A PENSIONER whose dad narrowly escaped being caught up in the Gresford colliery disaster is to sing in a new opera commemorating the 90th anniversary of the tragedy.
Teenager Ivor Owen Bellis injured his hand while down the pit the night before an explosion and fire killed 266 men and boys in of one of Britain’s worst coal mining disasters, on September 22, 1934.
It was just a small cut and at the time he thought nothing of it but the following day it had turned into a massive and painful blister.
The 18-year-old was getting ready for the fateful shift when so many of his fellow miners were killed when his mother saw his swollen, throbbing hand and refused to let him go to work.
Ninety years on his daughter, Gillian Davies, 70, who hails from Wrexham and now lives in Llandudno, was determined to be part of the new community opera, Gresford – Up From Underground.
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She will be a member of the NEW Voices choir that will be performing the opera with the NEW Sinfonia orchestra at Remembering Gresford, a series of events in Wrexham to mark the milestone anniversary of the disaster.
Wrexham brothers Jonathan and Robert Guy, the founders of the NEW Sinfonia orchestra, have worked with the Wrexham Miners’ Project to organise the local commemorations, with support from the Arts Council of Wales.
The music for the opera has been written by musician and composer Jonathan and orchestra will be conducted by Robert, while the words are by poet Grahame Davies, who hails from Coedpoeth.
The commemorations culminate with three performances of the new opera.
The first of them will be at St Giles Church in Wrexham will be for schools only, on the afternoon of Friday, September 20.
Then on Saturday and Sunday, September 20 and 21, there are evening performances at St Giles’ Church at 8pm.
Professional soloists will join NEW Sinfonia and NEW Voices while young musicians from the local area will play alongside the orchestra’s instrumentalists for part of the production.
Meanwhile, the opera will also be performed on the opening night of the North Wales International Music Festival at St Asaph Cathedral on Thursday, September 12.
According to Gillian Davies, she might never have been born had it not been for that “strange twist of fate”.
She said: “If it wasn’t for my grandmother insisting he stay at home, dad might have been among those killed.
“His mother woke him up in the morning to give him the dreadful news after she heard it on the radio. So many of his lifelong friends and workmates were killed, it’s impossible to imagine how devastated he felt.
“Our father often told us the story of the disaster as my sister Lynne and I grew up. He told us he was the luckiest man to be alive.”
Gillian, a keen amateur soprano who belongs to four choirs, felt compelled to join the NEW Voices choir which includes 120 singers from across North Wales.
She was especially pleased to attend a rehearsal session at All Saints Church, Gresford, where a memorial is situated in St Catherine’s Chapel.
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It includes a mural painted in 1994 by artist Denise Bates, a book of remembrance detailing the names of all those who died, and a miner’s lantern.
Gillian said: “I love singing and I have joined in previous NEW Voices concerts but when I heard about the subject of this latest work I knew I had to be a part of it.
“The story of the disaster has played such a major part in mine and my sister’s life that I signed up immediately. After all if it had not been for that miracle of fate our father might have been among the tragic victims and neither of us would be here today.
“Jon and Rob are such wonderful musicians and have done a brilliant job making sure this performance will reflect the true spirit of the Gresford community, and all the surrounding towns and villages which had their hearts ripped open by this disaster."
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