0:00:02 > 0:00:04CHEERING
0:00:04 > 0:00:07If you know one thing about this town,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09it's probably the football.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Wrexham - the birthplace of the Beautiful Game in Wales,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16the Racecourse, the oldest international stadium in the world.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19But there's a lot more to Wrexham than just football.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21CHEERING
0:00:21 > 0:00:25It was one of the places that sparked the Industrial Revolution.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And the site of one of Wales's worst mining disasters.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32It introduced lager to Britain,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34and may have supplied it to the Titanic.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38And it was the place where many Welsh soldiers earned their stripes.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Wrexham is the biggest town in North Wales,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and can trace its origins from Norman times.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05It's a border town, just four miles from the English side,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07but proudly Welsh.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It was a stop on the cattle drovers' route across North Wales,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and grew up around its weekly market.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18But what really put it on the map was a church.
0:01:20 > 0:01:26Built between 1490 and 1512, this is the parish church of St Giles.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29It's widely regarded as one of the finest examples
0:01:29 > 0:01:31of church architecture in Wales.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34There was an earlier church here, but it burnt down,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38because, according to legend, the town held a market on a Sunday.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41The town took heed and changed market day,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and here we are, 500 years later,
0:01:43 > 0:01:48with both town and St Giles surviving unscathed.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54'Nobody knows the names of the men who built St Giles,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57'but some must have been local, and they left clues,
0:01:57 > 0:01:58'if you know where to look.'
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The original stone carvings, or corbels,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05give glimpses into life in the 15th century market town.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08There's a pig and its piglets, and some faces,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12including this one, who seems to be suffering from toothache, poor chap.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17St Giles was finished just after Henry VIII came to the throne.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Britain was still Catholic,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and churches were colourful, highly decorated,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26and some of that colour has survived here at St Giles.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28The brightly painted angels on the ceiling,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32and there's a nasty little red devil up there,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34looking down on the congregation,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36putting the fear of God into them.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40And on the wall below is something remarkable -
0:02:40 > 0:02:42the Doom Painting -
0:02:42 > 0:02:43a rendering of the Day of Judgement,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45which worshippers would have looked at
0:02:45 > 0:02:48as they raised their heads from prayer.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53But for centuries, the Doom Painting was hidden from view.
0:02:53 > 0:02:54Why?
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Well, to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Henry had to break with Rome,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03and all symbols of the Catholic Church were destroyed,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06or, like this painting, covered up.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09For anyone who opposed this Reformation of the Church,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12the results could be fatal.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14One of those dissenters
0:03:14 > 0:03:17was a Welsh-speaking Wrexham schoolteacher,
0:03:17 > 0:03:18Richard Gwyn.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23During the reign of Elizabeth I, Henry VIII's daughter,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Richard Gwyn repeatedly protested about the new Protestant services.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29He was arrested and tortured,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33but refused to accept the Queen as head of the Church.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Finally, in October 1583, he was sentenced to a terrible death -
0:03:37 > 0:03:41he was to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46He was executed in the town's Beast Market,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49becoming Wales's first Catholic martyr.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Almost 400 years later,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54in 1970, he was made a saint.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00This is the tomb of Elihu Yale,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04who gave his name to the famous American university.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06The descendant of a Wrexham family,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08he lived most of his life in America,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11before being buried in the town in 1721.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16He left his money to Yale College, and in thanks, they took his name.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20The church steeple at Yale is an exact copy of this one at St Giles.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28By the time of Elihu Yale's death, Wrexham was a bustling market town,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32known for its leather manufacturers, and for the brewing of beer.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Wrexham was doing well, but soon the town would change forever.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45The Industrial Revolution transformed Britain,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47and a Wrexham man was to play a vital part
0:04:47 > 0:04:49in lighting the spark of the age.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54For centuries, this area was known to have deposits of coal,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56iron ore and limestone.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00And this, plus a ready supply of water, pulled in the ironmasters.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02One of them was a true visionary,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and his nickname tells us all about his passion
0:05:05 > 0:05:09for the possibilities of the new industrial age.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12He was John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Wilkinson was an industrialist with a will of iron
0:05:17 > 0:05:19and a mania for metal.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22He set up at Bersham near Wrexham in the 1770s,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and was soon manufacturing iron products more skilfully
0:05:25 > 0:05:28than anyone had ever done before.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31John Wilkinson, inventor, pioneer, tell us about him.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Yeah, he's definitely... he's an ironmaster,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36but he's also an entrepreneur, and as you said, he's iron mad.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38He's always investigating new ways
0:05:38 > 0:05:40of using iron, and also producing iron,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44because it was the latest sort of technology for the time.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46As is often the case, it was war
0:05:46 > 0:05:48that spurred on Wilkinson's innovations.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51The British Board of Ordnance had a problem with British cannon -
0:05:51 > 0:05:53that's cannons used by the Royal Navy.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Instead of blowing up the enemy, they were actually just blowing up,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and the cannons had a fault in them,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and he devised new ways of producing the cannon.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05He would cast them solid,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and using his invention, the boring machine, with its boring bar,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12he would actually, you know, bore out the centre of the cannon,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14where the problems were in the metal,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and produce cannons that actually worked.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19And he also was very good at rifling.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21- And making these?- Yes.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23And that's one of the cannons we found in the Bowling Bank,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25where they used to test the cannon
0:06:25 > 0:06:28before taking them off to Chester for transport.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29What sort of boss was he?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Well, obviously... I think he was probably a typical boss of the time.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36You may get an idea of some of his attitudes
0:06:36 > 0:06:39to himself and his employees through his tokens that he produces.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Obviously, these become very unpopular in the 19th century,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45but this is how he paid his employees.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47You could spend these only in company shops?
