A LASTING memorial honouring the 266 miners killed in the Gresford Colliery Disaster has been unveiled.
The ‘Gresford Window’ now takes pride of place at the Llay Miners Heritage Centre, dedicated to the memory of the men who lost their lives in the devastating explosion of 1934.
The memorial comprises a mural of the disaster printed on a window covered with a fabric window blind featuring the names of all the miners who were killed in the tragedy.
Malcolm Williams, who is chairman of the heritage centre steering committee, said: “We hope local people will see this as a fitting tribute to our fallen comrades of Gresford.”
The images on the window were taken from a mural featuring scenes from the disaster which is on one of the walls at Gresford Parish Church.
The moving feature was painstakingly crafted by Derek Buick of Headland Design, in Farndon, and now serves as a fitting tribute to the miners.
The project has taken about 12 months to complete, but Vic Tyler-Jones, secretary of the heritage centre’s steering committee, said the hard work had been very worthwhile.
“It has been quite a while in the making, but it has all been worth it,” he said.
“This very much represents the most fitting tribute that we could think of to those who were killed at the Gresford disaster.”
The mural was copied from a whole host of photographs taken at Gresford Church to make sure every detail was present and it was a faithful representation of the original.
Mr Tyler-Jones said a lot of careful research was also carried out to ensure accuracy of the names of all the miners on the blind.
It is now planned to organise a special ceremony of dedication for the Gresford Window, though no date has yet been set.
Mr Tyler-Jones added: “Among the people attending we hope to invite the family members of the men who died in the disaster.”