Dear Sir,
My family and I are in search of our ancestor NIKOLA SAVIC, from former Yugoslavia, born in 1914, who appeared to be working in London mines after the WWII.

Is there any possibility to obtain any information about him or his family?

Sincerely yours,

Stanka Savic Radojicic

Hello Fionn
 
A gentleman called Wallace Tom Price has recently contacted the Wigan World message board he is desperate to find information of his uncle also called Wallace Tom Price who was killed at Grange Pit Hindley in 1916, As you mention this pit on your site I thought I would contact you in the hope that you may have some information - below is a copy of his post.
 
I am stuck, I am named after my Dad's uncle, His name was Wallace Tom Price, born Gloucestershire in 1879, killed at the Grange Pit, Hindley. 28 Nov 1916 he was 39yrs. old lived at 9, Yarrow St. Hindley, inquest was
29 Nov 1916 -  I have numerous times tried to find out if 
1) he was married and if so to whom. 
2) did he have any children,
3) when and where was his funeral.

His brother was killed in 1909 in the pit, I did not learn of his existence until after his two other brothers had died, I have tried for about six years to find out information, I am now desperate, as I live in Hampshire can't visit Wigan local places readily, anybody with better knowledge that me can help re computers (I am a learner) would be greatly appreciated cheers. Wallace"
Another brother of the Wallace Tom Price was also killed in a mining accident the was John Price (b1880 c) and he was killed in 1909, I think at the same pit
 
A link to Wigan World message board - People

 
www.wiganworld.co.uk/communicate/mb.php?opt=f3
 

Thank you for your time
 
Kindest regards
 
Frances

I found the following information:-
Wallace Price (but it says he was only injured, of course he could have died later) It also states his age to be 15, however the date of the accident is down as 25 Nov1916 which would fit. His occupation is down as Haulage and the Colliery was called John, owned by the Wigan Coal and Iron Co Ltd.  He was caught against a pit prop and fractured his collar bone.

The 1901 census entry which shows him aged 21 living at home, 9 Yarrow St.  He was a miner as was his father, who was a Hewer.  His mother’s name was Leah and he had a brother John, also a miner. He had two other brothers, William aged 14 and Josh aged 4.
His mother was born in Drybrook, Gloucestershire about 1856.

Births, Marriages and Deaths England and Wales - Registration district: Wigan
Inferred County: Lancashire
Volume: 8c Page: 49

Hi, I have just found your web site. Could you tell me if there are any records that give names and particulars of past workers around the 1911 period? I am looking for my father in law Arthur Cartledge. He was supposed to have had something to do with the pit ponies. We are not sure of his birth as all his certificates were lost. On the 1911 census it states that Arthur Cartledge was at the Barrow Colliery

Barrow Colliery Barnsley

Best regards with your web site...
David R  Hunter

Cage Accident - Barnsley, Yorkshire. 15th November, 1907

I hope you can help me; I never met my Grandfather but have been told that he was killed in a pit accident in about 1914/15. I don’t know the name of the pit, and to make it more difficult I don’t know his name! My grandmothers name was Ellen Critchley but they were not married {hence me not having any details}. He  was an Italian man and was only about in his thirties. They lived in Gerrards Bridge, St Helens {Stanley St} so it probably would be a St Helens pit.

 I know I don’t have much chance of finding out, but maybe you could post my query?

 Thank you.  

Mrs Patricia Berry

Your best bet is ian Winstanley's website, "The Coal Mining History resource Centre", now owned by, Rayleys Solicitors. You can search by name, date, area, it might uncover something useful.

I am researching my great grandfather Henry Marsh born c1850 and he worked as a miner between the years 1872 and 1885.  During that time he lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield so I am presuming he worked at Skegby colliery which would have been the nearest mine open at that time - about one mile away.

We have never been able to find his correct birth or death certificate or his entry on a census so don't know which county he was born in, so was hoping there might be some mining records which might throw some light on this. Most of the information we have is from his marriage certificate and his four children's birth certificates. We think he had died by 1885 as that is when his wife remarried.

In 1874 he was a shoe maker but the rest of the time he was a coal miner.

Henry's wife was called Eliza and she was born in Leicester and their children were

• Walter b1874
• Elizabeth b1877
• Allen b1879
• Lizzie b1882

All born in Sutton-in-Ashfield. Eliza is on the 1881 census with Walter and Allen living with her mother in Sutton, but no Henry and Henry had died by the 1891 census. They appear not to be living in a miner's cottage.

According to his marriage certficate his father was called William and he was a shoemaker.  Eliza's maiden name was Brown - just to make things more difficult - and  I have done lots of research and have lots of wrong certificates, so thought I might try and find something out through Henry's job.  That is why I was hoping there might be some colliery records going back to the 1870s.

I live in Somerset so it is difficult for me to get to the local Records Office but I think they do have researchers who will do searches for you.

So basically I am looking for any records on the Skegby Colliery also known as the Brierley Colliery for 1872-1885.

Jean Birks

Hi Fionn,

This email is a bit of a long shot, and I'm sorry if you get lots of requests like this from bemused researchers.

I've been researching my family history for the last year now, and have traced the Ward line of my family back as far as 1600 (and back to 1570 on my eldest Ward's wife's father). Between 1800-1600 (at least, and possibly many years on either side) the Ward's and their wives' families have all come from Rothwell, Yorkshire. I stumbled upon a record of a mining disaster at Rothwell Haigh occurring on 19th April 1797 on the Coal Mining History Resource Centre website (http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/disasters/disasters_list_1600.html) after googling historical records for Rothwell. This got me thinking....

There is a strong possibility that the Ward's were miners, it being one of the main employers of the time and location, and knowing that in 1841-1851 practically all the male Ward's were mining (though by then they were located around the Hunslet area). I only have one relative who was definitely mining at the time, as his occupation is listed as 'collier' with his death record in the Rothwell parish register. His name was James Hodgson - born in Calverley and baptised in Idle, in March 1702, and died in February 1749. He is my first cousin, eight times removed (or my seven-times-great grand father's sister's son). I think that for his occupation to be written with his death record there has to be some connection between the two, though obviously this is just my guess. I realise that he was also 46 years old when he died, which isn't beyond the realms of a natural age related death, so I may well be barking down the wrong shaft.

So I was wondering whether you knew of anywhere I can search for mining records, and in particular names of people working in the mines in and around Rothwell? Presumably, records of pay would have been kept, as well as deaths. I did find the search facility on the CMHRC website (and was intrigued by the three examples they gave), but can't make it return less than 750 results, or from early enough dates. I figured that if I searched for James Hodgson first, then work through the other ancestors if/when I find my groove with it.

As I said previously, I'm sorry if you get a lot of emails like this. I only found this relative yesterday, and the mining connections today, so I'm very new to this subject. If you are able to point me in the right direction then I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Emma Ward

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