Bersham Mining Banner

Approximately June last year, I was asked to meet Margaret NWMAT secretary, Martin an ex committee member who was with his cousin and Karen (who is now at Wrexham Museum but who used to work at Marches Cymru) at Bersham Heritage Centre. This is where there are exhibitions on coal and local iron industries. It also tells the story of "Iron- Mad" John Wilkinson. The center used to be a school many years ago and this is where my mother used to attend.
   This meeting was to be a proud day for me as NWMAT was given permission by Wrexham museum and archives,  to photograph the Bersham Mining Banner. To my knowledge this  hadn't been out of it's box since the miners strike. I had been asked to do this honour- it was what I called "The Holy Grail of Mining". Tables had been set up in a large room for the even and the next job was to get the box it was stored in from one of the tall shelves. This was done by Martin and his cousin - a delicate procedure as not to drop the box. We all watched with bated breath, giving advice as to where we saw we could help. It  was then carried to where the tables were set up and there was some discussion as to which way was going to be the best position for me to photograph the banner.
   We were then asked to wear gloves as to not contaminate and spoil it and luckily it had been placed in plastic covering. This had helped to keep much of the colour enriched although small parts had
cracked a little on the picture of Bersham colliery and stickers had been placed previously on the plastic in some areas. The condition was excellent  and we all stood there in great awe, delighted by this opportunity we had been given.  The magical moment began to change and create a panic shake in my stomach as the reality of the situation became more apparent. I was here to photograph the banner and the lights began to rebound off the plastic cover and visibility of the image below was not so clear. I then asked for a ladder as it was impossible for me to get a great view of all the detail and scale viewing it at such a low flat view.
This was great as Margaret became my personal assistant by holding the ladder and different lenses for  my camera . I had taken many different views as I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get the image in one full shot. My initial idea was to make it up as a "joiner" effect to get it all together into one large image. Luckily I did manage to get it as one image and was pleased with the outcome. Recently there was talk that in the pipeline this may become a postcard to sell, which would be an accomplishment for me.

For info on

North Wales Miners Trust
( NWMAT )

http://www.northwalesminers.com/