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Yes, only in the company shops, yes.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52He put himself on his tokens.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56The first commoner to put his profile on a coin.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- Not the King's head, but Iron-Mad John.- Yes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05"Iron-Mad" Wilkinson would certainly have approved of this.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Just outside Wrexham stands one of the great landmarks
0:07:08 > 0:07:12of the industrial age - a marvel of any age.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16It was built in 1805, the same year as the Battle of Trafalgar,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18and it's still here.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21This is Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28It was designed by engineer Thomas Telford,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31who later also built the first suspension bridge
0:07:31 > 0:07:33across the Menai Straits.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36The aqueduct is over a thousand feet long,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40and rises 126 feet above the River Dee below.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44When it was opened, more than 8,000 people
0:07:44 > 0:07:47came to gawp at this stream in the sky.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52From down here, it's even more soaring.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54These columns are so vast,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58and yet the work of the masons is so fine, so delicate,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and the ironwork at the top is revolutionary,
0:08:01 > 0:08:06with the cast-iron trough sitting on a series of iron girdles.
0:08:06 > 0:08:12It cost £47,000 to build - that's about £3 million in today's money.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17In 2006, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Man-made wonders - the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China,
0:08:21 > 0:08:22the Pyramids...
0:08:22 > 0:08:24and Pontcysyllte.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29It wasn't only industry that brought wealth to Wrexham -
0:08:29 > 0:08:31there were also rich families in the area.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37This is Erddig, first built in the 1680s.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39It passed into the ownership of the Yorke family,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42who lived here for 240 years.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44They were an eccentric lot,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48and all the sons of the Yorkes were called either Philip or Simon.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50In the 1970s, the house was in ruins,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54but the last Philip Yorke handed it over to the National Trust,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and now it's restored to its mid-19th century glory.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Philip Yorke, with his penny-farthing,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04was a well-loved local character.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07But the house itself needed some serious renovation
0:09:07 > 0:09:09to bring it back to its best.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16The work paid off,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and Erddig is now one of the National Trust's treasures.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26'Although the most fascinating part of the house
0:09:26 > 0:09:29'isn't upstairs, but downstairs.'
0:09:29 > 0:09:32The servant quarters are perfectly restored.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34'It's real life Downton Abbey.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37'House steward Susanne Gronnow was brought up near the house,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39'and showed me the extraordinary records
0:09:39 > 0:09:41'of Erddig's domestic staff.'
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Susanne, life below stairs, um...
0:09:44 > 0:09:47complete with the gallery. That's unusual, isn't it?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49It is, it's highly unusual,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52and here we have one of our earliest photographs,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55of servants here at Erddig. It's dated 1852,
0:09:55 > 0:10:01and it shows a number of the servants who worked here in that year.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04So we've got the butler, the cook, housekeeper...
