1 00:00:13,513 --> 00:00:14,597 {\an8}Come on, boys. 2 00:00:14,597 --> 00:00:15,724 {\an8}Relish it. We're playing at home. 3 00:00:15,724 --> 00:00:17,225 Okay, we spoke about it yesterday, 4 00:00:17,225 --> 00:00:20,020 about it being a special day for the club, okay? 5 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:21,604 And how we pay tribute to that 6 00:00:21,604 --> 00:00:23,940 is by putting in a really good performance. 7 00:00:26,901 --> 00:00:29,654 As both sides make their way 8 00:00:29,654 --> 00:00:31,656 onto the Racecourse pitch, 9 00:00:31,656 --> 00:00:34,701 Wrexham looking to try and make it... 10 00:00:34,701 --> 00:00:36,995 Wrexham! Wrexham! 11 00:00:36,995 --> 00:00:40,540 This is a football town. It's a hardworking town. 12 00:00:40,540 --> 00:00:42,042 {\an8}We've been through difficult times lately, 13 00:00:42,042 --> 00:00:44,419 {\an8}but the mining is a massive part of that. 14 00:00:45,670 --> 00:00:48,214 We had the most horrific disaster. 15 00:00:48,214 --> 00:00:50,467 And I'm not saying "most" 16 00:00:50,467 --> 00:00:52,052 in a pejorative sense. 17 00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:54,054 Factually, the worst mining disaster 18 00:00:54,054 --> 00:00:57,140 in the history of Britain happened in the 1930s 19 00:00:57,140 --> 00:00:59,434 just on the edge of Wrexham in the Gresford mine. 20 00:00:59,434 --> 00:01:01,144 And before things get under way here, 21 00:01:01,144 --> 00:01:03,146 there will be a minute's silence 22 00:01:03,146 --> 00:01:05,982 for the Gresford Colliery disaster. 23 00:01:07,275 --> 00:01:08,777 It was well over 200 people 24 00:01:08,777 --> 00:01:10,278 that perished that day. 25 00:01:10,278 --> 00:01:12,363 The story of Wrexham supporters 26 00:01:12,363 --> 00:01:15,033 that swapped shifts so they could watch Wrexham, 27 00:01:15,033 --> 00:01:18,119 and that, sadly, the people that obviously replaced them 28 00:01:18,119 --> 00:01:21,206 passed away, so it's another example, I guess, 29 00:01:21,206 --> 00:01:23,500 of what the football club means to the people, 30 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:24,876 that they would swap shifts 31 00:01:24,876 --> 00:01:26,669 to go do a night shift rather than a day shift 32 00:01:26,669 --> 00:01:28,213 just to be able to come and watch the football club, 33 00:01:28,213 --> 00:01:29,756 going back all them years, you know? 34 00:01:29,756 --> 00:01:32,008 So, you know, the people from the outside now that will say 35 00:01:32,008 --> 00:01:34,010 the way they are, Hollywood FC and all that, 36 00:01:34,010 --> 00:01:36,429 they have no idea about us as a club. 37 00:01:36,429 --> 00:01:37,931 You know, they have no idea of the disaster 38 00:01:37,931 --> 00:01:39,557 that was Gresford Colliery that these people went through 39 00:01:39,557 --> 00:01:41,226 to be able to come and watch this football team. 40 00:01:53,029 --> 00:01:54,447 A disaster like that 41 00:01:54,447 --> 00:01:56,074 in a town of that size 42 00:01:56,074 --> 00:01:58,910 {\an8}can literally kind of be the starting gun 43 00:01:58,910 --> 00:02:01,996 for a slow demise to oblivion. 44 00:02:01,996 --> 00:02:04,040 There's the economic damage. 45 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,126 There's the emotional trauma. 46 00:02:06,126 --> 00:02:10,255 It's not a foregone conclusion that a town like this survives. 47 00:02:14,384 --> 00:02:17,512 ♪ Don't forget where you came from ♪ 48 00:02:17,512 --> 00:02:20,223 ♪ Don't forget what you're made of ♪ 49 00:02:20,223 --> 00:02:23,059 ♪ The ones who were there ♪ 50 00:02:23,059 --> 00:02:26,354 ♪ When no one else would care ♪ 51 00:02:26,354 --> 00:02:29,607 ♪ Don't be afraid to cry now ♪ 52 00:02:29,607 --> 00:02:33,361 ♪ Even when the world comes crashing in ♪ 53 00:02:35,738 --> 00:02:40,243 ♪ Don't forget to sing when you win ♪ 54 00:02:44,914 --> 00:02:49,294 ♪ Don't forget to sing when you win ♪ 55 00:02:56,092 --> 00:02:57,677 Well, I've been before. 