Lea Hall & Brereton Collieries Memorial Society
Lea Hall & Brereton Collieries Memorial Society hold their monthly meetings and AGM at Lea Hall. The Society was originally formed by a group of retired Lea Hall Miners to raise funds for a miner’s memorial to honour the miners of Brereton Colliery which closed in 1960 when Lea Hall Colliery opened.
The memorial was erected in 2017 on the Globe Island in Rugeley town centre, as a lasting tribute to the miners of Brereton and Lea Hall Collieries. It also marks the contribution made by miners to the local community and the country at large. Working with Chase Arts for Public Spaces (CHAPS) the four statues were commissioned. They represent mining through the ages, and each face towards one of the roads leading into the town.
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.
Artwork by Andy Decomyn
The committee sponsored plaque number 10 as part of the installation of the National Miners Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas Staffordshire. 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’.