THE first ever reunion for all Burnley's ex-miners could attract more than 500 people to the town hall next week.

Former collier Bob Wilson is organising the get-together for people who worked in the area's 16 pits. The event could be be one of the biggest reunions the town has ever seen - if Bob can let enough people know it's on.

"About 100 people came to a recent reunion of miners from Fir Trees pit, Higham," he told the Citizen this week.

"Hundreds and hundreds could turn up for this one. It's just a matter of getting the message out.

"A thousand men worked at Bank Hall pit alone at one time. Of course, many are dead now. Some are in their 80s, which makes it difficult for them to come."

Bank Hall - now a park - closed in 1971, and Hapton Valley, the town's last colliery, yielded its final piece of commercially mined coal in August 1982.

Other pits included Thorny Bank, Huncoat, Reedley, two at Fence, Wood End, Deerplay, Towneley and Cheapside.

The reunion is at Burnley town hall on Wednesday (August 21) at 11 am, followed by an informal get-together at Burnley Miners' Club, Plumbe Street.

Bob added: "Getting in touch with everyone is very difficult. It's not like the old days when we could hold a meeting at the pit!

"People are scattered all over various areas, because when one pit closed, a lot of miners moved to where the work was. But there's still a lot of miners in town."

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