The North Wales Coalfield and Gresford Colliery, by Ray Lawrence
A4 booklet, with clear plastic cover and glued binding. Privately produced by the author in 2012, 60 pages. (RLWSO)Contents include: Introduction, background, some of the major mines of the coalfield, other mines to have worked in the North Wales coalfield, Gresford Colliery, the Gresford Colliery disaster, & some of the other early fatalities at Gresford Colliery.
The booklet is illustrated throughout with several black and white photographs and maps.
Ray Lawrence, who wrote this booklet, was born into a mining family in a village in the Ebbw Vale in South Wales, and he spent much of his working life as a miner at the Celynen South Colliery in Abercarn. Whilst working as a miner at Celynen he was also a local official for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and he took an active part in the miners strike of 1984-85
Please note, this booklet was printed, produced and bound privately, and so lacks the 'finish' of a proffessional publication (i.e the photographs that illustrate the booklet are photocopy quality, the binding may be a little skewed, etc). But none of this detracts from the fascinating and detailed information the booklet contains, and it remains a must read/reference for anyone interested in the subject.
The condition of the booklet is generally ok. The clear plastic cover has some minor scuffs, and their is light nibbling and wear along the inside page edges and corners, but the spine binding is intact, and all pages are intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Please note their is a small price sticker on the rear side cover