This one is a bit of a personal one but for anyone who is interested a nice walk . Until I was in my late forties I believed my dad had died when I was a baby ,then when my Auntie died my cousins asked me if I was interested in who my Father was ,of course I was but didnt expect the information I got .Mt cousins were actually mt step sisters and brother ,thier dad my Uncle Fred had had afling with his wifes sister ,my mom and as their generation did it was all hidden and everyone got on as nothinh had happened .I remewmbered my uncle fred as agiant of aman who scared the hell out of me ,even though he was always nice to me .I never got to know him as he had died in the 1973 makham pit disaster ,which brings me to this . Markham main was closed down as all British Pits were but it was known as the mine with a story ,it had been the site of 3 disasters 1937 -1938 and 1973 with a total of 106 men dying ,my dad Fred was one of the unfortunates that died a horrible death in 1973 , a bike rod broke and the lifts taking the new shift down the mine fell 1,407 feet at a speed of 27mph . These men and the unfortunates in the 2 disasters before are being remembered in atribute called walking together ,public funding is paying for a groupf of 106 steel men walkin in twos towards the site of the pit from the village of duckmanton ,these tributes are either white (going to work clean) or Black (Leaving work dirty) dependent on if they were going on or off shift when the incuidents happened ,my dad was going on. Each steel effigy carries a medal with their name ,job and date of disaster ,my dad is walking with his best mate Joe who died in the same lift . If you get chance visit and walk along the site of the pit ,now an industrial estate and under the motorway to spare these unsung heroes a quite thought .
My dads 
With his best mate Joe
The stone where the entrance to the mine was
The community should be congratulated for marking these disasters in a fitting way. My father was a miner at Agecroft colliery and there has been a memorial plaque to commemorate the few men who died there also. My father retired in the mid 1980's in good health.
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