Gleision one year on: Relatives pay respects to loved ones

FAMILIES of the Gleision miners have returned to the site of the disaster to lay a wreath in tribute to their partners.

Mavis Breslin, Lynette Powell and Sarah Hanson placed their heart-shaped tribute at the now filled entrance to the mine on the tragic anniversary.

Sarah and Lynette both went to the mine in the days after the disaster, but for Mavis it was the first time she had made her way down the stony path to the mine which claimed the life of her husband Charles.

"I was dreading doing it but I am glad I have," she said.

She also looked round the changing rooms where the men got ready for their shifts every day.

Mavis said: "It's about holding a vigil. We feel we should continue going to remember our husbands."

They were joined by Lynette's son, Korie, 12, who continued his own tradition of leaving a bottle of beer in memory of his dad.

Lynette, whose husband David died at the mine, said: "It's important to be here. This is the last place they were."

Sarah's partner Garry Jenkins was the first trapped miner to be pulled from the mine.

She said she still thinks about him every day and said the hours after the tragic news became a "fuzz".

She said her three sons all still miss Garry.

"We think about him every day," she said. The women all reminisced about the terrifying hours they spent waiting for news.

"We were in a bubble," said Sarah.

She said they sat waiting for news in Rhos Community Centre.

"We were all there, waiting. I was 100 per cent certain they were coming out," she said.

"The one thing that gives me comfort is that he was happy in his life when it happened."

Sarah added: "I try to remember him in happy times."

The women plan to return to the mine each year on the anniversary to lay flowers pay tribute to their partners.

"It's something we can all do together," said Sarah.

Ken Mattick had previously worked with the men and was called within hours of the fall to offer his local expertise to the rescue teams.

"It's still affecting me now. I just can't forget it. It's such a tragedy," said Ken, as he lay his own floral tribute to the four men.

Flowers had been placed in the nearby village of Cilybebyll and at the gated entrance to the mine site.

The women all said they were touched the local people who rallied round them a year ago had done so again on the anniversary.

Sarah said: "It's nice that even now people haven't forgotten."

ruth.mosalski@swwmedia.co.uk

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