One Small Welsh Valley, Two Mining Disasters, 231 Dead — And No One Was Ever Blamed

Ferndale, Rhondda Fach: two firedamp explosions in 1867 (178 dead) and 1869 (53 dead) devastated the same valley twice in under two years. How a coalfield community endured. The twin Ferndale disasters exposed how little had changed in underground safety in the early Rhondda coalfield, even after the first tragedy prompted promises of reform. This documentary follows the rapid growth of Ferndale as a new coal town, the grief that struck twice within seventeen months, the criticism directed at colliery management for ignored warnings, and how the valley's mining identity was forged in repeated loss.