Lea Hall & Brereton Miners Memorial Society are based at Lea Hall where they hold their monthly meetings and AGM. The Society was originally formed to raise funds for a miner’s memorial to be erected on the Globe Island in the centre of Rugeley town. After 4 years of fundraising and hard work, working with Chase Arts for Public Spaces (CHAPS) and the artist Andy DeComyn the four statues were commissioned. The statues are made from concrete resin and weigh between 1500kg-2000kg each. They were unveiled on 13th September 2015 as the main feature of a Gala Day which took over the whole town and lasted all day. This memorial is a lasting tribute to the 115 men and boys that were killed in Brereton and Lea Hall Collieries and marks the contribution made by miners to the local community and the country at large.
The statues represent mining through the ages, and each face towards one of the roads leading into the town.
- The Brereton Miner: Represents early mining with a cloth cap and pike.
- The Rescue Miner: Features a “proto” breathing apparatus, looking toward Hednesford.
- The Lea Hall Miner: Represents the 1950s/60s era with a compressed paper helmet and shovel.
- The Deputy Miner: Represents safety, featuring a flame safety lamp.
YouTube Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuN1Kd6FZLg Councillor John Parkes
Their next project was the erection of a memorial wall on the Lea Hall site. Over two phases the families of miners were invited to purchase a named brick for a loved one as part of this feature. The wall was dedicated at a service held at Lea Hall on Fathers Day, 16th June 2019. From that date a service of memorial is held every Fathers Day. Wreaths and flowers are laid at the wall and the names of miners who have passed away over the previous 12 months are read out in honour of their service.
The committee sponsored plaque number 10 as part of the installation of the National Miners Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas Staffordshire. Since 2021 when the memorial was unveiled Remembrance Day Services have been held there annually. A permanent national memorial to commemorate the men, women and children who worked in the mining industry.
More recently funds were raised for a new banner to replace one that had been lost years ago. Banners are embedded in mining tradition. They are now primarily used when ex-miners pass away. At their families request the committee members parade the banners at funerals in memory of the passing of one of their mining ‘brothers’.