0:00:06 > 0:00:08Welcome to this week s Inside Out West Midlands.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10The return of rickets and the toll on young lives.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27I knew he was going to have another seizure.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29How cutting edge design is helping the pottery industry bounce back.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I've been working on more planters and a lot of geometry style based
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and they seem to be on trend at the moment.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42And a former boxing champ investigates a mining disaster close
0:00:42 > 0:00:43to home.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50The youngest miner was only 12 years of age. You hear about kids had
0:00:50 > 0:00:56worked in mind and whatever but this has relieved but it on to me.
0:00:56 > 0:01:06I m Ayo Akinwolere and this is Inside Out West Midlands.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09For this week s Inside Out West Midlands we re
0:01:09 > 0:01:11at the Black Country Living Museum.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15You might have noticed there s been
0:01:15 > 0:01:20a lot in the press recently about the return of Peaky Blinders ?
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Of course, so much has changed since people lived like this.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28For many, life was undoubtedly harder than it is now.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Living conditions weren t always great
0:01:29 > 0:01:31and sickness was often a way of life.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Sadly though, sometimes diseases we think we ve seen the last of,
0:01:33 > 0:01:34can make unwelcome returns.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39In July 2016 Beverely Thahane gave birth to her second child,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43a baby boy called Noah.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46He was not a troublesome baby, he just wanted to feed and sleep,
0:01:46 > 0:01:47like any regular baby.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51It was exciting to have another bundle of joy in the house.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54But under the surface, Noah was severely lacking Vitamin D
0:01:54 > 0:01:59and suffering from rickets.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Even it was just one case of rickets in the UK,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05that would be a scandal; it s a totally preventable disease.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10And for babies, not getting enough vitamin D could prove fatal.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12So most people think of rickets
0:02:12 > 0:02:15as just a bone disease, but it s more than that ? especially
0:02:15 > 0:02:17in infants.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21It affects the heart and the brain.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24When Noah was just a couple of months old Beverley began
0:02:24 > 0:02:27to notice that something was wrong.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29His breathing was like he s just run up and down
0:02:29 > 0:02:32the stairs and I was thinking this
0:02:32 > 0:02:36is not normal you know, all the people who came across him
0:02:36 > 0:02:44would ask, what s wrong with his breathing?
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Rickets, a severe disease affecting the development of bones,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53was thought to have been eradicated with the discovery of vitamin D
0:02:53 > 0:02:56100 years ago but it s back and thanks to some new research,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Dr Jacobs and his colleagues are beginning to understand
0:02:59 > 0:03:02the scale of the problem.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04There is a national survey just
0:03:04 > 0:03:08completing as we speak, across the UK which has been running
0:03:08 > 0:03:11for the last two years and they found at least 50 children
0:03:12 > 0:03:16per year getting classic rickets.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18It s now come back and it s not
0:03:18 > 0:03:20as rare as it should be.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23So why is vitamin D so important?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Well it enables the body to absorb calcium to build strong bones
0:03:26 > 0:03:30and develop a healthy heart.
0:03:30 > 0:03:31Our main source of vitamin D
0:03:31 > 0:03:35is the sun ? but here in the UK we re too far north for everyone
0:03:35 > 0:03:41to rely on Sunshine alone, leaving millions of people at risk.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45The age groups are every young babies and teenagers
0:03:45 > 0:03:50as they go through adolescence, pregnant women are particularly
0:03:50 > 0:03:55important for their own health and the health of their baby.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59And ethnic groups at risk are particularly people with darker
0:03:59 > 0:04:04skin, people who dress very modestly ? especially Muslim women who do not
0:04:04 > 0:04:10get much exposure to the sun, they have a high instance of severe
0:04:10 > 0:04:13problems due to a lack of vitamin D.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Astonishingly, doctors now believe a lack of vitamin D can affect far
0:04:17 > 0:04:22more people and could be linked to a host of conditions.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25There are probably a lot of common problems that
0:04:25 > 0:04:28would be reduced if the whole population had a healthier level
0:04:28 > 0:04:33of vitamin D ? so we re learning now about asthma,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37diabetes, possibly some cancers, multiple-sclerosis, a large range