56 00:02:57,677 --> 00:02:59,929 I don't know if you remember the talk we did. 57 00:02:59,929 --> 00:03:03,516 It's about the coal-mining industry in Wrexham, 58 00:03:03,516 --> 00:03:06,811 the Gresford Colliery in particular. 59 00:03:06,811 --> 00:03:08,771 Have we got any Wrexham supporters? 60 00:03:10,607 --> 00:03:13,026 Wow, that's brilliant. 61 00:03:13,026 --> 00:03:15,904 Anybody got the shirt? 62 00:03:15,904 --> 00:03:17,697 What's the numbers on the back? 63 00:03:20,450 --> 00:03:24,829 {\an8}So it's a real big remembrance of what went on. 64 00:03:24,829 --> 00:03:28,333 {\an8}My name is Alan Jones. This is my wife, Margaret. 65 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:31,878 I'm chair of the Friends of the Gresford Disaster Memorial. 66 00:03:31,878 --> 00:03:35,840 And Margaret is the secretary, sweeper-up, 67 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,677 pot-washer, and everything else associated. 68 00:03:39,677 --> 00:03:43,806 Now, that's a picture of the shaft when it was being dug. 69 00:03:43,806 --> 00:03:45,225 Can you imagine? 70 00:03:45,225 --> 00:03:46,976 It's nearly half a mile deep, 71 00:03:46,976 --> 00:03:49,729 with tunnels running under this area. 72 00:03:49,729 --> 00:03:52,941 Very close connection to this school. 73 00:03:52,941 --> 00:03:56,945 {\an8}Now, we come to September the 21st, 1934. 74 00:03:56,945 --> 00:04:00,865 If they'd have obeyed the new legislation, 75 00:04:00,865 --> 00:04:03,451 every coalface would've had fresh air. 76 00:04:03,451 --> 00:04:05,453 But because of the old legislation, 77 00:04:05,453 --> 00:04:09,290 the same air was going round every piece of the colliery, 78 00:04:09,290 --> 00:04:11,793 picking up dust, picking up gas, 79 00:04:11,793 --> 00:04:13,711 and then, eventually, 80 00:04:13,711 --> 00:04:16,881 a spark or a flame ignited the gas. 81 00:04:20,426 --> 00:04:23,054 A terrific blast awoke the sleeping town of Wrexham. 82 00:04:23,054 --> 00:04:25,932 Explosion and fire at Gresford was the dread message. 83 00:05:05,179 --> 00:05:07,223 While at the pithead, groups of miners, 84 00:05:07,223 --> 00:05:08,683 their wives and children, 85 00:05:08,683 --> 00:05:10,226 are waiting and fearing the worst. 86 00:05:10,226 --> 00:05:12,186 Men from the surrounding pits ceased work 87 00:05:12,186 --> 00:05:14,564 and rushed to help in the task of rescue. 88 00:05:14,564 --> 00:05:16,149 Already three of these heroic men 89 00:05:16,149 --> 00:05:17,984 have lost their lives, and as they fall, 90 00:05:17,984 --> 00:05:20,695 overcome by the dread gas, others are waiting, undaunted, 91 00:05:20,695 --> 00:05:23,281 to take their places. 92 00:05:23,281 --> 00:05:28,453 The 22nd, people waiting for news. 93 00:05:28,453 --> 00:05:31,372 All them people looking for their family. 94 00:05:31,372 --> 00:05:35,126 Their dads, their uncles, their sons. 95 00:05:35,126 --> 00:05:37,795 Men arriving, desperate to help, 96 00:05:37,795 --> 00:05:39,839 whatever they could, 97 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:42,508 to do what they could on land or underground. 98 00:05:42,508 --> 00:05:45,636 At one time, there were over 200 men underground, 99 00:05:45,636 --> 00:05:48,765 fighting the fires and trying to hold the roof up. 100 00:05:48,765 --> 00:05:50,850 But it was impossible. 