Miners' Memorial at Oakwell Country Park

Back in 2004 the Society's president, Fred Knox, lamented the fact that all trace of Gomersal Colliery had been removed from the face of the earth.

The colliery buildings had stood where Oakwell's country park car park and information kiosk can be found, in the far flung eastern corner of Gomersal, at Nutter Lane. Fred had worked at the colliery until its closure in 1972. Shortly afterwards Kirklees Council flattened the entire site, re-shaped the heaps of minespoil and planted thousands of trees and laid out the car park. Of the colliery all had disappeared. There wasn't even a sign or a plaque.

The Society's idea was to commission a piece of public art to be located on the site where the colliery stood, to show where the pit buildings and mineshaft once were and publish a book of reminiscences of the miners who worked there and recollections of their families and friends.

A grant was obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund and over the next 18 months the Society achieved all it had set out to do. On the opening day for the commemorative artwork (see picture) there was a bit of party attended by some of the miners who had once worked at the pit. Aa booklet of recollections was also published entitled simly "Life Dahn't Pit".