A sadly worn and hand-doctored image of a local Mine Rescue Team: but who were the heroes we were holding out for? Image very kindly supplied by Bill Mayo via David Evans.
In my last article, I pointed out that I’d received extra information on a couple of posts over the weekend – both on the Anglesey/sea question, and also on the Mine Rescue Team image shared by John Sale and Bill Mayo.
I posted a link to my article in the Cannock Facebook group, hoping someone might be able to help, and group member Jan Wilson thought she’d seen the image, or one very much like it, before. She went looking, and posted the image below:
This crew is clearly related to the one above. I wonder how many of these crew existed originally? Image kindly supplied by Jan Wilson.
Now, that’s not the same car (look at the roof, and apparent two-tone colour scheme of the original vehicle), and I don’t think it’s the same team, but I think it might be the same building in the background. It’s clearly a rescue team inaugurated at the same time as the one in the original image.
The image apparently comes from a 1935 book, ‘The Cannock Chase Jubilee Souvenir 1935’ which I know nothing about, other than it cost thruppence. Jan was good enough to take a photo of the cover for us, which I include below.
Thanks to Jan for taking the time out to expand this topic, and that really is a great image – these men were the pride of their communities, and deserve to be remembered.
Please feel free to add anything you can: you know the drill.
It would be nice to know more about this one. Image kindly supplied by Jan Wilson.
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hI Bob
A big thanks to Jan…Holly Bank? And THE Cannock Chase?
Cheers
David
In the clearer picture the man on the left could again be Joshua Payton, the Superintendent of the rescue station at Hednesford. The building in background of this picture is very similar to one shown in the CCMHS publication, and is almost certainly at Hednesford.
The Lichfield Mercury gives the collieries being trained in September 1913 and the names of the captains… East Cannock, Aldridge, Old Coppice, Littleton, Holly Bank, Cannock and Rugeley, Coppice, Bloxwich, Brereton, and Walsall Wood.
In the case of Holly Bank the captain was a Mr Guest. “44 fully trained rescue men are already available, and when the ten brigades that are mentioned have, in a fortnights time, completed the course of 12 lessons, there will be 60 qualified men ready for any emergency that may arise in the local mines….The aim is to have 340 fully-trained men for the Cannock Chase coalfields.”
re the mines rescue photographs i think you will find there are quite a number of photographs in ciculation of diferant collieries through the ages i was told that when a new vehicle or breathing aparation was abount the ambulance travelled from pit to pit to have group photo graphs taken re the jubillee programe i have a copy it was published by cannock council to celibrate king geugore and marys gubille its a history of the cannock district sorry about the spelling god bless
the jubilee book was compiled by WALTER WRIGHTfor cannock council to celibrate 25
years reingn of king george the fifth it really is a good three penny worth and contanes some great vintage pictures of the early 1900 in cannock district and back ground information on the mines rescue teams in the cannock coal fields in those days