Gresford September 22, 1934

Key Question: What happened at the United Westminster & Wrexham Colliery at Gresford in 1934?

Aim of the lesson: To develop pupils’ understanding about the events at Gresford in September 1934 and place them in their historical context. They will have the opportunity to use resources from the Geoff Charles Collection, original maps and evidence from the 1937 Government Report to learn more about the largest industrial disaster that occurred in the north Wales coalfield. Focus: History, literacy, I.T, PSHE

Introduction: Teachers / pupils can use infographics on The Gresford Disaster and Geoff Charles to present:  background information about the events of September 21-23, 1934  the significance of the photo-journalist Geoff Charles and his role with a local newspaper reporting the disaster.

Starter: Wrexham Star - start producing a newspaper article  Devise a TITLE and INTRODUCTION for a special first edition newspaper article written by Geoff Charles about the Gresford Disaster when he was a journalist for the Wrexham Star.  Pupils can complete the activity online using the digital copy or print copies of the newspaper pages

Main activity: Write a follow-up newspaper article to the special edition which appeared in the Wrexham Star in 1934 Teachers / pupils can use the infographic on the Gresford Disaster and Gresford Disaster Report to present background information about the effects of the disaster and the conclusions of the report that followed.

Step 1: Preparation work  Work in groups to discuss the main elements of a successful newspaper article. Step 2:  Use information from the infographics, maps and resources from the Geoff Charles Collection in the newspaper article.  Choose evidence from the Government Report that you could use to help write a newspaper article about the disaster and the conclusions of the Report.  Write captions for the photographs and maps chosen  Pupils can use the 'Follow-up' sheet as a digital copy and create text boxes or print a copy for writing

Step 3: Other possible written tasks  Create a radio or television bulletin script based on the findings of the Government Report  Create a blog about the conclusions of the Government Report