First World War travelling exhibition - Mining and quarries
South Gloucestershire was notable for good steam coal. The outbreak of the war saw some of the miners enlisting. Many died and their names are now commemorated on village war memorials.
Rare celestine (strontium sulphate) locally known as ‘spar’ was quarried. Celestine was used in manufacturing fireworks, flares and sugar refining.
Stephen Francis was a “strontia digger” quarrying celestine. In 1911 he worked at the Raysfield Works in Yate with his father and two brothers. He lost his life in Flanders on the 13 October 1915 with the 10th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, when he was just 18 years old.
Frog Lane Colliery horse at Pit bottom
Frog Lane Colliery winding engine
Egghill Colliery, Yate
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