5/4/1958 – Cheslyn Hay Anniversary
Collections at the Mount Zion Primitive Methodist Church, Cheslyn Hay, amounted to £85 at the Sunday school anniversary on Sunday. The Rev. W.R.Kerry was the preacher. Mr L.Hood conducted the choir and children, and Miss Margaret Pee was the organist.

Lessons were read by Misses Eileen Evans, Janet Heminsley, Annette Poxon, and Sheila Cartwright. The soloists were Christine Brown, Christine Lawson, Angela Dace, Carol Horton, Jane Mason, Suzanne Bullock, Eileen Smith, and Hilary Steventon. Joan Heminsley, Carol Kingston, Maureen Downton, Sandra Moore, Maureen Newman, Monica Tew, Gwen Westwood, Pauline Brough, Hilda Walker, Janet Heminsley, Sheila Cartwright, Eileen Evans, Ann Walker, Barbara Marriner, and Margaret Bailey.

12/4/1958 – Chase Doctor on T.V.
Dr. Eileen Malone, of Cheslyn Hay, appeared on A.T.V. on Wednesday week in the programme “Paper Talk”. She took part in a discussion on “Unwanted Babies” following recent announcements by several mothers that they desire to give away their babies.

12/4/1958 – Religious Play Well Attended
Good Friday will be a day long remembered by the people of Cheslyn Hay for many of them attended a play presented at Salem church by young people of the church and of Mount Zion church. The play “The real presence” by Lillian M Cox is a story centred round the Bethany home of Mary and Martha three years after the resurrection. The cast was Mary (Ann Walker) Martha (Valerie Marshall) The Woman (Maureen Poole) Mark (John Saunders). The connective readings were given by Sheila Cartwright, Annette Poxon, and Janet Heminsley. The prologue was spoken by Miss Marjorie Pee and the play was produced by Mr Jack Cartwright. The organist was Mr Bertram Hackett, and the Rev. W.R.Kerry Presided. It was the first occasion that a play had been presented and the Rev. Kerry told the Advertiser that they were pleasantly surprised at the number of people who came to see it and the excellent way in which it was received. They were so encouraged by the success as attempt to go on with productions of that kind.

19/4/1958 – Lived in Cheslyn Hay 77 Years
The death of a life-long inhabitant of Cheslyn Hay, Mrs. Elizabeth Hickman (77) of Arvon, Wolverhampton Road, Cheslyn Hay, occurred on Friday last. Mrs Hickman who died at home after a three month illness had been married for 54 years to Mr William Henry Hickman (80) a retired colliery deputy. She leaves one son and one grandson.

19/4/1958 Trouble over a path
A footpath running from the centre of Cheslyn Hay to the now disused Plant Colliery was discussed on Wednesday by Cheslyn Hay Parish Council. It was said that there had been a certain amount of friction and it was alleged that a portion of the land which had formerly been part of a footpath had been ploughed and part fenced off. The clerk stated that the footpath, known to most of the inhabitants as the Horse Road, did not follow the prescribed route laid out for it by the council, but deviated some six feet in places, and was the wrong side of a hedge in other places. Mr S.Evans moved that no action should be taken until the clerk had checked the position, and members decided that some of them should see the path and review the circumstances. One remarked that the well-known walks in the area were gradually disappearing, and it would be a great pity.

26/4/1958 – Old Miners were Entertained
A dinner for the old miners of the Cheslyn Hay area organised by Mr Cyril Jones, was held in Hawkins Sports Club on Saturday. All who had served for 50 years or more in the industry were invited, and there were many there who were between the ages of 80 and 90. The oldest pair were two cousins, Messrs George and Jeremiah Whitehouse, whose ages are 94 and 90 respectively. After the chicken dinner long-service certificates were presented by the group manager, Mr J.H.Wilkinson. The chairman was Mr Hughes and Mr R.White the area production manager, proposed a toast to the veterans of the industry, to which Mr J.Kingston replied. Mr A.Chilton proposed a toast to the visitors, and Mr Horace Davies replied. Each old miner was handed a ten shilling note, and transport was provided to and from the dinner for them.

10/5/1958 – Death of Mr C.Baker of Cheslyn Hay
Mr Clifford Baker, of 1 Wolverhampton Road, Cheslyn Hay, died on Monday at the Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton, where he had been for a fortnight. He had been indisposed for periods during the last two years, but had only been seriously ill for a short time. Mr Baker, who was 66 years of age, was a native of Cheslyn Hay, and had lived there all his life. All his working life was spent at Hawkins Colliery. He was a member of Cheslyn Hay W.M.C., and years ago, was a member of the bowling club. Mr Baker leaves a widow, a daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren.

