1900 - 1994

Silverwood Mine

Hollings Lane

Thrybergh

Facts, Stories and Features

TALES FROM OTHER MINES

JAMES JOHN BAMFORTH

Whilst researching the family tree Gill Page and a sister found the following story regarding one of their ancestors. Though the main character in the following story was not a Silverwood miner and the event occurred  some thirty three years prior to the sinking of Silverwood, the tale is such that it has a somewhat gripping quality that reaches out and tugs the old heart strings.

John Doxey

JAMES JOHN BAMFORTH

By Gill Page [ nee Stead ]

James John [ pictured left ] was the only son of Ellen (nee Gill) and William Bamforth, who lived in Handsworth Woodhouse. He had 4 sisters, twins Emma and Lucy, Helen and Mary Gill Bamforth. Emma married a Gloucestershire miner, Charles Ball, they emigrated to the USA with the Mormons. Lucy married Wm Hutchinson, a miner I think, and Helen married Wm Nettleship, they had 9 children.
Mary Gill Bamforth was my Gt grandma. She married Sam Stead who worked for the Great Central Railway as a goods guard.

 James John Bamforth  was our great great uncle, who became a collier and worked at a little known colliery named The Pigeon Bridge Colliery situated near Aston Rotherham South Yorkshire.

James met and fell in love with a local girl and the couple arranged to be married in December of 1867, this then was to be the happiest day in young James life. On the day of his wedding James was working at the mine, and we can only imagine what thoughts were racing through his mind on this his wedding day. He would have had quite a bit of leg pulling from his mates, and also received much well meaning advice from his older comrades regarding married life.

Having finished his shift this elated young man left the mine to make his way home where a hot tub, a cup of tea and his wedding suit awaited him, and no doubt a lot of fuss from his siblings and of course his mother. From this point in the story we can only surmise what occurred next. His homeward journey included crossing a railway line, of which there were several in the vicinity including sidings to local collieries, crossing those lines was something he would have done twice every working day, but this day was different, this was a special day. No doubt his mind would have been shut off to his surroundings and also everything else on this homeward journey, with a whole range of thoughts racing through his mind, a sense of urgency in his step James John Bamforth failed to hear the sound of the approaching train. He never saw it approaching, possibly only seeing the train in a fleeting final moment as it struck him, there were to be no wedding bells chiming for  James and his future bride on this day or any other day.

It is very likely that we may think how could he fail to hear  or see a steam train, but how many of us have stepped off the pavement whilst shopping or in a rush to get home, and been brought to our senses by the angry sound of a car horn, and seeing the angry glare of the driver who has just narrowly missed us. Alas trains cannot stop as quickly as cars!

The inquest for James was held at nearby Worksop.

We suspect that his death occurred in what is now the Rother Valley Country Park but I wondered if anyone could help us to pinpoint the site of the mine more accurately so that we can visit it to pay our respects to such a tragic figure.

© 2007 Gill Page [nee Stead ]   owen@opage.freeserve.co.uk

Additional text John Doxey