101 00:05:55,271 --> 00:05:58,900 There were 261 102 00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:01,110 left without a dad. 103 00:06:04,405 --> 00:06:07,867 {\an8}And how old were you when your father passed away? 104 00:06:07,867 --> 00:06:10,411 {\an8}Three year old. 105 00:06:10,411 --> 00:06:14,207 My father's name was William Crump. 106 00:06:14,207 --> 00:06:15,833 He was 38... 107 00:06:18,127 --> 00:06:22,673 When he was killed in the disaster. 108 00:06:22,673 --> 00:06:25,009 But I used to peek through the window, 109 00:06:25,009 --> 00:06:28,596 'cause you'd hear them going up the street in their clogs. 110 00:06:28,596 --> 00:06:31,474 I remember Mum, she used to scream, 111 00:06:31,474 --> 00:06:34,227 used to shout 112 00:06:34,227 --> 00:06:37,271 'cause she was in so much pain. 113 00:06:37,271 --> 00:06:40,525 They decided to brick that part off. 114 00:06:40,525 --> 00:06:43,778 And my youngest brother, he went to work down the mine, 115 00:06:43,778 --> 00:06:45,029 and he said, 116 00:06:45,029 --> 00:06:48,032 "I wanted to knock that wall down," 117 00:06:48,032 --> 00:06:52,453 because somebody had said that the bodies could be recovered. 118 00:06:52,453 --> 00:06:54,705 There's no need for them to be down there. 119 00:06:54,705 --> 00:06:56,541 They could've brought them out. 120 00:06:56,541 --> 00:06:58,376 They wanted them to have a burial, Mum, 121 00:06:58,376 --> 00:06:59,460 didn't they? 122 00:06:59,460 --> 00:07:02,797 And--yeah, was-- that didn't happen. 123 00:07:02,797 --> 00:07:07,760 They should've tried a bit harder that they can... 124 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,929 get them out, you know. 125 00:07:09,929 --> 00:07:13,099 Why couldn't we have Dad out? 126 00:07:19,439 --> 00:07:20,898 The history is very significant 127 00:07:20,898 --> 00:07:21,983 in terms of the football 128 00:07:21,983 --> 00:07:24,902 {\an8}because I think it's got to be important 129 00:07:24,902 --> 00:07:27,447 {\an8}that there were so many mining communities around Wrexham 130 00:07:27,447 --> 00:07:30,950 {\an8}that Wrexham took to football almost before anywhere else. 131 00:07:30,950 --> 00:07:33,661 {\an8}That's why you have that 1864 on the badge. 132 00:07:33,661 --> 00:07:35,580 {\an8}You know, that's very, very early on 133 00:07:35,580 --> 00:07:36,664 {\an8}in the history of football. 134 00:07:36,664 --> 00:07:39,000 {\an8}Because you've got guys who are working underground, 135 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,586 the hardest jobs, the worst jobs, 136 00:07:41,586 --> 00:07:43,671 looking for some form of recreation 137 00:07:43,671 --> 00:07:45,798 when they get back above the surface. 138 00:07:45,798 --> 00:07:48,426 They like a pint, plenty of pubs around, 139 00:07:48,426 --> 00:07:50,094 but they want to do something as well. 140 00:07:50,094 --> 00:07:52,722 And football took off massively in this part of the world. 141 00:07:52,722 --> 00:07:55,016 Legend has it that many years ago, 142 00:07:55,016 --> 00:07:57,351 whenever a first-class football club in the North 143 00:07:57,351 --> 00:07:59,145 or Midlands wanted a player, 144 00:07:59,145 --> 00:08:01,898 the club manager just went to the nearest coal mine 145 00:08:01,898 --> 00:08:03,232 and shouted down the pit shaft. 146 00:08:04,775 --> 00:08:06,068 ROB McELHENNEY: Hi. Oh, hi. 147 00:08:06,068 --> 00:08:07,987 How are you? Rob McElhenney. 148 00:08:07,987 --> 00:08:09,155 This is my father, Bob. 149 00:08:09,155 --> 00:08:10,281 Well, hello. - Hey, Bob. Big Al. 150 00:08:10,281 --> 00:08:12,116 - Big Al. - I don't know why. 151 00:08:12,116 --> 00:08:13,451 I can see that. I get that. 152 00:08:13,451 --> 00:08:14,577 So here we are. 153 00:08:14,577 --> 00:08:17,413 You've got mining connections. 