17/5 1958 – Good Result at Cheslyn Hay
Cheslyn hay Salem Methodist Church realised £102 for Sunday school funds at anniversary services on Sunday. This was an increase of £24 on last year’s amount. Rev. J.Harris Walker, from Sunderland, a native of this district, was the preacher at the morning and evening services. There were good congregations and in the evening the church was crowded out. The choir and the Sunday school scholars had been trained by Mr B.Hackett, organist, and they sang at both services. Soloists were Susan Worsey, Muriel Mitchell, Diana McLachlan, and Margaret Evans, Carol Thomas read the lessons.

24/5/1958 – Brighton Their Destination
A local couple Mr & Mrs Desmond Owen of 3 Wesley Avenue, Cheslyn Hay, are to appear for at least one season as Butlin’s redcoats at the Ocean Hotel, Brighton. Both are keen dancers and their instructress, Madame Lehminski of Birmingham praises them highly.

31/5/1958 – Inquest on Cheslyn Hay Motor Cyclist
Dr. Howell Duncan Davies, pathologist and medical superintendent at Morriston Hospital told a jury at Ystradgynlais, South Wales, on May 15 that he was “very surprised” to know that two young men had not died instantaneously in an accident at Abergrave on Saturday May 3. Dr. Davies was giving evidence at the inquest on Alan Edwards (27) who lodged at 27 Odfellow Street, Ystradgynlais, and David Jenkins (18) of Newmarket Stores, Ystradgynlais. Mr Edwards’s home address was 81 Station Street, Cheslyn Hay. He was the son of Mr & Mrs. Joe Edwards. Both were riding on a motor cycle in the direction of Ystradgynlais when it ran into a wall near Abergrave church. Jenkins died within ten minutes of the crash; Edwards, who was in charge of the machine, was admitted to Morriston Hospital. Dr. Davies said that Edwards, an open-cast worker, had a broken neck and all but the first of his ribs on his left hand side were fractured “Two of these had penetrated the lung” he said. Mr Trevor A.Lewis, machine shop foreman, Perry Chain Factory, Abergrave, who gave his address as 2 Abergrave Villas, Abergrave, was the first man to give evidence at the inquest. He was talking to his nephew and a friend some 50 yards from Abergrave church, at 5pm on Saturday May 3 when a riderless motor cycle suddenly came down the road. “The three of us immediately rushed up the road to the bend opposite the church bend” he said “we found two young men lying in the road”. “My friend and I rendered first aid while my nephew phoned for help. The machine was only creeping along when we saw it. There was no other traffic on the road”. Police constable Philip Ralph Ford, of Abergrave, took measurements after the accident. A scratch mark that had probably been made by the foot-rest of the motor cycle started at a spot 171ft from where the machine had finally stopped. It appeared to him said constable Ford that the machine had twice struck a wall before the two riders were thrown clear of it. Blood stains on the road showed that Jenkins was found near the middle of the road with Edwards hitting the ground 19 feet further down the road. After a brief retirement the jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death” in respect of both Jenkins and Edwards.

6/6/1958 – Three Die In Chase Pit Roof Fall
Three miners were killed and two badly hurt after a heavy and concentrated fall of roof at Hawkins’s Colliery, Cheslyn Hay on Wednesday morning. A sixth man was able to drag himself clear uninjured. Teams of rescuers toiled for nearly eight hours before the last man was brought out. The colliery switchboard was flooded with calls from anxious wives, mothers, and other relatives. Hundreds of tons of earth and stone fell on the trapped men, and rescuers were hampered in their efforts by huge slabs of rock some 12 feet long and two feet thick, which had come down in the fall. The fall occurred at 10 a.m. at a roadhead on 17s deep face 1½ miles from the pit bottom. Six men were erecting a supporting girder between two others, when the roof suddenly collapsed inward towards the face. Five men were trapped. The first two men were brought out alive and were rushed to Walsall General Hospital. They were Percival Manifold (36) of 8 Hardie Green, Blackfords, and Ronald Walker (40) of 20 Boswell Road, Pye Green, Cannock. Manifold has leg and back injuries, and Walker sustained injuries to his foot and head. Both were later stated to be comfortable

