Reader recalls the 1903 Stourbridge Canal disaster - your letters, plus Vikings and Saxons descend on Trysull in a 1977 archive picture

​More echoes of canal disaster

In the aftermath of the Shropshire canal drama I was interested to read the recent account of the Dudley Port disaster, when part of the canal collapsed. It reminded me of another, less well known, disaster on the Stourbridge Canal at Silver End, between Dudley and Stourbridge.

Here there was a basin on the West side of the canal, known as Wheeley's Basin, between the Brettle Lane road bridge and the GWR railway bridge. On Saturday 14 November 1903 a large section of the bed of this basin, together with a stretch of the tow-path, collapsed into old mine workings and resulted in the draining of a considerable length of the canal, from the bottom of Delph Locks, to the top of the Stourbridge 16 locks as well as the Fens branch and part of the Stourbridge Extension Canal. The resultant huge rush of water inundated the brickworks, ironworks, and coal and clay pits situated around the canal.

As the disaster happened on a Saturday when all the works and pits were closed for the weekend, there was no loss of life, apart, sadly, from one unfortunate pit pony that could not be rescued in time. By superhuman efforts through traffic was resumed on the canal on December 14, and most of the works re-opened, but many of the miners did not return to work for some time after that until the huge volumes of water still in the pits had drained away.

The aforementioned is an outline from the bookley "The Brettle Lane Canal Didaster 1903" produced by Amblecote History Society.

Incidentally, the Wheeley's were ironmasters and also had coal mines in that area and in 1829 built the little-known Dennis Rail Road down the valley from their pits to the canal at Coalbournebrook, no doubt so that their products could reach the canal quicker than they would by the slow descent of the Stourbridge 16 locks.

Michael Willis, Wombourne

Give Royal Mail snow shoes!

Here we go again, Royal Mail missed delivery because of a few snowflakes. My uncle used to work for the Post Office, for 38 years, they delivered mail when it was 3ft deep after doing a night shift at Walsall delivery office.

He received a long service award, and was always pictured in the local newspapers at Christmas time every year, no matter what the mail always got through.

Nowadays you are lucky to have a delivery once a week. You can always tell when it's been lingering at the post office, its wrapped with elastic bands. Probably due to staffing issues - ie all sitting playing cards, or thumb twitching their mobiles, whilst sipping cocoa.

Recently it took two weeks for a hospital appointment from Wolverhampton to arrive at Dudley. I missed it. I have also received red letters for non payment of a bill because it was late delivering again.

I believe its time to to employ staff who are working not shirking, the Post Office urgently needs DPD, to run it, the only reliable delivery service.

I tried to phone customer services and it was the usual we are sorry to keep you waiting excuses, after two hours, still no reply.

Pigeon post would be more reliable, and cost effective, as they don't sit sipping cocoa. Absolutely disgraceful.

What next, we cannot deliver because its too sunny, and I've forgot my shades?A footnote, the carer still arrived, at 6am, no problem, shame on Royal Mail.

C Lloyd, Dudley

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