Topic: Two Disaster Glasses, Hartley and Pegswood Collieries

[glassobsessed]

There is no disaster recorded for Pegswood Colliery so perhaps there is another term more appropriate for the glass. Sadly there was no shortage of fatalities there during a long history:
http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/p004.htm

The disaster commemorated on the Hartley Colliery glass led to a significant change in law, the requirement of more than one exit from a mine.
https://co-curate.ncl.ac.uk/hartley-colliery-disaster-1862/

The Hartley glass reads Hartley Colliery Disaster January 16 1862 204 lives lost, engraved fern to back, 11cm tall.

Amazingly some complain about our Health and Safety regulations. Unfortunately those responsible for tragedy are rarely held to account, here Hillsborough and Grenfell spring straight to mind.

John

[glassobsessed]

The Pegswood Colliery glass reads Success to Pegswood Colliery 1895 and on the back Auld Lang Syne with an engraved motif, possibly a clover leaf, 10cm tall.

[chopin-liszt]

Fascinating.

The engraving does look a bit like "cottage-work". Perhaps it was left to those who did that kind of thing to do any commemoration? Disasters are the sorts of things that got swept under the carpet if it was just ordinary folk hurt or killed. Collateral damage.
At least the Hartley Wood one was paid some heed because of the press reporting daily on the trapped men.
Because somebody did bother to engrave these glasses, you have brought these disasters to attention today. 

[glassobsessed]

I read that the glasses were cheaply made and sold for the benefit of bereaved relatives, to help pay for funeral costs and suchlike. Apparently they are only found in relation to the North East coalfield, the practice does not seem to have spread to the other coalfields around Britain, certainly not seen anything similar here relating to mines in South Wales.

By chance I was walking on the mountain overlooking Aberfan a couple of days ago.

[chopin-liszt]

A name that always wraps a chill of horror around my insides.

[glassobsessed]

Still very much within many peoples living memory. As is so often, those in authority ignored warnings (strictly speaking the word ignored is probably not accurate, authority usually does something by punishing the whistleblower and nothing about the problem) and then blatantly lied to avoid responsibility afterwards. It is a common pattern in so many settings, some of that dynamic with the Titan submersible it seems.

If I carry on like this we will get sent to the cafe, better to discuss the glasses.

[chopin-liszt]

I think you've told most of the relevant story, particularly about these having been sold to give financial assistance to the bereaved.

I wouldn't have known about these disasters specifically, without the glasses still being around.
I think they are historically rather interesting - and important, otherwise the history could have been quietly forgotten for the convenience of those who wish it so.