KELLINGLEY (a poem by Stuart Bailey)
Today it was the final day for them,
As the team went down the mine,
A sad, sad day for our proud nation,
For deep shaft mining it is the time.
The glory of this our proud nation,
Once built upon these men’s toil and sweat,
Many men injured and some died there,
They were miners please do not forget.
Do not forget that in times of war,
These men served proudly underground,
They toiled hard, they even died there,
Some their bodies they were never found.
Our nation, what was it then built upon,
It was on the backs of men like this,
In steel works, mills and deep coal mines,
The like of them our nation it will miss.
All traces of the mines now disappearing,
Nothing for our future generations to see,
How will future generations know them?
Their story it must be told by you and me.
At Kellingley today the final deed is done,
Miners for the last time went down the mine,
Their task, to cut the main cables to the cages,
Job done then back to the surface this final time.
A concrete plug will be placed in the mineshaft,
There at Kellingley the deed will be finally done,
Today our nations heritage of deep coal mining,
Will pass into history with the setting of the sun.
Stuart Bailey © Stuart Bailey 2016
Thank you to Stuart for permission to include his poem.