After the tragedy of Titanic sinking in 1912, the only item allowed to be retrieved from the site was coal. The ship had been fuelled with steam coal. Six Bells Colliery was renowned for its quality steam coal.
An excellent story, but...
Research shows coal from the valleys was taken to the ports of Newport and Cardiff by railway, and piled in heaps on the dockside. It was then removed from these heaps and loaded onto steam ships as fuel or cargo (or both). As the heaps would consist of coal from many coal mines, it would be difficult to identify the exact source of the coal.
Also, an online source indicates that a coal strike around the time of the launch of Titanic in 1912, meant there was actually a coal shortage.
To ensure the launch happened as planned, coal was taken from sister ships and loaded onto Titanic. This would appear to make it even harder to identify the source of the coal on Titanic when it sank.
As for me, I like the idea of it being from Six Bells, but I wouldn't put my shirt on it.
Six Bells Colliery was sunk by John Lancaster in 1891 with a team of highly skilled "sinkers" from Somerset. Unfortunately, four men fell to their death during the sinking of the two shafts. It was then known as the Arrael Griffin. The pit closed in 1988 and the site landscaped at the end of the 1990's. The colliery site has reverted back to its original name, and is now known as Parc Arrael Griffin.
On 28 June 1960 an explosion occurred underground killing 45 men. The Guardian memorial was erected by the community in 2010 to commemorate this disaster. The sculpture stands 20 metres high and its history is told in the Heritage Room, located in Ty Ebbw Fach, previously the Coach & Horses Pub which dates back to the 1800's.
www.tyebbwfach.co.uk
www.guardianwales.info
www.pinterest.co.uk/margaretgurney/guardian-six-bells/
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| Coal
I'm not recommending this, but online you can purchase a medal with a few grains of coal on one side and an image of Titanic on the other.
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The certificate of authenticity provided by these sites shows Six Bells as the source of the coal.
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| More coal |
Research shows coal from the valleys was taken to the ports of Newport and Cardiff by railway, and piled in heaps on the dockside. It was then removed from these heaps and loaded onto steam ships as fuel or cargo (or both). As the heaps would consist of coal from many coal mines, it would be difficult to identify the exact source of the coal.
 |
| Even more coal |
To ensure the launch happened as planned, coal was taken from sister ships and loaded onto Titanic. This would appear to make it even harder to identify the source of the coal on Titanic when it sank.
As for me, I like the idea of it being from Six Bells, but I wouldn't put my shirt on it.
Six Bells Colliery was sunk by John Lancaster in 1891 with a team of highly skilled "sinkers" from Somerset. Unfortunately, four men fell to their death during the sinking of the two shafts. It was then known as the Arrael Griffin. The pit closed in 1988 and the site landscaped at the end of the 1990's. The colliery site has reverted back to its original name, and is now known as Parc Arrael Griffin.
On 28 June 1960 an explosion occurred underground killing 45 men. The Guardian memorial was erected by the community in 2010 to commemorate this disaster. The sculpture stands 20 metres high and its history is told in the Heritage Room, located in Ty Ebbw Fach, previously the Coach & Horses Pub which dates back to the 1800's.
www.tyebbwfach.co.uk
www.guardianwales.info
www.pinterest.co.uk/margaretgurney/guardian-six-bells/
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