Northumberland Mining Disaster
Inscribed on the obelisk in Earsdon churchyard, near Whitley Bay, are the names of the 204 men and boys who died in the Hartley Colliery disaster on 16 January 1862.
The youngest was 10, the eldest 71, and the same surnames are repeated time and time again. One family, the Liddle's, lost nine members.
Such was the impact of the disaster that it resulted in a change of law, spelling the end of one-shaft mines, and the beginning of more support for miners' families.
The article will be of interest to anyone with an interest in the history of mining or who have mine workers in their family background.
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