WHEN the 1912 miners' strike spread across Denbighshire, one mine remained open.
The workers of Brynkinalt Mine in Chirk had remained loyal to their employer, Willam Craig who had fostered a good relationship with the miners since purchasing the mine in 1893.
The mine was sunk in 1860 but by 1893 it was in the hands of Mr Craig, a former MP for North Staffordshire.
While life was dangerous down the mine, with more than 30 deaths recorded from its opening through to the early 20th century, the miners had seemingly been better treated than their counterparts across north Wales.
In 1912, as miners across Denbighshire went on strike, the miners of Brynkinalt continued working.
Scenes from the 1912 incident at Brynkinalt Mine. Picture: Wrexham History.
Soldiers were sent to the mine to protect the workers who had feared their pit would be destroyed by striking miners in a bid to close the mine permanently.
More than 1,000 soldiers, 600 from the Royal Fusiliers and 400 Royal Welch Fusiliers and 50 police officers from Caernarfon and Merionethshire camped at Brynkinallt Park.
They would soon be put to work when demonstrators from Cefn Mawr marched on Brynkinalt Colliery.
The Cefn Mawr demonstrators were described as 'an armed mob' by the national press but this is thought to have been exaggerated and, in fact, strikers and police had been peaceful.
The demonstrators were met by the elderly owner of Brynkinalt who explained his workmen had already had the concessions which the remainder of north Wales miners were currently on strike for and implored the men from Cefn Mawr to return home.
Cefn Mawr miners and police at Brynkinallt Colliery in 1912.
The crowd did just that and violence was averted.
In 1913 the mine became a ventilation shaft for the new mine at Ifton and in 1937 one of the shafts was improved upon with the installation of steel headgear.
The mine closed in 1968 when the Ifton Colliery ceased.
These days Brynkinalt Park is a community woodland which has reclaimed the old spoil heaps of the colliery and offers stunning views of Chirk, the Beryn Hills and Shropshire.
However locals have not forgotten the past links to mining and the park contains many artefacts, including a coal wagon and cutting disk.
With thanks to.wrexham-history.com
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