154 00:08:17,413 --> 00:08:19,415 - We do. - Is that on your dad's side? 155 00:08:19,415 --> 00:08:22,251 Yes, it is. My great-- Yeah, yeah. 156 00:08:22,251 --> 00:08:23,920 Would it be your great-grandfather 157 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,296 was a miner in-- 158 00:08:25,296 --> 00:08:27,256 My great-grandfather was, yeah. Yeah. 159 00:08:27,256 --> 00:08:30,051 Right, first they started off in Donegal. 160 00:08:30,051 --> 00:08:31,135 Right? Right 161 00:08:31,135 --> 00:08:33,930 And then they came over to Milford. 162 00:08:33,930 --> 00:08:36,349 You know, Glasgow. Yeah. 163 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:40,728 After the First World War, industry was left-- 164 00:08:40,728 --> 00:08:43,064 in this country, was just left to go. 165 00:08:43,064 --> 00:08:45,233 The shipyards were struggling, 166 00:08:45,233 --> 00:08:46,859 the steel industry was struggling, 167 00:08:46,859 --> 00:08:49,111 and it was vital for Wrexham 168 00:08:49,111 --> 00:08:51,239 that the coal industry kept going. 169 00:08:51,239 --> 00:08:53,157 It employed the vast majority 170 00:08:53,157 --> 00:08:56,369 or involved the vast majority of the town. 171 00:08:56,369 --> 00:08:58,037 Coal mining is what put the "Great" 172 00:08:58,037 --> 00:08:59,622 into Great Britain. 173 00:08:59,622 --> 00:09:02,458 The coal that was raised drove the ships. 174 00:09:02,458 --> 00:09:04,168 It drove the railways. 175 00:09:04,168 --> 00:09:07,338 It was the only real employment in the area, 176 00:09:07,338 --> 00:09:10,508 and people were desperate, desperate for work. 177 00:09:10,508 --> 00:09:13,010 The great arbitrage of the 20th century 178 00:09:13,010 --> 00:09:15,054 that fueled the economy globally 179 00:09:15,054 --> 00:09:17,557 was this arbitrage between fossil fuels, 180 00:09:17,557 --> 00:09:18,766 turning them into energy. 181 00:09:18,766 --> 00:09:21,644 Pittsburgh, where there was, you know, steel mining 182 00:09:21,644 --> 00:09:23,813 or Detroit building automobiles 183 00:09:23,813 --> 00:09:26,857 or the town of Wrexham and mining, 184 00:09:26,857 --> 00:09:29,110 but it's come at a huge cost, 185 00:09:29,110 --> 00:09:32,238 and that cost is primarily to middle-class people 186 00:09:32,238 --> 00:09:35,241 who are in more manual jobs who aren't living in a city. 187 00:09:35,241 --> 00:09:37,410 You know, there was pretty much one, 188 00:09:37,410 --> 00:09:39,912 you know, buyer of your labor. 189 00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:42,206 And so there wasn't a negotiation. 190 00:09:42,206 --> 00:09:43,624 It was a decision. 191 00:09:43,624 --> 00:09:46,294 Do you want to provide for your family or not? 192 00:09:46,294 --> 00:09:48,921 There's this tragic life before the disaster. 193 00:09:48,921 --> 00:09:51,257 This is hard living, to try and get through this. 194 00:09:51,257 --> 00:09:53,301 Oh, absolutely, absolutely. 195 00:09:53,301 --> 00:09:55,595 Another point... 196 00:09:55,595 --> 00:09:58,514 they were paid on the Friday, a lot of the men. 197 00:09:58,514 --> 00:09:59,807 So, when they went down the pit, 198 00:09:59,807 --> 00:10:01,267 their wages were in their pockets. 199 00:10:01,267 --> 00:10:02,435 Oh, jeez. 200 00:10:02,435 --> 00:10:06,105 Seven shillings and three-quarter pence. 201 00:10:06,105 --> 00:10:07,982 - That was it. - That was per week. 202 00:10:07,982 --> 00:10:09,692 - That was per week. - Per week, yeah. 203 00:10:13,779 --> 00:10:16,073 So they're still lying there now. 204 00:10:16,073 --> 00:10:17,450 The families didn't even get that. 205 00:10:17,450 --> 00:10:19,535 They didn't get zilch. 