A Midland town finally has a monument to celebrate its long mining heritage – including the deaths of 115 workers.
Four eye-catching statues have been unveiled on Globe Island roundabout in Sandy Lane – the approach to Rugeley town centre.
The town was home to Brereton Colliery and its successor Lea Hall, which, when it opened in 1960, was the biggest in Europe.
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Brian Batey, ex-miner and chairman of the Lea Hall and Brereton Collieries Memorial Society, said: “It’s fantastic, all of the hard work has finally paid off.”
There had been disputes over where the statues would go but the memorial society was determined to see them on Globe Island.
Mr Batey said: “It is the central gateway to Rugeley.
“It’s the first roundabout that you see if you come down from Cannock and Burton and places like that.
“It was the preferred site and the people of Rugeley said it was their preferred site too.”
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Until the unveiling, Rugeley was the only town in the Cannock Chase area not to have a monument honouring its mining past.
The 9ft statues, which cost £55,000, are the work of Birmingham artist Andy De Comyn.
He was commissioned in March 2014 to create a public sculpture to commemorate 115 miners who were sadly killed underground while working at the Lea Hall and Brereton collieries.
The sculptures are of miners throughout the ages and are made from concrete resin and weigh between 1,500 and 2,000kg.
Mr De Comyn said it was an “honour and a privilege” to sculpt the statues, which he worked on for around 18 months.
Coun Diane Todd, portfolio leader for town centre regeneration, said “I can’t believe what Andy has achieved in the last few months. His progress is remarkable and he is a very talented man.
“It is amazing to see these sculptures in place on the Globe Island, a fitting tribute to the mining history of the town and a great achievement thanks to the dedication of the members of the Lea Hall and Brereton Collieries Memorial Society.”
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Alexander Smith, secretary of the memorial society, said: “The society is delighted after four years hard work that the two local collieries will now be remembered and the lives of miners lost commemorated in a lasting tribute to the contribution miners made to the local community and the country at large.”
* The names of the 115 miners who died at Lea Hall and Brereton collieries were read out by primary school children at the weekend.
Their names will remain on permanent display at the spot thanks to a new plinth at the entrance to the town centre.
Doves were released into the sky while Deputy Lieutenant for Staffordshire Mrs Barbara Hyde formally dedicated the new memorial.
And preacher and former miner Jim Bullock read from the Bible. After a hymn, the ceremony ended with a miner-led procession to the Lea Hall Colliery Sports & Social Club.