The Nine Men Of Madeley

The Nine Men Of Madeley and other forgotten history.  By Shire Fella

This week saw the successful rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners who had spent 68 days some 700 metres underground. It was very pleasing to watch the news reports that showed that their ordeal was finally over.
Mining has always been a dangerous occupation especially in days gone by  - and Shropshire communities have also known tragedy involving the industry. The Madeley mine disaster was one such episode.

Four victims were children
Nine local miners were killed in a tragic accident while ascending the Madeley Wood Company's Lane Pit, on the 27th September 1864.  Later referred to locally as the "Nine Men of Madeley" - the miner's deaths were caused by a faulty winding apparatus. As they were returning to the surface after the end of their shift, the chain gave way, and they fell to their death. Although history refers to the miners as the  "Nine Men Of Madeley" -  four of the victims were in fact boys aged less than sixteen.

Treated worse than slaves
Tragedies such as the Madeley mine disaster were not rare around this period. During the 18th and 19th century, countless numbers of poor British children were forced to work in mines or factories, where crippling injuries and fatalities were common.
These times were hard and life was cheap in Britain - especially for working class youngsters. In fact when Parliament abolished African slavery throughout the British Empire, poor little British boys as young as four years of age were still being forced to climb and clean the chimney flues of Parliament's upper chambers.

State brainwashing
In case you were not already aware, October is now set aside for 'Black History Month' in many British schools -  Yet another golden opportunity for the Establishment, the BBC and the education system,to push another 'liberal' guilt trip on our children. I doubt that local school children will ever be taught about the forgotten chapters of their own history. I also doubt that pupils in Telford  schools will ever learn about "The Nine Men Of Madeley" as they do not fit with the Con/Lab/Lib-Dem multicultural agenda. They certainly won't be taught that the very first slaves that were forced to work on American plantations, weren't African - but deported British convicts, political prisoners and kidnapped children.

Isn't it about time that this politically-correct establishment stopped brainwashing our youngsters and remembered the plight and suffering of our ancestors too?