A tip of the hat yet again to local history wonder [Howmuch], who in addition to spotting the Chasewater newsreel in the British Pathe archive, was busy over the weekend rooting through other video archives for the benefit of likeminded Brownhills local history ferrets. This snippet – just 21 seconds in length, from the archive, ITNsource, strikes me as being a bit of a find.
The accident occurred deep underground at the Grove Pit, on Wyrley Common (not far from the top of Engine Lane in Brownhills) on October 1st, 1930. Fourteen men perished, and the memorial to the ten fallen of Brownhills still stands in the cemetery at St. James’ Church, Brownhills. It is said that the incident garnered little media attention at the time due to it’s coincidence with the demise of the R101 airship, which itself took 46 lives.
Click the image to go to the ITN archive to view the film.