0:04:37 > 0:04:43of diseases where there may be an element of increase risk due
0:04:43 > 0:04:48to a lack of vitamin D.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51As a mother to 9-year-old Jasvier, and baby Noah, Beverley had no
0:04:51 > 0:04:56idea her whole family was at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01Us people of colour, we know that in a country like this,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05in weather like this, there s not much sunshine but
0:05:05 > 0:05:10we don t think much of it, we didn t know the severity of it,
0:05:10 > 0:05:16that it can actually kill you.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18By the time Noah was five months old, Beverley had witnessed several
0:05:19 > 0:05:21seizures and was at her wits end.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26I didn t want to leave the house; I used to fight with Jas
0:05:26 > 0:05:29because I didn t want Jas to touch him because I didn t
0:05:30 > 0:05:31know what was going on.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Despite trips to the GP and A&E, nobody had spotted
0:05:35 > 0:05:38the cause of Noah s illness, because in general doctors simply
0:05:38 > 0:05:44aren t trained to think about or check vitamin D levels.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46One evening at their home in Telford,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Beverley was settling the baby down for the night, when he suddenly
0:05:49 > 0:05:52stopped breathing.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56I fed him, I changed his nappy
0:05:56 > 0:05:58and he was still restless so we had to get out.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03When I was still trying to calm him down, he rolled his eyes
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and I knew it was coming, because I d seen it before
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and when he rolled his eyes he started changing colour again
0:06:10 > 0:06:18and I knew he was gonna have another seizure but unfortunately it ended
0:06:18 > 0:06:21up being a heart attack, he just rolled his eyes
0:06:21 > 0:06:26and I thought, oh, my God, what s going on?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29While in hospital tests finally revealed the cause of the problem ?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31but it was too late.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Noah passed away a few days later from heart failure.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Vitamin D is a silent killer first of all,
0:06:39 > 0:06:44because I am without a child now and the sickness was silent,
0:06:44 > 0:06:50nobody knew, nobody picked it up.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51If Noah s Mum had been
0:06:51 > 0:06:55told at birth about the necessity to supplement him for the first
0:06:55 > 0:06:57year of life, this to supplement him for the first
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It s a fully preventable condition.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Dr Hogler is a Consultant
0:07:01 > 0:07:06at Birmingham Children s Hospital; he says the current policy around
0:07:06 > 0:07:10vitamin D supplements in England is complex 289-page scientific
0:07:10 > 0:07:15document ? he d like to see a simple message.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18What we should be doing is supplementing every infant
0:07:18 > 0:07:22from birth to the first birthday ? minimum, supplement all pregnant
0:07:22 > 0:07:27women with vitamin D and supplement all ethnic risks groups.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30In England the NHS distribute these vitamins ?
0:07:30 > 0:07:35but it s means tested, so most children never see them.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Dr Hogler has compared the use of Vitamin D supplements
0:07:38 > 0:07:41for infants throughout Europe.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Countries that are green or orange are doing well.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47But here in the UK we re firmly in the red, giving out less
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Vitamin D than anywhere else.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It s hard to forgive England because we live so far north
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and have so little sunshine exposure
0:07:57 > 0:08:07that we are really exposing us to the complications of vitamin D.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Adopting a simpler approach IS possible ? Birmingham is one
0:08:11 > 0:08:14of the few places in England that gives these vitamins
0:08:14 > 0:08:21to every pregnant woman and infant ? free of charge.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28And it's had a dramatic effect, cutting cases of vitamin D
0:08:29 > 0:08:37deficiency in children by 60%.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39These parents aren t just taking away vitamins,
0:08:39 > 0:08:40they re getting vital
0:08:40 > 0:08:50information about how to protect their families.
0:08:50 > 0:08:56I know that being of south Asian origin
0:08:56 > 0:09:04I need to take them too, we just don t get enough sunlight.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08In London, we did not get supplements so I didn't pay so much
0:09:08 > 0:09:13attention but still we have moved here, I have made sure we get them.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16And so if it works here in Birmingham - why isn t it
0:09:16 > 0:09:17happening everywhere else?
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Public Health England s current policy advises that:
0:09:19 > 0:09:24"It would not be appropriate to give everyone a supplement."
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Just five droplets a day is enough to prevent babies
0:09:27 > 0:09:30and children suffering needlessly.