0:10:04 > 0:10:06- Butler in the middle, bottle in hand.- That's right.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Ready for action, ready to serve the dinner and serve the wine.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12And it's interesting, because there they are -
0:10:12 > 0:10:15the downstairs people - and upstairs, in the window,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18that's the family, is it?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20That's right, that's right. And that is highly unusual,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23that the family who would have commissioned the photographs
0:10:23 > 0:10:27did choose to have their servants commemorated in photographs,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30but also to have themselves commemorated with their servants.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33And it really shows that a whole community was here
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- working and living together to make Erddig the house that it was.- Yeah.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Our butler in the foreground shown as "Thomas Murray, well was known.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45"He who does neither centre stand with bottle clasped within his hand.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47"Clever was he at drawing cork.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49"And a good hand at knife and fork."
0:10:49 > 0:10:50THEY LAUGH
0:10:50 > 0:10:51So we know he was very good at his job.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57This is the butler's pantry - this is where the best silver was kept -
0:10:57 > 0:10:58in the safe over there.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00This is where the best wine was kept.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03The butler - lord of the house...
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- downstairs. - BELL RINGS
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Duty calls.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15'A butler's work is never done.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16'Coming, my lord.'
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Victorian Wrexham was mainly English-speaking,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23but Welsh was still strong in nearby villages,
0:11:23 > 0:11:28like Rhosllannerchrugog, famed for its music and male voice choirs.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31They were regular winners at the National Eisteddfod,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34which first came to Wrexham in 1876,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and was notable for the first ever Black Chair,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40given because the winner had died before his name was announced.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44But the biggest impact which Wrexham made on the life of Wales
0:11:44 > 0:11:49was a long way from poems, music and eisteddfodau.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52The origins of Wrexham Football Club begin not with a football,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54but with one of these.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56It's October 1864,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58and members of Denbighshire Cricket Club
0:11:58 > 0:12:02are stuck for something to do. They decide to play some football,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and it goes so well, they form a separate club,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09which makes Wrexham the third oldest professional football club
0:12:09 > 0:12:11in the world.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15The club was founded at a meeting here,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19in the Turf Hotel, still the temple of Wrexham football history.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20This was, I mean,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23it is the birthplace of Welsh football.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25It is, it is.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26And, you know,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28the Turf is very synonymous with that birth,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31because the changing rooms were actually attached to the Turf here.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34It was recognised as being the only pub to be on a football ground
0:12:34 > 0:12:37for many years, until that stand was put up,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39- a new stand was put up. - And very soon, I mean,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41the Racecourse wasn't just the home of Wrexham -
0:12:41 > 0:12:43it was the Welsh home as well.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45That's right, it was the home of Welsh football.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49In the town here, the Wynnstay Hotel, that's where the Welsh FA -
0:12:49 > 0:12:52well, the Cambrian FA as it was originally called, were formed.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56And the first ever international was played here on the Racecourse,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59in 1877 when we played Scotland here.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05And it makes us the oldest football stadium in the world at this time.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11One of the earliest films of a football international
0:13:11 > 0:13:16was filmed at Wrexham in 1912, and shows Wales versus England.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19The Welsh captain was Billy Meredith, seen here on the left,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22who was born in nearby Chirk, and played for Wrexham
0:13:22 > 0:13:26before becoming the most famous British footballer of his day.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Sadly, even Billy Meredith's wizardry couldn't help,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32and Wales lost 2-0.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Oh, well, que sera sera.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Whatever will be, will be.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And something else all too readily associated with football
0:13:40 > 0:13:42has its roots here.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44The soft spring water of the region
0:13:44 > 0:13:47makes it ideal for the making of beer.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48In the 19th century,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50there were 16 breweries in Wrexham.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56In 1882, a German immigrant, Robert Graesser, arrived in town.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00He thought that the British might like Germany's favourite tipple -
0:14:00 > 0:14:01lager.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04It took him a decade to get it right, but by the 1890s,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Wrexham had Britain's first successful lager company.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Many locals still preferred their ale darker and warmer.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20But the lager sold well abroad, and a bottle was even found in the Sudan
0:14:20 > 0:14:25when General Gordon's palace was recaptured in 1898.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27That's Gordon of Khartoum.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Here in Wrexham Museum is a copy of a letter
0:14:30 > 0:14:33sent by one of the soldiers to the brewery.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36"Gentlemen, I enclose herewith one of your labels,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38"which was taken off a bottle
0:14:38 > 0:14:41"found in the grounds of Gordon's palace at Khartoum.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44"I send it as a matter of curiosity, just to let you know
0:14:44 > 0:14:47"how far your famous Wrexham lager beer can be had."