206 00:10:19,535 --> 00:10:24,373 And the wages of the miners that died 207 00:10:24,373 --> 00:10:26,709 actually stopped at... 208 00:10:26,709 --> 00:10:28,419 - 2:00 in the morning. - 2:00 in the morning. 209 00:10:28,419 --> 00:10:30,254 They didn't get paid for a full shift. 210 00:10:30,254 --> 00:10:31,505 The time of the explosion. 211 00:10:31,505 --> 00:10:35,134 {\an8}The owners ruled with an iron rod. 212 00:10:35,134 --> 00:10:37,970 Health and safety was-- it didn't exist. 213 00:10:37,970 --> 00:10:40,389 It was get the coal out at all costs. 214 00:10:42,099 --> 00:10:44,060 So how long has the memorial been here? 215 00:10:44,060 --> 00:10:46,812 Since 1982. 216 00:10:46,812 --> 00:10:51,067 Which was 48 years in waiting. 217 00:10:51,067 --> 00:10:54,070 There wasn't a memorial put up straightaway after the disaster, 218 00:10:54,070 --> 00:10:57,573 the reason being the vested interests of the mine owners 219 00:10:57,573 --> 00:10:59,492 who wanted to avoid punishment. 220 00:10:59,492 --> 00:11:02,495 Nationwide interest centers on Wrexham church hall, 221 00:11:02,495 --> 00:11:03,663 where the Ministry of Mines 222 00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:06,248 opens its inquiry into the Gresford pit disaster. 223 00:11:06,248 --> 00:11:08,167 Miners thrown out of work by the catastrophe 224 00:11:08,167 --> 00:11:09,835 eagerly queue up for places. 225 00:11:09,835 --> 00:11:12,672 Many of these men were among the 480 at the coalface 226 00:11:12,672 --> 00:11:15,841 when the explosion occurred, killing 264 men. 227 00:11:15,841 --> 00:11:19,011 This being Britain, the upper classes win. 228 00:11:19,011 --> 00:11:22,515 In the end, Bonsall and the mine company were convicted 229 00:11:22,515 --> 00:11:25,476 but only for inadequate recordkeeping. 230 00:11:25,476 --> 00:11:27,895 They were fined a pathetic £140. 231 00:11:27,895 --> 00:11:29,522 I think people still know 232 00:11:29,522 --> 00:11:31,190 that you've got to be very, very careful 233 00:11:31,190 --> 00:11:33,317 about those who come in and profess 234 00:11:33,317 --> 00:11:36,696 to say, "We're gonna--you know, you're gonna help us do this." 235 00:11:36,696 --> 00:11:38,447 Rob and Ryan might have encountered it 236 00:11:38,447 --> 00:11:39,532 to an extent, you know? 237 00:11:39,532 --> 00:11:41,659 That was one of the hurdles that they had to overcome 238 00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:43,744 because of things like Gresford. 239 00:11:43,744 --> 00:11:45,538 I think it's very worthwhile 240 00:11:45,538 --> 00:11:49,875 that we remember that one awfully significant event 241 00:11:49,875 --> 00:11:51,293 as a part in the bigger picture 242 00:11:51,293 --> 00:11:53,921 in terms of the history of the place. 243 00:11:53,921 --> 00:11:58,217 So what does the colliery wheel actually do? 244 00:11:58,217 --> 00:12:00,469 You'd have an engine house there, yeah, 245 00:12:00,469 --> 00:12:02,513 with a rope going up 246 00:12:02,513 --> 00:12:05,516 {\an8}around the wheel and down the shaft. 247 00:12:05,516 --> 00:12:09,145 {\an8}So there'd be a cage that would wind up and down with the men. 248 00:12:09,145 --> 00:12:12,064 So this is actually how the men traveled down... 249 00:12:12,064 --> 00:12:14,233 Yeah, yeah. - Into the mine? 250 00:12:14,233 --> 00:12:16,861 Yes. Half a mile. 251 00:12:16,861 --> 00:12:20,364 Half a mile into the ground? 252 00:12:20,364 --> 00:12:23,117 Okay, can you take us to the other wheels that were-- 253 00:12:23,117 --> 00:12:24,285 To the sister wheel? 254 00:12:24,285 --> 00:12:25,703 To the sister wheel, please. 