On the 21 October 1948, Arthur Bobbett from Aberbeeg risked his life to crawl beneath a fallen roof support at Six Bells Colliery to help rescue a fellow miner, Hubert George Light. Despite pleas from comrades and superiors to desist, Arthur continued over 45 minutes to free the trapped Hubert.
According to an article in the London Gazette, Arthur was so exhausted he had to be taken home via ambulance.
Sadly within six weeks, Arthur was also killed by a roof fall in Six Bells Pit.
But his bravery did not go unseen. Posthumously he received the Edward Medal for gallantry from the King, the Order of Industrial Heroism from the Daily Herald and a contribution from the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust.
For the full story click below on the Abertillery Museum website.
http://www.abertilleryanddistrictmuseum.org.uk/bobbett.html
The Durham Mining Museum provides an account of these events from the London Gazette.
http://www.dmm.org.uk/galantry/z448.htm
Abertillery Museum is full of interesting displays. Beware the lady scrubbing her front step, or the miner bathing in front of the fire. You may be able to scrub his back!
According to an article in the London Gazette, Arthur was so exhausted he had to be taken home via ambulance.
Sadly within six weeks, Arthur was also killed by a roof fall in Six Bells Pit.
But his bravery did not go unseen. Posthumously he received the Edward Medal for gallantry from the King, the Order of Industrial Heroism from the Daily Herald and a contribution from the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust.
For the full story click below on the Abertillery Museum website.
http://www.abertilleryanddistrictmuseum.org.uk/bobbett.html
The Durham Mining Museum provides an account of these events from the London Gazette.
http://www.dmm.org.uk/galantry/z448.htm
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| Arthur Bobbett's medals are proudly on display at the Abertillery museum. |
Abertillery Museum is full of interesting displays. Beware the lady scrubbing her front step, or the miner bathing in front of the fire. You may be able to scrub his back!
Look in the local press for details of interesting speakers.
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| No attribution could be found for this newspaper clipping. Should anyone have a problem with my using it, it can be removed immediately. |
I found this on a random internet search. Thank you for posting it, Arthur Bobbett was my great uncle and it was really interesting to read about a part of the family I know little about. My grandmother came to Canada with her husband and children (including my dad) in 1953 and I know nothing of the family in Wales.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather, I volunteer at The Guardian, Six Bells. A memorial located on the site of the old Six Bells pit. I found this information at Abertillery Museum and felt it needed a wider audience. So glad you found it.
ReplyDeleteThese medals were donated to Abertillery Museum by Arthur's widow. A relative of Hubert Light has also donated a copy of his death certificate to the museum.
ReplyDelete