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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
A Pity Story: A REAL Story by Shelli Rosewarne
My
submission in the anthology ‘A Pit Story’ is set in the town where I grew up
and based on a local event. The Hapton Valley pit explosion is part of the
local history of the area. Back when it was a mining town it was very community
based. The miners on shifts would often be from the same area of town, so the
people you were working with would be your friends, neighbours, relatives.
Every year there is still a remembrance service for the victims, my grandma
would often go and even now there’s still a good turnout for it. Last year was
the fiftieth anniversary and a special banner for the pit was placed at the
local museum.
It was such
a sad event, but even in the midst of that kind of tragedy there was the idea
of a community coming together.
I first heard
about Maud in one of the press releases about it. It was a simple two line
mention;
‘Maud
Waggett, the resident nursing sister, went to the face to give morphia to the
wounded and dying men. She was later awarded a gong from the queen for her
bravery, but also faced disciplinary action from the N.C.B., because at the
time, it was illegal for women to go into the mine.’
but it
sparked my imagination. Everyone helping on that rescue mission was risking
their life but Maud stood out to me. The contradiction if nothing else – the
fact that she was seen and recognised as doing such a brave act but she was
still disciplined as it ‘wasn’t allowed’. She struck me as someone who must
have been very brave and strong-willed, someone who was determined to do what was
right and to help people even though she knew it would have personal
repercussions for her.
When I
started looking into it more I was surprised how very little information there
was on her. Many accounts don’t mention her at all and those that do tend to
just put in a single line of basic information. I struggled to find any personal
background on Maud; was she married, did she have children, why did she want to
be a nurse, what was going through her mind when she went down into that mine?
From living in that area for many years I had an image in my mind of what she
would be like. A typical working class Lancashire woman – no-nonsense, down to
earth, family and community oriented, the type of person who would just knuckle
down and get on with things.
This was
the first time I had written a story that was based on a real historic figure
and I did find it was a little intimidating. Obviously Maud was a real person,
she probably still has family left, and so it was important to me to try and do
her justice and tell her story.
I really
hope you enjoy Maud’s story in ‘A Pit Story’. If you would like to know more
about me and my writing then please feel free to visit my Facebook page at:
or my blog
at: http://shellirosewarne.wordpress.com
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I love reading stories that are based on unsual or "little-known" facts. I believe that you have done a fantastic job and have created a wonderful tribute to this inspiring woman!
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