255 00:12:25,703 --> 00:12:28,372 Yeah, absolutely, yeah. It's not very far up the road. 256 00:12:28,372 --> 00:12:32,460 The wheel was abandoned by the previous owners 257 00:12:32,460 --> 00:12:34,128 and buried it in the ground here. 258 00:12:34,128 --> 00:12:35,713 Ah. 259 00:12:35,713 --> 00:12:37,757 But you can see the size. 260 00:12:37,757 --> 00:12:39,175 Take a picture of it for Ryan. 261 00:12:39,175 --> 00:12:41,427 Yeah. - He'll want to see this. 262 00:12:44,180 --> 00:12:45,431 It was always in the plans 263 00:12:45,431 --> 00:12:47,516 when we were working with the local architects 264 00:12:47,516 --> 00:12:49,685 and engineers about the design for the new Kop... 265 00:12:49,685 --> 00:12:50,770 Yeah. 266 00:12:50,770 --> 00:12:52,563 That we wanted to make sure that we were honoring 267 00:12:52,563 --> 00:12:54,982 the coal-mining industry in any way that we could, 268 00:12:54,982 --> 00:12:57,568 so you can see with the façade of the brick 269 00:12:57,568 --> 00:13:00,112 and then in the color. Mm-hmm. 270 00:13:00,112 --> 00:13:02,782 And then we wanted to find ways 271 00:13:02,782 --> 00:13:07,828 in which we could just be pretty overt with our respect, 272 00:13:07,828 --> 00:13:10,289 and I think this would be a good way, 273 00:13:10,289 --> 00:13:14,376 to take the sister wheel, to put it in a respectful place 274 00:13:14,376 --> 00:13:16,796 up near the stand for the new Kop. 275 00:13:16,796 --> 00:13:20,049 For this to go to the Racecourse 276 00:13:20,049 --> 00:13:22,885 and be mounted up would be the-- 277 00:13:22,885 --> 00:13:26,222 Wow. The utmost pleasure of my life. 278 00:13:26,222 --> 00:13:27,681 Mm. - Sorry, Mag. 279 00:13:29,350 --> 00:13:31,560 But it would-- it's so important. 280 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:34,104 Anybody in Wrexham with a mining connection-- 281 00:13:34,104 --> 00:13:35,523 and there's not many that haven't-- 282 00:13:35,523 --> 00:13:37,191 are gonna be so pleased. 283 00:13:37,191 --> 00:13:39,360 Well, thank you so much for showing us this. 284 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,612 Hopefully we can do it justice. 285 00:13:52,540 --> 00:13:54,959 All right, what were you saying when we got in the car? 286 00:13:54,959 --> 00:13:56,669 Yeah, so we were getting in the car, 287 00:13:56,669 --> 00:13:57,837 and I'm just thinking-- 288 00:13:57,837 --> 00:14:00,464 Actually, if you hit that button here, 289 00:14:00,464 --> 00:14:02,675 it'll close that so it's not so loud. 290 00:14:02,675 --> 00:14:04,176 Right... This guy? 291 00:14:04,176 --> 00:14:05,261 {\an8}Window open? Yeah. 292 00:14:07,805 --> 00:14:08,889 {\an8}Yeah. 293 00:14:08,889 --> 00:14:10,516 {\an8}We're running sound, though, still? 294 00:14:11,058 --> 00:14:13,394 {\an8}So is picture running? 295 00:14:14,979 --> 00:14:16,105 {\an8}Okay, great. 296 00:14:16,105 --> 00:14:19,358 So this is so great that... 297 00:14:19,358 --> 00:14:23,195 we're dealing with fog issues on the lens. 298 00:14:23,195 --> 00:14:24,280 Right. 299 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,992 'Cause it's indicative of how ridiculous modern life is 300 00:14:27,992 --> 00:14:30,828 compared to--compared to the way it used to be. 301 00:14:30,828 --> 00:14:32,496 You know, those guys would have to go to work 302 00:14:32,496 --> 00:14:34,164 in these same conditions 303 00:14:34,164 --> 00:14:37,001 and they wouldn't have to worry about defogging a lens 304 00:14:37,001 --> 00:14:40,170 to shoot their bullshit Hollywood documentary. 305 00:14:40,170 --> 00:14:42,506 They'd be going a half a mile into the ground. 306 00:14:42,506 --> 00:14:44,967 Into the ground, right, just gobbling them up. 307 00:14:46,135 --> 00:14:48,762 I was struck by the fact that they were going down like that, 308 00:14:48,762 --> 00:14:50,639 and I thought to myself, 309 00:14:50,639 --> 00:14:54,101 how unfortunate that I never had a chance to talk to my dad 310 00:14:54,101 --> 00:14:55,895 about going down into those ships... 