0:09:33 > 0:09:40All complications are fully preventable, eBay seizures or heart
0:09:40 > 0:09:43failure, all can cause rickets.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Beverley s focus is to now share Noah s story in the hope
0:09:46 > 0:09:47that he can save others.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54You can choose to be angry at the whole world or you can choose to
0:09:54 > 0:10:05make a positive out of the negative experience that you have.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14a lot in the press recently about the return of Peaky Blinders ?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16the BBC drama that s set in Brum.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Well, a lot of the action was filmed
0:10:18 > 0:10:20right here and walking around the place it does feel a bit
0:10:21 > 0:10:23like being on a film set.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Here at the BCLM you can see many examples of traditional industry.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Over in Stoke-on-Trent of course pottery was the main
0:10:28 > 0:10:31business and although there has been steady decline for the past few
0:10:31 > 0:10:33decades, there are signs that the future s bright
0:10:33 > 0:10:35as I ve been finding out.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Like whisky from Scotland or steel from Sheffield, you can t
0:10:39 > 0:10:41help but link pottery with Stoke-on-Trent
0:10:41 > 0:10:43and Staffordshire.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53Next is a visit to the Staffordshire potteries.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55For 250 years, this place kitted out
0:10:55 > 0:11:00the world s kitchen cupboards and dressers, royalty s included.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Stoke-on-Trent was tailor-made for the mass production
0:11:04 > 0:11:08of ceramics but steadily, the pot-banked powerhouses
0:11:08 > 0:11:11were stripped away.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Cheap foreign competition made it impossible for
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Stoke s industrial-scale manufacturers to compete.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20So as firms folded, jobs were lost.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23In the last 50 years the number of people working in the pottery
0:11:23 > 0:11:27industry in the area has dropped from roughly 60,000
0:11:27 > 0:11:31to fewer than 9,000.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34So with a legacy in tatters, is it fair to assume that
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Stoke-on-Trent is no longer a major player when it comes to pottery?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Is it washed up?
0:11:40 > 0:11:45Well I ve heard otherwise.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48You ve got to say pottery is fashionable again,
0:11:52 > 0:11:57The whole attitude in the city is changing.
0:11:57 > 0:12:04It s different, it s exciting.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07So to build a better picture of how things
0:12:07 > 0:12:10are right now on the ground, what better place to start that one
0:12:10 > 0:12:12of the city s clay suppliers.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17Valentine Clays is an old school family-run business producing every
0:12:17 > 0:12:23sort of clay you can imagine and Alan Ault, is the boss.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34This is porcelain that we are producing at the moment.This is
0:12:34 > 0:12:39clear that we are producing for Emma Bridgewater.In the light of the
0:12:39 > 0:12:43fact that so many pottery factories have closed over the last few years,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46how have you guys managed to survive?We had to do something
0:12:46 > 0:12:53because it to keep the business profitable and keep going, you
0:12:53 > 0:12:58probably changed from 70% of our production was industrial and now
0:12:58 > 0:13:03it's around 20% industrial. Primarily then, instead of only
0:13:03 > 0:13:07supplying big industry, you may be looking for smaller businesses to
0:13:07 > 0:13:14work with?Yeah, sure, and that is what brought us out of trouble.
0:13:14 > 0:13:15And pottery expert,
0:13:15 > 0:13:16Kevin Millward believes that
0:13:16 > 0:13:18like Alan s business has, the city itself needs
0:13:18 > 0:13:19to move on and evolve.
0:13:19 > 0:13:27It s time to make pottery personal.
0:13:27 > 0:13:37The big companies are never going to come back,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40People like the hand-madey look and people buy pots
0:13:40 > 0:13:45with their hearts.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50And it s that bespoke market that Valentine Clays now depends on.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Alan s asked me to meet him at his shiny new HQ.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Business must be good then Alan?
0:13:58 > 0:14:01how do you feel when you walk through the doors? It still seems
0:14:01 > 0:14:06like a dream. I have to pinch myself sometimes because it all happened so
0:14:06 > 0:14:10fast. How much does a building like this cost? Somewhere in the region
0:14:10 > 0:14:15of £3 million. It has been my life that 37 years. Everything I have
0:14:15 > 0:14:24ever worked for is culminating in this case. Business is not doing too
0:14:24 > 0:14:29badly? Business is doing well. At our busiest at this moment in time.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32It s impressive stuff from Alan, he s clearly shifting a lot of clay.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36So who s buying it and are they doing well too?
