Letter of sympathy from Queen Victoria, read by clergy to widows, Hartley Colliery disaster, 1862
Illustration from The Life and Times of Queen Victoria published circa 1901. Info from wiki: As the rescuers struggled in vain to rescue the men trapped underground, Queen Victoria sent messages of condolence. On 22 January she enquired by telegram about the hope of rescue.[8] Initially Mr Carr, the viewer, replied that hope was by then faint, but not extinguished. Shortly thereafter he had to send a second telegram announcing all hope was lost. The Queen sent a telegram of condolence the following day, following it up by a letter. The letter was read by clergy to the widows which was "a great comfort and a consolation to them".[8] The Queen had lost her husband, Prince Albert, only a month previously and so her sympathy was understood to be genuine and deep. In her personal journal she recorded: "The accounts of the colliery accident are terrible, — such awful misery".[11] The heroism of the volunteers who attempted to rescue the victims was marked by a special medal, the Hartley Disaster Medal.[2] There is a memorial obelisk, commemorating those who died, in the churchyard at St Alban's church in Earsdon.[10] Hester pit was never reopened.
Size: 4418px × 3182px
Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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