311 00:14:55,895 --> 00:14:57,062 Uh-huh. - Those cargo ships. 312 00:14:57,062 --> 00:14:59,440 As a longshoreman, that's what they did, right? 313 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:00,733 Back in those earlier days, 314 00:15:00,733 --> 00:15:03,986 they would literally go down into the bowels of these ships 315 00:15:03,986 --> 00:15:05,779 and get all the stuff out of there. 316 00:15:05,779 --> 00:15:09,241 And I never took that into consideration as a kid. 317 00:15:09,241 --> 00:15:10,701 I just figured, well, he went to work, 318 00:15:10,701 --> 00:15:12,453 he brought his check home, and we, you know, 319 00:15:12,453 --> 00:15:13,704 we went off to school. 320 00:15:13,704 --> 00:15:16,874 But, you know, the symbolism of the wheel, 321 00:15:16,874 --> 00:15:19,793 I just hope that it's just a symbol of what people were. 322 00:15:19,793 --> 00:15:22,129 You know, these are the people whose shoulders, 323 00:15:22,129 --> 00:15:23,797 you know, that we're standing on. 324 00:15:24,965 --> 00:15:27,635 It's just a reminder that, you know, 325 00:15:27,635 --> 00:15:30,179 everybody can find a connection 326 00:15:30,179 --> 00:15:32,556 to what that means in their community 327 00:15:32,556 --> 00:15:34,016 or in their life. 328 00:15:34,016 --> 00:15:36,393 My father was talking about Vietnam, 329 00:15:36,393 --> 00:15:38,729 and he was saying how everybody knew somebody 330 00:15:38,729 --> 00:15:41,398 who was killed in Vietnam, certainly in our community. 331 00:15:41,398 --> 00:15:43,359 There's something quite unifying about that. 332 00:15:43,359 --> 00:15:45,569 Even though one is a vocation, one is war, 333 00:15:45,569 --> 00:15:47,363 it was a very specific kind of person 334 00:15:47,363 --> 00:15:48,948 that was killed in that war, 335 00:15:48,948 --> 00:15:51,075 and it was a very specific kind of person 336 00:15:51,075 --> 00:15:52,576 that was killed in that mine. 337 00:15:52,576 --> 00:15:54,870 And I think almost everybody across the world 338 00:15:54,870 --> 00:15:58,123 can identify with people like that. 339 00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:00,209 The people were waiting. They're raising their family. 340 00:16:00,209 --> 00:16:01,752 And now all of a sudden, 341 00:16:01,752 --> 00:16:04,213 you know, your husband's not coming home tonight. 342 00:16:04,213 --> 00:16:06,173 And yet they go on, right? Yeah. 343 00:16:06,173 --> 00:16:08,175 Life goes on. 344 00:16:08,175 --> 00:16:11,053 No other choice. - Nope. Nope. 345 00:16:20,604 --> 00:16:23,607 So we get further away from it... 346 00:16:23,607 --> 00:16:26,193 but the connection still remains strong. 347 00:16:28,070 --> 00:16:30,280 But the football club took that up, 348 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,616 and it's largely driven in many ways by the football club, 349 00:16:32,616 --> 00:16:35,786 that this has become a big part 350 00:16:35,786 --> 00:16:38,414 of what's happened in Wrexham's recent history, 351 00:16:38,414 --> 00:16:40,207 to be honest, and the football club 352 00:16:40,207 --> 00:16:43,210 should take credit, I think, for reminding people 353 00:16:43,210 --> 00:16:46,296 {\an8}about what's gone on in this community 354 00:16:46,296 --> 00:16:47,923 {\an8}beyond the football club. 355 00:16:47,923 --> 00:16:49,216 And if they wonder why 356 00:16:49,216 --> 00:16:51,385 people have fought so hard for their football club, 357 00:16:51,385 --> 00:16:53,637 then perhaps these kinds of things 358 00:16:53,637 --> 00:16:55,180 are the reason for that. 359 00:16:56,974 --> 00:16:58,267 There's a folk song 360 00:16:58,267 --> 00:17:00,519 about 40 years old and written in Welsh 361 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:03,605 that was written originally as a political song 362 00:17:03,605 --> 00:17:05,899 referring to our relationship with England 363 00:17:05,899 --> 00:17:08,068 that's been adopted by the football fans 364 00:17:08,068 --> 00:17:10,779 in some Welsh towns, including here in Wrexham. 