Life for the families at Micklefield, and the miners at Peckfield Colliery had, by necessity, to return to something as close to ‘normal’ as quickly as possible. John Charles Ball and his father Charles narrowly escaped death on Thursday, but by the following Monday, they were back working at Garforth Colliery, until Peckfield re-opened. Unless miners who survived the disaster had sustained physical injuries that prevented them from working again, they received no compensation, and so needed to resume working quickly. New miners moved into Micklefield, replacing the deceased men, both as Peckfield Colliery miners, and as husbands of the wives who had been widowed. In February 1897, Hiram Greenwood was killed after breaking his back when being struck by a roof-fall at the colliery, and coal mining continued to be a dangerous profession, as before the disaster.
However, something had changed. The disaster, and the subsequent treatment of those affected, helped to create a strong community spirit, as villagers rallied around to support each other, and local traditions and annual fund-raising events were started, lasting for many decades. To guarantee a reserved hospital bed at Leeds General Infirmary for any injured miners, villagers created the Hospital Day Carnival, which was not only a fun day out, offering villagers the opportunity to put their many talents to good use: sewing, costume making and the playing of musical instruments; but it was also used to help raise funds for the hospital bed.
Another enduring tradition that emerging from the Carnival around 1911, was the ‘Josh Wedding’, josh meaning ‘joke’. This was a parade through the village featuring two miners dressed as a bride and groom, with their wedding entourage, who would collect donations in a laundry basket from villagers, before performing a comic scene for the gathered crowd.
With the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, the Josh Wedding came to an end, and Peckfield Colliery closed in 1981.
But in 1996, on the centenary of the Peckfield Colliery Disaster, Micklefield staged a commemorative play in the same Club in which the Coroner’s report had been produced. The play was watched and performed by many descendants of the families affected by the disaster, and was written by Dennis Best, great grandson of Walter Winfield who was killed in the explosion.
Micklefield continues to remember its history and heritage, and there are many tributes around the village. A plaque dedicated to the widows can seen on the wall at Micklefield Church, which also has the Memorial dedicated to the 63 deceased miners. A plaque dedicated to the victims is to be found at the Bland’s Arms public house in Micklefield; and a third plaque dedicated to the orphans is to be found at Micklefield Infants’ school.
In 2021, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the disaster, a series of commemoration events were held in Micklefield and Lotherton; and church bells in Micklefield, Garforth, Kippax, Aberford and Sherburn were rung 63 times at 7:20am, the same time as the explosion, to commemorate the 63 men and boys who came from those villages and were killed at the colliery.
In March 2022, the Micklefield Heritage team transformed a neglected area of the Infants’ school into a commemorative garden:
The Josh Wedding tradition was revived in 1997, and culminated with a performance at nearby Lotherton Hall on Yorkshire Day in 2018. It is due to be re-enacted again in Micklefield on 15th June 2024:
Around Micklefield there are several displays and present reminders of its past history, which hopefully will be preserved well into the village’s future.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 