There’s a story by one of the rescuers who went into Pit 2 and 3 that despite its tragic wording, is very touching. It tells of two men who were killed in the pit disaster, a strapper and a drawer, who were great friends. Whenever opportunity arose, they were always together. In death too, they were not divided.
From the position in which their bodies had been found, they had evidently been talking to each other when the explosion occurred. Between them lay a dead horse, the drawers horse which had succumbed so suddenly to flame and smoke in those same moments.
Pictured is the interior of the wrights hut (joiners) at the Pit, which was at first used to treat the injured who lay on straw, but afterwards served as a temporary morgue. This hut would have been approximately where Priestfield Cemetery is now not far from the pithead locations.
From the book, “Hollow Earth & Hardship” by Paul Veverka