WREXHAM FC is producing a Memorial Shirt in association with Umbro, to honour those who died in the disaster seventy five years ago.
The Gresford Colliery Memorial Shirt will be available in blue, the same colour worn by the Wrexham FC players at the game against Tranmere Rovers, the fixture immediately after the disaster.
It will have the Gresford Colliery Memorial logo on its sleeve, as a reminder of the mining disaster that happened on Tuesday, 22 September 1934.
The memorial shirt is being sold for £20.00, but numbers are limited.
The Chef at The Racecourse is also preparing a 'Miner's Menu' for the evening to commemorate the event, consisting of a Welsh Lamb Oggie with Roasted Baby Potatoes & Creamed Leeks followed by warm Buttered Welsh Cakes with Fresh Strawberries and coffee.
The 'oggie' was a traditional dish eaten by miners consisting of lamb, potatoes, onions and gravy. The crust of the 'oggie' was designed for miners to hold whilst eating the pasty, accumulating all the coal dust, grime and arsenic sometimes found on the fingers of the miners ensuring the remainder of the pasty was edible.
Folklore states that this dirty crust was discarded over the shoulder into the depths of the mine to the cry of "OGGIE!" in an attempt to placate evil spirits.
To book a table please contact Phil Bennett on 01978 311217.
Paul Retout, Chief Executive commented: "We have had many people contacting the Club asking whether or not a memorial shirt would be available. We are therefore delighted to announce that Umbro have very kindly subsidised a blue shirt for us to sell in the Club Shop to commemorate the event.
"We are also pleased to announce that the catering at The Racecourse in all hospitality areas next Tuesday night will retain the 'mining theme' by providing a 'Miner's Menu'.
"We are grateful to The Conference and Luton Town FC for supporting this Memorial match and allowing the fifteen minute delay as mark of respect to those miners that died in the Gresford Colliery disaster."
Gresford Colliery Disaster 75th Anniversary - Memorial Game
Wrexham v Luton Town
Tuesday 22 October 2009
at The Racecourse
Order of Service
7.40 - Llay Welfare Band - The Gresford Hymn
7.45 - Match delayed by fifteen minutes to allow miners to change shifts - The Gresford Ballad spoken by the children of Gresford
7.50 - Vicar John Barden Davies - prayer in remembrance
7.53 - Wreath laid on centre circle by Dean Saunders, on behalf of Wrexham FC, in memory of the miners who died
7.55 - Players enter the pitch wearing black armbands and commemorative shirt and line up with both teams accompanied by eleven mascots from Gresford and Llay & Welsh National Anthem sung by Samantha Williams
7.57 - One minute silence - 266 black balloons released by the Club to represent each of the miners who died.
8.00 - Match kicks-off
The Club urges all fans to be seated by 7.30pm.
