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Memorial created in memory of men and boys who died working at Hatfield mine

A MEMORIAL has been created in memory of the men and boys who died working at Hatfield Main colliery in South Yorkshire.

The memorial, created by Yorkshire sculptor Mike Johnson, is one of the pit wheels which hauled mineworkers up and down the shaft and commemorates those killed at the pit or who died of industrial diseases.

Hatfield Main began producing coal in 1921.

In 2015, it was one of the last three deep coalmines in Britain to be closed when the industry was wrecked by the Tory government following the year-long strike against pit closures of 1984-5.

Hatfield was in the National Union of Mineworkers Doncaster area and was seen as the most militant of the four areas of the Yorkshire coalfield.

The memorial is at Stainforth, where Hatfield pit was located.

Former Hatfield miner Mick Lanaghan said: “The memorial creates a striking centrepiece for those who visit the site and, most importantly, commemorates the miners, which means so much to the people of Stainforth and all the mining communities of Hatfield Main.”

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