0:14:47 > 0:14:49And the lager may have been present
0:14:49 > 0:14:52at another significant moment in history.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56The brewery supplied bottles to the White Star shipping line.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00So Wrexham lager may have been on board
0:15:00 > 0:15:03and gone down with the Titanic.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04FOGHORN
0:15:07 > 0:15:10But the taking of alcohol wasn't universally popular.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14The temperance movement was strong in chapel-going Wales,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and campaigned vigorously against the demon drink.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21This is Marubbi's Cafe, opened in 1896,
0:15:21 > 0:15:26where cocoa and coffee were offered as alternatives to lager and beer.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30It wasn't easy - one teetotal preacher was driven away.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31This was a brewing town,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35and there were legions of thirsty men in Wrexham.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40And in 1877, there were legions more,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43when the Royal Welch Fusiliers opened a base in the town.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50This is Hightown Barracks, historic home of the Royal Welch Fusiliers,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54and very much part of Wrexham life for the past 125 years.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57The barracks are very much still in use -
0:15:57 > 0:16:01these are from A Company, Third Battalion The Royal Welsh.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03But during the First and Second World Wars,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06this is where thousands of raw recruits
0:16:06 > 0:16:08came for their basic training.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The regiment was involved in some of the fiercest battles
0:16:11 > 0:16:12of the First World War,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16and included in its ranks famous poets like Hedd Wyn,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22At the regimental archives in Wrexham,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25there are fascinating original documents from the war.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley served with the Royal Welsh,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31and is also a military historian.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33All these vast numbers coming to Wrexham,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37and in amongst them, there are the artists and writers.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Well, here's the record book of the depot,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and here we see, amongst the draft,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Robert Graves arriving
0:16:44 > 0:16:47in 1914 to join the Third Battalion.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Graves, particularly well known, of course, for Goodbye To All That,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52his own record of service in the First World War.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55That's the first edition, which had to be called in and pulped
0:16:55 > 0:16:57because there were some problems
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- with him using material he shouldn't have done.- Wow.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03But we have some very remarkable original material
0:17:03 > 0:17:05From Robert Graves.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Here's a receipt for a trench telescope.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12This is a bit of an upmarket one, as you see, from a shop, made of brass.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16A lot of people made their own out of cardboard tubes.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Just the sort of thing you'd have seen today
0:17:18 > 0:17:21at the Diamond Jubilee procession, people looking over the crowd.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23But that's to stop you getting your head shot off.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25And that's the difference between life and death?
0:17:25 > 0:17:29- That's the difference between life and death.- Mmm. Yeah.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- Siegfried Sassoon?- Yes.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Well, here's a photograph of him from his own collection.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38And there he is, with his famous big ears.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42With three friends and a mock regimental goat.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44And on the back of this copy here,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48we can see what happened to all the others here.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50"Wounded," "Wounded," "Killed,"
0:17:50 > 0:17:54"Killed," so everyone in that photo, including Sassoon himself,
0:17:54 > 0:17:55two were wounded, two were killed.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07This is the Royal Welch Fusiliers War Memorial.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Unveiled in 1924,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14it commemorates the 10,000 soldiers who died during the First World War.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Most notable at the Battle of Mametz Wood.
0:18:17 > 0:18:2010,000 - it's an even more sobering statistic when you realise
0:18:20 > 0:18:24those are just the losses from one single regiment.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28The First World War also had an impact
0:18:28 > 0:18:30on the industrial life of Wrexham.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34There'd been mining here since the 16th century,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36but now demand for coal grew.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Llay Main was just one of so many collieries around Wrexham,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43but in its heyday, this was the biggest in Wales,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47the deepest mine in the whole of the UK.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Tragically, it was the mine at nearby Gresford
0:18:50 > 0:18:52which became known to everyone.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- NEWSREEL:- 'Views of the coal mine in North Wales
0:18:55 > 0:18:57'depict the scene of a terrible pit disaster.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'A big explosion in the Gresford Colliery near Wrexham
0:19:00 > 0:19:03'in the early hours of the morning occurred
0:19:03 > 0:19:05'when 400 men were working below.'
0:19:05 > 0:19:09266 men died in the explosion at Gresford in 1934,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13making it the second worst mining disaster in Welsh history.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Albert Rowlands was a teenage apprentice at the mine,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22working above ground handing out lamps to the miners.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26He's one of the last people still living to remember the disaster,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28and the desperate first rescue attempts.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Well, one lad, he'd be about 18,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35he said, "I'll go down, anybody come with me?
