July 5, 2022 - A huge memorial to Swadlincote's rich mining community could be created in the town's park if plans are approved. A Miners Memorial Park section could be created in Eureka Park two years after it was revealed that the trunk of a famed oak tree that stood next to an old coal mine in the town had been carved into a sculpture in readiness to form the centrepiece of the memorial.

The trunk of the 'Cadley Oak,' that stood outside the old Cadley Pit in the town, has been sculpted into a large 'pit pony' and a young miner. They have been in storage for two years while plans for the memorial were drawn up. The sculptures will be placed above where 'Owd Shoddy' pit once stood from 1880 to the early 1900s, where the pitheads once where and what is now Eureka Park, off Midland Road.

One of the sculptures which will be part of the planned miners' memorial in Eureka Park in Swadlincote.

Image: South Derbyshire District Counci

The sculpture project was carried out with the support and involvement of the South Derbyshire Mining Preservation Group. South Derbyshire District Council has now applied to its own planning team for permission to change a mounded grass area into a Miners Memorial Park. If approved, it will include hard surfacing, two seats, two pergolas, the two sculptures, the planting of 18 trees, and a wild flower meadow area.

It will be an area where families can go to remember loved ones who worked down the pits and for retired miners to enjoy. The latest drawings also reveal there will be a tribute the famous Bevan Boys, who wewre young men conscripted to work down the mines during World War Two when it vital for the country to have more coal. The Bevan Boys fesature will be Trompe-l'œil in style, which is an art technique that creates the optical illusion of being three-dimensional.

The drawings also show a walkway which will lead to the miners' memorial, which will take up a large section of Eureka Park. The application is set to be decided in the next few months.