THE GRENFELL CALAMITY

In New Hartley by Whitley Bay,
Pursuing profit from coal,
A simple, single shaft was sunk,
Deep as a tower is tall.

But then, come eighteen sixty two,
A curse of the pitman’s craft,
Beam of the pumping engine sheared,
Plunging down, blocking the shaft,

Just one way in, just one way out
And no other way to go,
Brief lives, older and not so old,
Perished in the dark below.

One hundred and fifty five years
From that beam striking death’s knell,
New Hartley to North Kensington,
The Hester Pit to Grenfell.

Tower tall as a shaft is deep
Being served by a single stair,
And all was well, and all was well
Until fire erupted there.

 A plugged shaft sealed in deadly gas,
An open star filled with smoke,
And it’s all those who’re trapped within
Who must breath fouled air and choke.

Then, of course, there’s an inquiry,
One burning question comes through.
Why no second way out? Because
One way is cheaper than two.

 

Dave Alton