Miners Memorial - Record Set

This downloadable record set forms part of the Miners Memorial Project and contains records of fatal accidents which occurred in Forest of Dean Mines in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  It also includes records of Free Miners and Free Quarrymen who registered prior to 1960.

The records are presented in tables in which the information can be viewed in alphabetical or chronological order.  The information on accidents can also be viewed according to the mines or quarries where the accident took place.  The mines and quarries pages contain photographs and a brief historical account, in addition to accident details.

The entire record set is organised in the same way as an Internet Website and can be navigated similarly by selecting the appropriate links.  Each page has buttons at the top to access the main indices.  These indices provide links to the individual pages.

Fatalities

There are almost six hundred fatalities, dating from as early as 1797. The records contain (where available) the name, age and occupation of the victim, the date that the accident occurred, the mine or quarry involved and the cause of the accident. The records are presented in three ways: by date, by name and by mine or quarry.

 Free Miners

“A free miner is a person born within the hundred of St Briavels and abiding there and having worked a year and a day at coal or mine work”.

The original registers of Free Miners and Free Quarrymen are kept in the office of the Deputy Gaveller. The Data Protection Act means that only applications from 1838 – 1959 are included in this record set. The original free miners’ applications are held at the Gloucestershire Record Office. The information given on these applications comprises name, birthplace and year of birth, address, mine where worked; later applications include certificates of employment. The records within this record set are presented in tables, by date or by name.

Free Quarrymen

The Free Quarrymen number just over three hundred. The register is similar to that for the Free Miners and the records include the name, age and place of residence of the quarryman, the date of registration and an ID number which corresponds to the record number in the register. The records are presented in tables, by date or by name.

DOWNLOAD THE MINERS MEMORIAL RECORD SET

1. Download the zipped (compressed) file from the History Society website to the desktop or a folder of your choice. 
2. Double click on the downloaded folder. 
3. Click on ‘Extract All’ in the menu options at the top of the window. 
4. Click on ‘Extract’ to unzip the files. 
5. In the newly launched window, double click on the folder named ‘FODLHS Miners Memorial CD’. 
6. Scroll down to find the ‘Index’ file and double click. 
7. You have now launched the Miners Memorial Records Set. You may wish to bookmark the Index (Home Page) in order to easily launch the Record Set next time.