The Dead

The first dead man was brought out shortly before 3 o’clock; he was Stephen Blackett (41) of 109 Johnson Road, Cannock. Ninety minutes later, the second dead man, Jeremiah Buckley (23) of 77 High Mount Street, Hednesford, was brought to the surface. At 5-30 the third man’s body was recovered. He was Eric Atkinson (50) of Elizabeth Road, Lime Pit Estate, Pye Green. Buckley was a trainee and the other four were fillers. Rescue operations were supervised by the group manager Mr J.H.Wilkinson, and the acting colliery manager Mr Colin Rigby. The trapped men could be seen by the rescuers, but for a long time doctors were unable to get close enough to determine whether they were alive or dead. Mr Frank Smallman (38) of 151 Old Fallow Road, Cannock, was the man who escaped unhurt, he told reporters that he was holding one end of the girder and his mates were standing at intervals along its length. His leg was trapped by the edge of the fall, but he managed to wrench it free.

By Inches

He added, “I missed death by inches. There was absolutely no warning. The roof just came down without giving anyone a chance to get out of the way. All six of us might easily have been killed”. “It is a miracle that Ron Walker is alive, his head was pinned by the girder”. A spokesman for the National Coal Board told the Advertiser that the fall was probably due to a geological fault in the roof. The girders were supported by Dowty props and these had miraculously stayed up, indicating that there was no mechanical failure. All three dead men were married Blackett had one child, Buckley an eight month old son, and Atkinson a daughter and son. Blackett and Atkinson came to the district from County Durham about three years ago. The two uninjured men were also married, Walker, who is a native of Bridgtown, has two sons, and Manfold, who was born at Chadsmoor has a boy aged 11 and a girl aged five. The last serious incident at the colliery was afire seven to eight years ago. Ten men were involved, and one died from severe burns. This is the worst Chase pit accident since the Walsall Wood Colliery tragedy eighteen months ago.

21/6/1958 – Cheslyn Hay Presentation
Mr Frank Bowen, chairman of Cannock Butler’s Bowling League; Mr J.Perry, chairman of Cannock Thursday League; Mr E.Galley, secretary of the Thursday Bowling League; and Mr G.Wilcox, a brewery representative from Tamworth, were among the guests at a presentation to Mr W.J.Lockley, held at the Woodman Inn, Cheslyn Hay, on Wednesday week. Mr Lockley had been chairman of the bowling club of the inn for 30 years, until his retirement at the end of last season. He had also been vice president of Staffordshire Bowls Association for some time. Several members paid tribute to the work Mr Lockley had done. Mr Arthur Rose the oldest member of the club presented Mr Lockley with a barometer and also a bouquet of red carnations to Mrs. Lockley. The presentation was followed by a social evening. Miss Iris Maycock and the Cheslyn Hay Quartet, led by Mr F.Downton and Mr T.Smith, provided musical items, Mr Bert Walker, chairman of the club presided. The artistes were introduced by Mr Wilcox. The catering for the evening was organised by the club secretary, Mr J.Conroy, was by the women’s section of the bowling club.

21/6/1958 – Salem Fete was well Patronised
A large crowd at Cheslyn Hay Salem garden party on Saturday stood in silent tribute to the three miners killed in the disaster at Hawkins’s pit three days before. The garden party was opened by Mrs Paul Hawkins, of Shareshill, whose parents and grandparents owned the colliery before mining was nationalised. The chairman of the party, which was held in the grounds of “Lenton” High Street, Cheslyn Hay, by kind permission of Mr & Mrs H.Wollaston, was Mr W.E.Simpson. Among the many sideshows and stands were the Bowling Alley, with Mr Devereux in charge; the Rifle Range, conducted by Mr Blackley, the Cake and Apron stall, Mrs Wood and Mr H.Dace; the Fancy Goods, Mrs Stokes and Miss Baker; the Refreshment Stall, Mrs B.Hackett, Mrs L.Hawkins, and Mrs Spooner; and the Misses Mitchell were on the Ice Cream stall. Teas were served in the Salem schoolrooms, and entertainment for the evening programme was provided by scholars of the Cheslyn Hay Pinfold Primary School under the leadership of Miss Wharmby. The event was extremely successful, £145 being raised for the church. A further £92 was raised on the following day when the church held a gift day. The preacher for the morning service was Mr I.Walker and for the evening the Rev. W.R.Kerry, with special music by the choir at both services. During both services, gifts from members of the church and from the congregation were accepted. Neither of the sums is final and it is hoped that the total for both occasions will amount to £250.

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