0:19:35 > 0:19:36"I'll go down."
0:19:36 > 0:19:38So they volunteered and down they went,
0:19:38 > 0:19:43and I realised later in life how brave they were going into that.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46And they went down and out, and they...
0:19:46 > 0:19:49They were shocked, they could hardly speak.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52People were asking, like, "Is my dad down there?"
0:19:52 > 0:19:57or, "Have you seen my husband?" and all that kind of thing.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59The next that I saw was, um...
0:19:59 > 0:20:02bodies being brought out.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04And, er...on stretchers.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06I counted them. Ten.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Covered over in blankets.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11And, er...away they went.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Albert's father, a decorated war hero,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16was one of those who perished in the explosion.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21In a tragic twist of fate, Albert never got a chance to speak to him
0:20:21 > 0:20:25when he was handing out the lamps that fateful night.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28I didn't see him at the mine.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30He went to the other window.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33There was two windows, two boys.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36I was on one, another boy on the other.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37And he was on the other boy...
0:20:37 > 0:20:39on the other boy's window.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43And that was it. I didn't ever hear of him, anything at all, afterwards.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48The disaster was headline news, but the impact in Wrexham,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52especially for those directly affected, was devastating.
0:20:53 > 0:20:54How difficult was it?
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I mean, Gresford carried on mining coal...
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Well, they opened up six month later, but I didn't go anywhere near.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02- No.- No, I was finished with it.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Completely.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10The mine owners were fined a derisory £140,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13but Gresford was not to be forgotten.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Robert Saint, a Durham miner, wrote a hymn tune as a tribute.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Some of the men who died in the disaster were rescuers from Llay,
0:21:21 > 0:21:22so this is fitting -
0:21:22 > 0:21:27the Llay Welfare Band playing The Miners' Hymn - "Gresford".
0:21:27 > 0:21:30BAND PLAYS: "The Miners' Hymn (Gresford)"
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Members of the old Gresford band now play with Llay.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Just like in South Wales,
0:21:43 > 0:21:47brass bands were always strong in the mining villages around Wrexham,
0:21:47 > 0:21:48and remain so today.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07With the outbreak of the Second World War,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Wrexham became home to hundreds of evacuees,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and a massive munitions factory was built on the edge of town,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15employing many local women.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20Then, in 1945, a new community arrived from much further afield.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Shops like this are a familiar sight in many British towns.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27But Wrexham's Polish community is one of the largest in the UK,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and can trace its roots back to the Second World War.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Many Poles fought and died on the Allied side.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38On Churchill's orders, refugee camps and hospitals
0:22:38 > 0:22:41were built or converted for Polish veterans and their families.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45And one of the most important was at Penley near Wrexham.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50Hundreds of Poles passed through Penley's camp and hospital.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53And some were still living there as late as the 1960s.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57One of them was Robert Mazurek's father,
0:22:57 > 0:23:02a wounded soldier who married one of the nurses who worked there.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04- And you were born here?- Yes.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Yeah, yeah, certainly was.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08It was, er... It was fantastic.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13My memories of living here on the hospital - we had nothing,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15- but we were all happy. - This is what's left, is it?
0:23:15 > 0:23:20This is what's left. This used to be the social club. Um...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- Parties, dances, um...- Yeah.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Once a month, they used to have a Polish orchestra
0:23:26 > 0:23:28that would either come up from Wolverhampton...
0:23:28 > 0:23:30The tickets were sold out in minutes.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34- Have you got any proof that these were happy days?- Yeah!
0:23:34 > 0:23:36This is a picture of my father
0:23:36 > 0:23:38outside the barrack we used to live in.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Pretty basic.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43This one is, again, my father pushing me in a pram.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45- That's you?- That's me, yeah.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49You know, this was... Poland in Wales, if you like,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52for many of the people that lived on the camp.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55- A little bit of Poland dropped into North Wales.- Yeah, that's correct.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01In the years after the Second World War,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Wrexham itself began to change.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06It was still a bustling market town,
0:24:06 > 0:24:11but by the 1970s and 1980s, the old industries started to fade away.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The coal mines, including Gresford, closed down one by one,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and the huge steelworks at Brymbo finally went the same way,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22with the loss of thousands of jobs. The mood was bleak.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30But on one glorious night in 1992, all that was forgotten.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34In the FA CUP, Wrexham, then bottom of the league,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38took on the champions, Arsenal - a mere 91 places above them.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Step forward, Mickey Thomas.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42CHANTING AND CHEERING
0:24:42 > 0:24:43WHISTLE
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- COMMENTATOR:- It's Thomas who takes it.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Oh, what a goal! Mickey Thomas!
