Issue 7_Focus from the AOP_July 2026_FINAL - Flipbook - Page 13
“The gold winner went further still: technically skilled, but also intellectually engaging. You
could sense the connection the artist had made with the Welsh mining community, and that
care and respect came through in this series of work.“
. Aneesa Dawoojee
—
RUPERT ALLEN
Ron Stoat - Ex Miner at Britannia, Cwm and Penallta
— Ron Stoat, an ex-miner and now union
representative for the NUM in Pontypridd, took me
through the old ruined site of Penallta, told me of the
machines and men that were employed here.
Dropping deeper than the Blackpool tower into the
earth, at one point, this colliery employed over 3000
men, now lying silent only broken by the sound of
nesting birds and wildlife who have reclaimed this aptly
named cathedral of coal.
Church of Coal
This project, strives to explore and
document the coal miners who used to, and
still work in South Wales.
Ukrainian Coal Miner - Aberpergwym Colliery—
During the history of Coal Mines in South Wales, there
has been many of whom came from Eastern Europe,
Ukraine, Poland, Russia and the Baltic states, to work
and mine coal.
All shot on 5x4 large format HP5, using a
Sinar camera, these photographs are a
selection from my larger body of work and
book, which consists of almost 50 images,
portraits and landscapes of the people and
the places they used to work, and continue
to do so in a limited way.
When the closures began, Ukraine was one of these
countries who supplied aid and support to the NUM
and the miners, where there is now ongoing efforts to
aid and support the Ukrainian war effort by the NUM
and the Welsh Government. Miners like these still work
at Aberperwgym, and share camaraderie with their
Russian peers down deep in the earth.
The history of the Donbas, is filled with Welsh and
Ukrainian heritage, beginning with a Welsh Engineer,
John Hughes, who helped design and build the
Industrial Infrastructure now being fought over,
including founding the city of Donetsk.
A statue of this Welsh engineer and businessman, still
stands in now Russian held Donbas.
Aberpergwym Miners— These three miners, are some
of those who still currently work in the last working drift
coal mine in Western Europe. Spanning over four miles
currently, there are plans to expand the current size of
the mine almost 12 miles further.
Working to produce net green coal, used in
manufacturing sites across the UK and the world, with
the majority of the coking coal being sent over to the
American East.
Ray Stoat - Ex Miner at Britannia, Cwm and Penallta
— Ray Stoat, Rons twin brother, also worked at Penallta
where this photograph was taken.
Beginning his career at sixteen years old, Ray worked
for the union and mined coal for many years, finally
being made redundant in the early 90's, Ray decided to
focus his time and efforts in learning all about British
history, philosophy and culture through reading books
at his local library in Blackwood.
Photographing ex-miners in the colliery sites
that they used to work, and those who still
mine coal, in the last working drift colliery In
Western Europe.
In collaboration with he NUM in Pontypridd,
the Museum Wales, this project has taken
me across South Wales, in search of answers
to my question: what happened to the
miners, what happened to the collieries and
how have they both adapted in the 21st
century.
Hearing their stories, and documenting
them as they are now, has allowed me a
glimpse into the real people and places, to
understand what really happened and what
a select few have done to overcome the
crisis that rocked much of industrial Britain.
As with their age now, there is not much
time left before these people fade into
obscurity and out of the public mind, much
like the ruins of the halls and mines they
once worked.
—
