A RARE Bible, one of a set created for children whose fathers died in the Oaks Disaster, has made its way back to Barnsley.
For Simon Robinson, from Harry Road, Gawber, the 1866 event - the worst mining disaster in England - has long been a subject of fascination. And he has been looking to find one of the Bibles since his interest began, aged 16.
The opportunity came last month when Simon spotted an eBay listing for the book from a man in Derbyshire.
And bidding was fierce, with the auction starting at £75, escalating to Simon’s winning bid of £1,287.
Simon, 40, said: “My dad used to work in the mines and bought me books on the subject, which caught my interest. So I had been looking for years when this came up.
“There were 366 children affected by the disaster. So there was only that many Bibles made, and over the years many will have been lost or thrown away.
“I’ve only ever been aware of three available for sale. One was sold privately and the NUM holds two of them.
“It feels good to bring it back to town and if it can be used to help other people understand about the disaster that would be brilliant.
“I used to go to Priory school and would play in the woods opposite Barnsley Main, so I remember it closing down and Barnsley’s last gasp.
“I’m not rich but I could justify spending this because it is a once in a lifetime buy.”
The Bible was given to Faith Glover, whose father John Glover, a 19-year-old hurrier who died in the accident and was buried on December 16, 1866.
Her mother was Harriet Halliwell, who went on to marry again and have several more children.
“As a Bible it is very nondescript but certainly the thing which makes it different is the embossed lettering on the front and an inside cover sheet which relates to Faith Glover and her father.
“There is also half a page’s scribbling of kids’ birthdays in there too. Paper was rare and expensive back then so often the only bit of paper people would have to hand would be the Bible.
“I keep the Bible at home and haven’t planned to do anything with it. But if any museums were to contact me I would be happy to talk to them about displaying it.”