0:24:47 > 0:24:53He's done it! The magic little man, at the venerable age of 37.
0:24:53 > 0:24:54CHEERING
0:24:54 > 0:24:58A second goal, just a few minutes later, sent Arsenal packing.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59Oh, he's scored!
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Steve Watkin has got a goal!
0:25:02 > 0:25:06And Arsenal face humiliation.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09But soon, the club itself, the core of local pride,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11also faced humiliation.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Wrexham had struggled for years, but the low point was reached in 2002,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19when the Racecourse was sold to Alex Hamilton,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23a property developer who wanted to move the club from the ground
0:25:23 > 0:25:25where they'd played for 130 years.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27There began a long legal dispute
0:25:27 > 0:25:30between the owner and the club's supporters.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Eventually, a consortium of supporters and local businessmen
0:25:33 > 0:25:34bought the club,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38but the row had cost Wrexham their place in the Football League.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43But things are looking up.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44The supporters are now running the club,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47and Wrexham are chasing promotion back into the league.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Joey Jones joined Wrexham as a teenager,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56before winning European glory with Liverpool in the 1970s.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59He's now back and coaching the reserve team.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Joey, does, somehow, Wrexham get in your blood?
0:26:03 > 0:26:04Yeah, it does.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I came to Wrexham when I was 15 years old,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10and, um...I call them my spiritual home, you know.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14I mean, I know I played for Liverpool - and I love Liverpool -
0:26:14 > 0:26:15Chelsea and Huddersfield...
0:26:15 > 0:26:17This is the place to be for me, you know.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I love living here, the people are friendly.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21They go out of their way to help you.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24And they certainly get behind their football club.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Does that mean that when the club hit rock bottom,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30did that sort of... Were they painful moments?
0:26:30 > 0:26:33The worst moments, certainly, of my footballing career.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34You know, when...
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Cos I was here when we actually went out of the Football League.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39To lose that League status...
0:26:39 > 0:26:42You know, means an awful lot really, you know.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44And, um...as I say, hopefully we can get it back now,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and I'm sure, with the help of the Wrexham people,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49the Wrexham supporters, you know, it'll be onwards and upwards,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and we'll get back to where we think we belong.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58In 2000, another local icon seemed doomed
0:26:58 > 0:27:01when Wrexham Lager ceased brewing in the town.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04But now it's come back,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07under new management, in a hi-tech micro-brewery,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11and using the 1882 German recipe.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15They even found the very yeast the original makers used.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I imagine you can't really tell me if there's a secret ingredient,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23but, um...is there a secret ingredient?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Um... Not really a secret ingredient,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29but it was paramount to us that we found the original recipe,
0:27:29 > 0:27:30and the original yeast.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33And that was difficult to find - it took us six months.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37These little black kegs coming off the production line -
0:27:37 > 0:27:39do you sort of send them on their way
0:27:39 > 0:27:41with the passion of a master brewer?
0:27:41 > 0:27:42Yeah, I mean...
0:27:42 > 0:27:46They're now going as far as London, and going towards Manchester way.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48So it's, er...
0:27:48 > 0:27:50They're getting about a bit, the kegs, yeah.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54This is very much a resurrection of old Wrexham.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Is this somehow part of the way ahead?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59I think it's got to be.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01I mean, when you look around, the young people
0:28:01 > 0:28:04who don't seem to have the future we had when we were young,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06and, you know, when I was young, there was steelworks,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08there was all sorts of heavy industries.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I think it's important that we've got something like this,
0:28:11 > 0:28:12and if it's successful,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14then there's going to be job opportunities
0:28:14 > 0:28:17for the younger generation, and hopefully, if the company grows,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19we will take a lot more people on,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22and it'll be a major employer in the town again, as it once was.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28We have finished our story of Wrexham
0:28:28 > 0:28:32on a diet of lager and football, which is fine -
0:28:32 > 0:28:34they are signposts to a past
0:28:34 > 0:28:38of the days of beating Arsenal in the FA Cup,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42of bottles of lager with General Gordon in Khartoum,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44on board the Titanic.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46But they are also signs of a determination
0:28:46 > 0:28:50to take the name Wrexham into the future.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd