British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

Today marks the 102 nd anniversary of Britain’s third worst mining disaster, which took place on 21 st December 1910 in the parish of Westhoughton, around five miles from Bolton, Lancashire. Four days before Christmas, on Wednesday 21 st December 1910, 889 miners arrived for work at the No. 3 and 4 Bank Pit of the Hulton Colliery Company in Westhoughton. Known as the Pretoria Pit, the mine operated five seams. No 3 Pit worked the Plodder, Yard and Three Quarters Mines. No 4 Pit worked the Trencherbone, Three Quarters and Arley Mines, and was connected to the No 3 shaft at the level of the Yard Mine. At 7.50 a.m. a huge explosion swept through the Yard Mine, killing all but two of the men and boys who were working there. The shaft to No 4 and ventilation fans were damaged, causing access problems and danger of gas. There were only two survivors in the Yard Mine, Joe Staveley and William Davenport, who were found alive by the rescue team. In the wake of the blast, afterdamp,...

We discover more about Plumstead’s connection with the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory Opened in June 1890, the cemetery backs on to Bostall Wood and its location on a hillside gives it, like Greenwich Cemetery, excellent vistas over London Previously on this blog we looked at the life of Bertie Mee , one of the most successful managers of Arsenal Football Club. Although it is a north London side now, Arsenal began life south of the river as a football team for a group of workers from the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory. Soon to be known as the Royal Arsenal, the side played its first match on 11 th December 1886. The team changed its name to Woolwich Arsenal after becoming professional in 1891 and were known as the Gunners in reference to their association with the factory. The Club joined the football league in 1893 and were still based in Woolwich in 1903 [1] when disaster struck, affecting the lives of many in the area. On Thursday 18 June 1903 at 8.10 i...