The Somerset Miners Welfare Trust has launched a new initiative to bring the story of Somerset’s coal mining heritage into local schools, offering free three-foot metal miner silhouettes for display on school grounds.
Letters were sent to 33 schools across the Somerset coalfield, inviting them to receive a smaller version of the iconic metal miners that have become a familiar sight in communities across North Somerset and Bristol. The aim is simple: to ensure that the next generation grows up understanding that the villages and towns where they live and learn were once thriving mining communities.
Three of the trust’s trustees recently visited the first group of schools to present the miners in person. Chairman Bryn Hawkins, Treasurer Mo Duery and Trustee Selwyn Rees delivered silhouettes to St Benedict’s in Westfield, Trinity in Radstock, St Mary’s in Writhlington, Welton Primary in Midsomer Norton, Norton Hill Juniors and St John’s in Chilcompton.
These six schools were the first of fifteen that responded to the trust’s invitation, with the remaining nine set to receive their miner in the coming weeks.
The schools initiative builds on the success of the wider metal miners project, which has seen over forty seven-foot silhouettes installed at locations across the coalfield over the past two years. From town centres and railway stations to recreation grounds and canal paths, the metal miners have sparked conversations and reminded communities of the industry that shaped the region for centuries. Bringing a smaller version into schools is a natural next step in broadening that awareness among younger children.
However, the trust was disappointed that seventeen of the thirty-three schools contacted did not respond to the offer. Since then, a number of parents from those schools have been in touch asking when their children’s school will receive a miner.
Unfortunately, as the original invitation went unanswered, the trust is unable to provide silhouettes to schools that did not reply.
The Somerset Miners Welfare Trust continues to look for new ways to preserve and share the legacy of the Somerset coalfield. If your school or community group would like to learn more about the trust’s work, or if you have stories and photographs to contribute, please get in touch.