365 00:17:10,779 --> 00:17:12,489 It has a lot of resonance for us 366 00:17:12,489 --> 00:17:14,033 because of what we've been through, 367 00:17:14,033 --> 00:17:15,826 like the Gresford disaster. 368 00:17:15,826 --> 00:17:18,078 It's called "Yma o Hyd," 369 00:17:18,078 --> 00:17:22,082 which translates as "We're Still Here." 370 00:17:22,082 --> 00:17:23,584 Because we are. 371 00:17:26,336 --> 00:17:28,380 There's pride in it, and even though the mines 372 00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:30,007 were shut down in the '80s, 373 00:17:30,007 --> 00:17:32,051 I don't think you change 374 00:17:32,051 --> 00:17:35,137 from your character that quickly. 375 00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:45,272 All those things are entwined in terms of the DNA, 376 00:17:45,272 --> 00:17:47,566 as we might now describe it, of Wrexham. 377 00:17:48,734 --> 00:17:51,111 That industrial past is hugely significant, 378 00:17:51,111 --> 00:17:54,156 and football's also hugely significant. 379 00:17:55,365 --> 00:17:57,743 The idea that miners are trading shifts 380 00:17:57,743 --> 00:17:59,995 so they could go out and watch a match 381 00:17:59,995 --> 00:18:02,456 before going back down speaks volumes 382 00:18:02,456 --> 00:18:05,542 to how ingrained and how much of a part of the fabric 383 00:18:05,542 --> 00:18:07,878 of culture in Wrexham this club is. 384 00:18:07,878 --> 00:18:10,798 It's nothing to be trifled with. That's for sure. 385 00:18:10,798 --> 00:18:13,634 The disaster happened 100 years ago, 386 00:18:13,634 --> 00:18:16,345 but those people are still here. 387 00:18:16,345 --> 00:18:17,429 Miners, 388 00:18:17,429 --> 00:18:18,722 porters, 389 00:18:18,722 --> 00:18:20,432 painters, 390 00:18:20,432 --> 00:18:22,559 bartenders, teachers-- 391 00:18:22,559 --> 00:18:27,397 the people who wake up every day and put in an honest shift. 392 00:18:29,316 --> 00:18:31,443 And every Saturday they want to come to the Racecourse 393 00:18:31,443 --> 00:18:32,736 and feel victorious. 394 00:18:32,736 --> 00:18:37,116 So every win, every goal is a victory for them. 395 00:18:37,116 --> 00:18:41,036 And if we don't do everything on our end 396 00:18:41,036 --> 00:18:44,957 for them to feel that, then shame on us, 397 00:18:44,957 --> 00:18:46,667 because they deserve it 398 00:18:46,667 --> 00:18:51,672 {\an8}because Wrexham is the town that's still here. 399 00:19:03,976 --> 00:19:05,561 The corner is whipped in. 400 00:19:06,895 --> 00:19:08,897 Oh, it's a chance! It's a goal! 401 00:19:15,863 --> 00:19:17,197 Jones! 402 00:19:17,197 --> 00:19:19,283 Oh, it's a ricochet in! 403 00:19:28,375 --> 00:19:31,086 Oh, it's Mullin with a cross this time towards Palmer! 404 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:34,006 Corner comes in again. 405 00:19:34,006 --> 00:19:36,175 Hayden! Oh! 406 00:19:39,511 --> 00:19:41,221 It's Lee! Cuts it back! 407 00:19:41,221 --> 00:19:43,098 Dalby! 408 00:20:17,633 --> 00:20:20,052 {\an8}McFadzean, early ball towards Dalby. 409 00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:21,220 {\an8}It's gone past him. 410 00:20:24,264 --> 00:20:26,433 {\an8}Oh, what a pass that is!