The 18th of August is a day etched forever in the memory of residents in Bilsthorpe.

It was on that day 33 years ago that tragedy struck in the Nottinghamshire village when miners Bill McCulloch, David Shelton and Peter Alcock lost their lives after the roof of a gallery at Bilsthorpe Colliery collapsed.

Brave David died trying to rescue his colleagues and was honoured with the George Medal, while three other men were rescued during a tense 12-hour operation in what was one of the last fatal colliery accidents in the UK.

And, although it is now over three decades since that horrific moment, it is a day that remains fresh in the memory of former miner Alan Ward.

Alan Ward with the memorial to Bill McCulloch, David Shelton and Peter Alcock, outside the Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum.

placeholder image — Alan Ward with the memorial to Bill McCulloch, David Shelton and Peter Alcock, outside the Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum.

“I knew all six men personally. They were approximately 2,000 feet underground at the time and it was everyone’s worst nightmare. Speaking to the rescue teams, I was told that about 8,000 tons of roof came down onto these lads,” said Alan.

“It quietened everything down. You know when the mine rescue comes in that there is a problem, especially with the speed that they came up the yard.

“It is still fresh in my memory. I was driving when I heard it on the car radio and my first thought was that some guys were in trouble.

“I didn’t know exactly what had gone off until I went to the pub that night and asked them if they would put the national news on.

Former miner Alan Ward is a volunteer and trustee at Bilstorpe Heritage Museum.

“There was a big football match on and the guys complained because they switched the tv over for the news.

“ It was on the national news every night for about a week.”

A statue of a miner was cast in the trio’s honour shortly after the tragedy, while the village remembers their passing with an annual memorial service.

Alan is now a volunteer and trustee at Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum, where the statue is located, and will play a key part in this year’s service.

It’s a service that will also be attended by Ray Thompson, who was instrumental in rescuing the survivors and received the George Medal for his efforts.

“It is an important day and I will be paying my respects,” Alan added. “Ray comes all the way from Skegness every year and he brings three bunches of flowers for the deceased.

“We open the museum specifically on the day so that people can come, have a chat and a cuppa and swap a lot of what went on.

“In 72 years of mining coal at Bilsthorpe we have a roll call of 77 people who have gone to work in the morning and not gone home that night.

“People outside the industry don’t realise that we had our own ambulance service, I drove it for five years. We had our own medical centre with trained medical staff, run by a nursing sister, and also we had our own private mortuary.”

You can learn more about this incident and mining in the village by visiting https://bilsthorpemuseum.co.uk or heading over to the Museum on Cross St.