The lives of 26 men and boys lost in the Gwendraeth Colliery tragedy have been remembered 170 years on since the community was left heartbroken. Flooding swept through the colliery on May 10, 1852, and it took 18 months to recover the bodies.
The coal mining industry flourished during the late 19th and early 20th centuries with four principal mines in the Pontyberem area, including Pontyberem colliery, Pentremawr, Glynhebog and Gwendraeth colliery (Watney pit). Pontyberem, which is based in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli, grew as the coal mining industry in the area developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