0:14:36 > 0:14:39One customer is 27-year old Jack Laverick who makes pots
0:14:39 > 0:14:42from the bottom of his parent s garden near Stoke-on-Trent.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50This is my studio, where I work from and here are some of the works and
0:14:50 > 0:14:57making, candleholders, porcelain pots.You are a Staffordshire lad
0:14:57 > 0:14:59but I wouldn't say these are typically Staffordshire Astala
0:14:59 > 0:15:04designs, how did you come up with these ideas Keko I started adding
0:15:04 > 0:15:08geometric shapes and I realised they sold really well and since then I
0:15:08 > 0:15:13have greeted planters and a lot of geometric style pieces and they seem
0:15:13 > 0:15:16to be on trend at the minute and sell very well for me. Would you say
0:15:16 > 0:15:21it helps your brand that you are a Staffordshire lad, do you think that
0:15:21 > 0:15:26has stuck out with Mac I think so, when I go up and down the country,
0:15:26 > 0:15:32everyone recognises Stoke-on-Trent and they recognise the territory
0:15:32 > 0:15:39heritage. They are selling more and more to our design bridges was like
0:15:39 > 0:15:44yourself, is this the future?I would say so, I was there yesterday
0:15:44 > 0:15:47picking up more play for myself to them orders and getting from local
0:15:47 > 0:15:49galleries and shops.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It s studio potters like Jack that Kevin wants to see more of.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56That s why he s set-up this Clay College at Middleport Pottery,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00in the hope that he can pass on 40-years of ceramic expertise
0:16:00 > 0:16:02to a fresh generation.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11This is quite an incredible space. I knew you were quite pivotal in
0:16:11 > 0:16:18creating this.Why? Well, it was a reaction. I've taught in most of the
0:16:18 > 0:16:24major universities for the last 35 years and over the last ten years,
0:16:24 > 0:16:30the emphasis has changed from learning how to make things the more
0:16:30 > 0:16:37about concept, design, dissertation on essays.The majority of people
0:16:37 > 0:16:40who come into ceramics are really passionate about making things, not
0:16:40 > 0:16:46writing essays. We can provide students with the practical,
0:16:46 > 0:16:51hands-on skills that can take them forward so they can make a career
0:16:51 > 0:16:52and a business out of this.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Kevin s course has attracted students from across the country
0:16:54 > 0:16:57but there s one who has travelled a little further than the rest.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07I hear you have come from Mumbai? Why are you here learning pottery?A
0:17:07 > 0:17:12good question actually. A lot of people are surprised. I have been
0:17:12 > 0:17:18doing pottery for a while but as a hobby and in India didn't have
0:17:18 > 0:17:24enough studio to find a place to actually learn to be a potter.Is
0:17:24 > 0:17:31there something about learning this skill in Stoke that is a special?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Absolutely, I don't think I have seen so much pottery anywhere in my
0:17:34 > 0:17:41life. Everywhere you go there is pottery. It is just really
0:17:41 > 0:17:43inspiring.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Of course, I couldn t resist a quick go myself.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Can t say I m a natural but this sort of casual playing around
0:17:49 > 0:17:51with clay is exactly what s being encouraged
0:17:51 > 0:17:54throughout the city.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58It s time to leave college and go back to school.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Katie Leonard heads up a project called Clay School.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Our aim is to get clay under the finger nails of every child
0:18:04 > 0:18:08and really work through feeling the process of creating something.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10It s this early connection with clay that might just breed
0:18:10 > 0:18:14the home-grown potters of tomorrow here at Heron Cross Primary School.
0:18:17 > 0:18:27My auntie makes china cups and my mum did used to decorate china cups.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32So you got on that in the family so one date would you like to make
0:18:32 > 0:18:33china cups?Yes.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36But more than anything, it just seems like a lot of fun.
0:18:41 > 0:18:47I like how you can put it back together and start over again.It
0:18:47 > 0:18:52feels so weird when you get it in your fingernails and it is hard to
0:18:52 > 0:18:59get out.Food on your plate, what is going on?I'm starving!
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Pottery is definitely a part of Stoke children s heritage
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and maybe it ll be a part of their future too.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07Time now for our final film.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09The area around Ironbridge in Shropshire is renowned
0:19:09 > 0:19:13for being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17But technological advancement often came at a price and former boxing
0:19:17 > 0:19:20champ and Telford lad Richie Woodhall has been looking
0:19:20 > 0:19:23into a 19th century tragedy that exposed the darker side
0:19:23 > 0:19:31of the Industrial Revolution.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34I grew up on the estate just below us so this
0:19:34 > 0:19:35was like a playground to me here.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Former world champion boxer Richie Woodhall
0:19:38 > 0:19:40knows this woodland well.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43All through my life really I ve either played in these
0:19:43 > 0:19:46woods with my mates ? playing tig and hide and seek and whatever or,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49as I got older, then I would run up the mound
0:19:49 > 0:19:52here because it was a great training run in the morning.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54But recently Richie s heard that run in the morning.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00This wooded hill is actually an old slag heap and the site of one
0:20:00 > 0:20:04of the area s worst ever industrial accidents when, in 1864,
0:20:04 > 0:20:10nine miners lost their lives.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Local people call them the Nine Men of Madeley.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Well, I m hoping to find out a little more about the people
0:20:17 > 0:20:20who were involved in the accident ? who they were, and if accidents
0:20:20 > 0:20:23like this were common.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26You hear about the benefits of the industrial revolution of this
0:20:26 > 0:20:33area but you don t hear about the human cost.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38To start with, Richie has come to neighbouring Ironbridge.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Alison Vermee did some research into the Nine Men of Madeley to mark
0:20:41 > 0:20:45the tragedy s 150th anniversary.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47What can you tell me about the accident?
0:20:47 > 0:20:48How did it happen?
0:20:48 > 0:20:50The nine men had been on a shift.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Probably a 12-hour shift.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55They were coming up the mineshaft and the contraption they came up
0:20:55 > 0:20:57on was called the doubles .
0:20:57 > 0:21:00And this is an illustration of what that would have looked like.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01Wow!
0:21:01 > 0:21:04So Benjamin Davies, one of the men who died, he was the hooker
0:21:04 > 0:21:08on and it was his job at the end of the shift to put that hook
0:21:08 > 0:21:11through the loop and then the men would be winched up.
0:21:11 > 0:21:12Right.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14So they think what must have happened is instead of hooking
0:21:14 > 0:21:18the hook through the loop that it must have rested on the tip and then
0:21:18 > 0:21:21there was some jolt in the mechanism on the way up and that would have
0:21:21 > 0:21:23caused it to fall.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25And there s no safety regulations ? someone checking that?
0:21:25 > 0:21:27No.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Three hundred feet up, in almost total darkness
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and dangling from a single metal chain ? the nine miners
0:21:32 > 0:21:35plunged to their deaths.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38We ve got the burial certificate here which gives the men s
0:21:38 > 0:21:41names and their ages.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44The three oldest men ? Edward Wallett was 52,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Benjamin Davies was 35, John Tranter 37.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49The others were teenagers.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Two 18-year-old boys and then a couple of 14-year-olds,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54a 13-year-old and the youngest was William Onions who was 12.
0:21:54 > 0:21:5612 years of age?!
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Being sent down a mine!
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Yeah.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Well, the first thing that hits you is the youngest miner is only
0:22:03 > 0:22:0412 years of age.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09You hear about kids that worked in mines or whatever but this has
0:22:09 > 0:22:13really brought it home to me.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Richie wants to learn more about what working
0:22:16 > 0:22:18conditions would have been like for the Nine Men of Madeley.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22So he s come to the National Mining Museum in Wakefield.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26It s run by Andy Smith.
0:22:26 > 0:22:27Morning, Richie.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Morning, Andy.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29Welcome to Coal Mining Museum.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32We need to get you kitted up and underground and do some work.
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Come on!
0:22:33 > 0:22:37150 years ago miners didn t have helmets or LED lights.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39And there were no safety cages as they descended
0:22:39 > 0:22:44deep beneath the earth.
0:22:44 > 0:22:54Underground Richie gets a real taste for what life was like back then.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58I think doing this for 12 hours.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04I just don t know how they did it in these conditions.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06I ve got a mouthful of grit.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08SPITS.
0:23:08 > 0:23:17And I would definitely sooner be doing 12 rounds in the ring.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21The work was back breaking and dangerous.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Explosions and roof collapses were common.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Andy, were there any health and safety regulations back then at all?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33There wasn t when they first started because they didn t know
0:23:33 > 0:23:34what were dangerous.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36So somebody had to be injured or killed for
0:23:36 > 0:23:37a law to be introduced.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41So they always say - mining laws were written in miners blood.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46During the 1860s more than 200 miners died in Shropshire.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Almost a quarter, including the Nine Men of Madeley,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51simply fell to their deaths.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54So Andy, how deep is this shaft?
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It s exactly 140 metres.
0:23:56 > 0:24:04Frightening, to be quite honest.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07But there is evidence that the tragedy did lead
0:24:07 > 0:24:09to calls for better safety.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13In the museum s library Richie finds a number of relevant documents -
0:24:13 > 0:24:16including one written shortly after the fateful accident
0:24:16 > 0:24:20by Shropshire s Inspector of Mines.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22For so long as the present system of open
0:24:22 > 0:24:25shafts without guides, continues to prevail, so long
0:24:25 > 0:24:27will men fall from the surface.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31In this, as in all other things, improvements are prevented
0:24:31 > 0:24:38by the ignorance of the parties in charge of mines.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41This fella is not happy.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44And he s more or less saying that the mine owners are turning
0:24:44 > 0:24:50a blind eye to the dangers.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53The Nine Men of Madeley worked for John Anstice ? a local
0:24:53 > 0:24:57industrialist who gave his name to a former working men s club
0:24:57 > 0:25:01where Richie used to box.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Was he admired then locally or was he looked at as a bit
0:25:04 > 0:25:06of a greedy industrialist?
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Generally speaking he was looked upon as a very good beneficent
0:25:09 > 0:25:12employer who treated his employees very well but I think that s
0:25:12 > 0:25:15in the context of working conditions and observation of the law
0:25:15 > 0:25:17at the time.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21So I think he worked within the law but then there are all these grey
0:25:21 > 0:25:26areas aren t there about how well you treat your employees?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29But John Anstice did ensure that the nine miners
0:25:29 > 0:25:31were remembered with honour.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33He paid for a grand funeral at St.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Michaels Church which more than two thousand people attended.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41And he paid for their graves ? which Reverend Alan Walden
0:25:41 > 0:25:44wants to show Richie.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49This is the top of the churchyard in one of the high status positions
0:25:49 > 0:25:52which would have been very unusual for the burial
0:25:52 > 0:25:53of people like miners.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Most of the other graves around here are for much
0:25:56 > 0:25:58richer people than them.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01So giving them this position signifies what an important disaster
0:26:01 > 0:26:04it was and how they wanted to reflect the sacrifice
0:26:04 > 0:26:08that these miners had made.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12What I thought was really touching in a way
0:26:12 > 0:26:18was that the graves are obviously high up in the churchyard itself
0:26:18 > 0:26:23where other graves would have people, probably very wealthy people
0:26:23 > 0:26:24of the area.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26And people of note.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31And yet you ve got nine miners ? working class blokes
0:26:31 > 0:26:32? up there with them.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33And rightly so.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37But for Richie there is one final discovery.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Hello.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Hello.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Pleased to meet you.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Hello.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43I m Sue Hyde.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44I m actually the great, great grand-daughter
0:26:44 > 0:26:46of Edward Wallet ? one of the miners who died.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Right!
0:26:47 > 0:26:48OK.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Fanstatic!.
0:26:50 > 0:26:51I m amazed.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52I m honoured.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Privileged to meet a relative of one of the nine miners.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58But Sue tells Richie that Edward wasn t the only Wallett
0:26:58 > 0:27:01at the mine on the day of the tragedy.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05His son William Arthur Wallet was operating the winch.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10My great great grandfather William Wallett was the banksman that day.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12Yeah.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15And of course he would have pulled up his father.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17His father.
0:27:17 > 0:27:18Of course.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19Yes.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22He d have been the first to realise when actually the chain went slack
0:27:22 > 0:27:25that the men would have fallen so he would then have
0:27:25 > 0:27:26realised that his father...
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Exactly.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Oh.
0:27:31 > 0:27:32Come here!
0:27:32 > 0:27:35LAUGHS.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39It happened 150 years ago so I didn t think that there d be
0:27:39 > 0:27:43anyone that I could speak to related, so privileged.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Really, really privileged.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Do you think it s
0:27:48 > 0:27:50remember these miners?
0:27:50 > 0:27:55Yes, because mining was a very hard job and always has been
0:27:55 > 0:27:59and they gave a lot to the local area and ultimately
0:27:59 > 0:28:00they gave their lives.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Yes.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07There s probably thousands upon thousands of miners that have
0:28:07 > 0:28:09never been recognised for the contribution
0:28:09 > 0:28:13that they ve given.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15But these nine men will always be mentioned and they ll
0:28:15 > 0:28:17always be remembered.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19They represent all those miners and the working class bloke.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24And that s really, really important to everyone.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Well, that's it for this series ? hope you ve enjoyed it.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31We ll be back in the new year hope you ve enjoyed it.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32from familiar places.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Don t forget, you can catch up with all tonight s
0:28:34 > 0:28:37films on the iPlayer
0:28:37 > 0:28:42and follow us on Twitter - @bbciowm