Blackwell Colliery public meeting on 25 February at noon

 

FIND OUT HOW TO HELP BLACKWELL COLLIERY COMMEMORATE ITS MINERS’ AND TWO OF ITS FINEST FOOTBALLERS BY ATTENDING THE COMMUNITY HALL AT MIDDAY ON FEBRUARY 25^TH

Two famous footballers who worked at Blackwell Colliery, Derbyshire and 7 miners who were killed there in a pit disaster in 1895 are to be remembered at a special plaque unveiling on April 18th

Bolsover TV coverage 

https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2024/01/blackwell-plaques-cc.mp4

On the afternoon of Thursday 18 April there will be unveiled three plaques in Blackwell Colliery that will commemorate two of its greatest footballers and seven miners who lost their lives in a mining disaster in 1895.

You can find out more & get involved by coming to Blackwell Community Hall at 12 noon onwards till 3pm on Sunday 25 February. Especially welcome would be any descendants of the miners killed.  

Billy Foulke, Willie Layton, James Fryer, John Gibson, John Jones, James Mee, Joseph Penshaw, Thomas Shaw and William Martin.

Blackwell colliers Billy ‘Fatty’ Foulke (1874-1916), a pupil at the local school, and Willie Layton (1875-1944) played for Blackwell Colliery Welfare FC and both won the top flight title and FA Cup with Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday respectively with Foulke playing for England and Layton for the Football League. Foulke also represented Derbyshire County Cricket Club. (DCCC)

Willie Layton was fortunate in that his football duties meant he took the night of 10/11^th November off work at the colliery and avoided being caught up in an explosion that killed: James Fryer, John Gibson, John Jones, James Mee, Joseph Penshaw, Thomas Shaw and William Martin.

Plaques to the two footballers and the seven men are now to be mounted at the community hall and pit wheel respectively. Blackwell primary school children are to help out on this special occasion.   

Come along on 25 February to discover more

Are you a descendant of any of the seven miners? If so then we would welcome you getting in touch and hope you can come along on 25 February.

Are you a former miner at the colliery that closed in 1969? If so then we would welcome you getting in touch and hope you can come along on 25 February.

Are you a relative of a former footballer who lived in Blackwell Colliery and can tell us more as the Greater Creative Home Truths Heritage Project would like to interview you for its oral history project.

Two short documentary films on Foulke and Layton at:-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k1fcY5vtPo Layton – a tale of tragedy and triumph  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zei3KpirqW0  The Biggest and Best: Billy Foulke

For more details contact football historian Mark Metcalf 07392 852561 metcalfmc@outlook.com and/or Cllr Tony Gascoyne on 07968 971015 gazzaddr@hotmail.co.uk