

Rescuers divided into two teams, one making the roof safe and the other attempting to break through the wall of rock which imprisoned the men.

Hundreds stood outside the colliery waiting for news on their loved ones.

An official from the colliery told the Argus at the time: “It’s not rock [falls] that are worrying me - it’s carbon monoxide from the explosion.”

The explosion was reported to have happened in an older part of the colliery, the ‘W’ vein.

Here youngsters "who may be tomorrow's miners" watch as team after team of rescue workers go down to the pithead.

Harold Legge who escaped said: “I was about half a mile from the coalface. I heard a roar which it is a job to describe.

“There was a flash across my eyes and I couldn’t see for dust, I had a job to breathe and I stumbled to the pit bottom through the dust.

“Afterwards I discovered there was a man killed 20 yards from me.”

Rescue workers wearing breathing apparatus walk down to the Six Bells pit

The Argus reported “grave fears are entertained” for the safety of the other men who were trapped by the roof fall following the explosion.

One miner who had returned from the scene of the explosion echoed these fears, saying: “I don’t think there is any hope for the men at all”.

“There has been a big fall of roof and it may be a long job getting them out,” he added.

Miners heading to Six Bells Pit

Thomas George Crandon was 46 and working at the colliery moving machinery up to the surface of the mine. He had been working down the mines since the age of 14.

His son Don remembered the day of the disaster. “I went to the colliery where a huge crowd was gathering," he said. "It was then I was told my father wouldn’t be coming back up. I then had to go and tell my mother. She was devastated.

“It affected everyone in the Valleys though whether they had families in the mines or not.”

He added: “My dad was a fabulous man who was constantly hard-working and always helping everyone. He never did a bad turn.

“It was hard to adjust and to get used to life after.”

The site is now the home of the Six Bells Guardian statue, constructed for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.

The Guardian of the valleys at Six Bells. Picture: christinsleyphotography.co.uk

Speaking at the unveiling, Don Crandon said: “It means a lot - it means everything that they’ve finally been remembered.”

Mary Rees, wife of Frederick Rees, who died in the disaster said: “It should have been done years ago, but it is wonderful that they are finally being remembered.”

Mr Morgan, 63, of The Rise, Nantyglo, was a schoolboy at the time when his father Roy Martin Morgan, 45 and his brother Colin Reginald Morgan 22, were both killed.

The pair were both working as repairers in the mine and were doing overtime after already working the previous night shift.

Their hard-working attitude meant they became victims, leaving behind Mr Morgan’s mother Amy Margaret, aged 41 at the time as well as his two brothers and two sisters. Mrs Morgan died in 2000.

For Mr Morgan, he did not realise the full extent as to how the disaster had affected his family until the day after the event.

He said: “I didn’t hear anything on the morning of the explosion and I remember coming home from school for lunch and nothing was said.

“It was only when I was going back to school at about 1.30pm that day that someone said there had been an explosion at the colliery but even then I didn’t know if my father or brother had been killed.”

Even when Mr Morgan arrived home from school that day to a house full of his family, nothing was said.

It was only the next day that he was told by a family member that his father, who had worked down the mines for 30 years, and his brother, who had done the job for five years, had both been killed.

He said: “I didn’t really know the full extent at 13 years old but I did really miss them.

“We were a close family and they were both enjoying life. My father was into motorbikes and used to take me out for rides all the time.”

His brother had married only the year before, and his wife, Val, had given birth to their son Jeffrey just three months before the tragedy.

Mr Morgan, who followed in the family tradition working as a repairer himself at Llanhilleth colliery from 1962 to 1968, said: “It was a real shock for everyone. It was talked about a lot and there was always family in the house. The whole community was left in shock. I will never forget it.”

Reflecting, Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith said the anniversary of the Six Bells mining disaster is a chance to pause and remember the lives lost on that terrible morning.

"We must never forget how dangerous and difficult it was working down the pits," he said.

"These men worked in harsh and hazardous conditions, putting their lives at risk every day to keep the country’s lights on.

"That is why I will always fight to do right by ex-miners and their families in Parliament."

His Senedd counterpart Alun Davies said that today is a day to reflect on the real cost of coal, paid in the lives of miners.

“Six Bells was the worst post-war disaster in Wales," he said. "Not a street or a family were unaffected by what happened on this day in June 1960. The striking Guardian memorial now means that their lives will be remembered by future generations.

“I hope that we can reach out to families today to bring them into our hearts and reaffirm that their sacrifices will never be forgotten.”

All archive pictures are by the then Argus chief photographer, Eric Greenfield.