It’s great when somebody writes about their old haunts, no more so than this guy, Richard Foster, Born at Spion Kop but now living in Burnham on Sea. His book on growing up in Great Wyrley will be a pleasure to read for residents and locals alike no doubt,  Here is preamble from Richard on
his book 

Rich Foster was born at the Spion Kop, also known as Harrison’s Buildings in Gorsey Lane, Landywood, in 1956. He attended Landywood Primary School and Great Wyrley Secondary Modern, later to become Great Wyrley High School.
The Foster’s roots are well established in the village. Rich’s grandparents owned Fosters shop in Gorsey Lane and his Granddad Foster was a local councillor for many years. Rich’s brother, Trevor, continues to live in the village. Parents Harold and Margaret Foster died in 2019. Rich, a former lawyer, moved to Burnham on Sea, Somerset with his wife, Lynne, on retirement in 2020.

Rich’s debut book, Spion Kop, is based on a true story about his life growing up in the mining community of the ‘Kop’ and the secret about his identity kept by his family and villagers for 18 years. Set in the 1950’s to the 1970’s, Spion Kop is a ‘warts and all’ account of life on the Cannock Chase coalfield and reflects the culture of the period. The book has been written as a tribute to his family and the community of which he was part .Although based on a true story, the book is a personal response to his memory of those times; some people may therefore have different recollections of the people and events included in his work. Parts of the book and some characters have also been fictionalised.

Spion Kop, by Rich J. Foster can be purchased through the Amazon website and with thanks to Richard and his publisher’s in their permission with using this extract.

Click here to from Amazon:
www.amazon.co.uk/Spion-Kop-Rich-J-Foster/dp/1835307035

Another part of history that is going to be lost forever. This great little museum on Cannock Chase closed its door forever on 25th April 2025. The museum housed displays about our mining heritage in the area.

Information about Museum of Cannock Chase

The museum and its outbuildings are on the site of the former Valley Colliery. The colliery opened in 1874 and was originally called the Pool Pit, after the pool that once covered nearby Hednesford Park. In 1887 the mine was connected to Wimblebury Colliery. Coal was brought to the surface there, but the miners still descended from here. In 1940 pithead baths were opened. Miners paid 5d per week to use them. The building later became the Mines Rescue Station, which stood at the top of Valley Road where the houses are today. When coal extraction from Wimblebury Colliery ended in 1962 the colliery buildings were used only for training.

The Mining Training Centre

The Coal Mining Training Centre for the Cannock Chase, Shropshire and South Staffordshire coalfields was here at the Valley Colliery site. It opened in 1946, just before new legislation was introduced that meant miners had to receive training before going underground. The colliery corn store (now the museum’s main building) was converted for training. New recruits were also trained in five Nissen huts from World War Two, which stood beside the museum.

Near to what is now our main car park, surface training facilities that replicated underground conditions were built. By the 1960s, they were being used to train 15-year-old boys who had just left school. The boys weren’t permitted to start work underground until the age of 16, so these surface training galleries provided the only opportunity for them to learn the necessary mining techniques. During its lifetime, over 17,000 trainee miners passed through the Mining Training Centre, many of whom have revisited the site since it became a museum.

The Mines Rescue Station

The Mines Rescue Station, originally based in nearby Victoria Street, moved here in 1972 and remained until the service was relocated out of the district in 1991. In 1997 the building became a public house but was later pulled down after most of it was destroyed in a fire. The houses you see today stand in its place.

The Museum

By 1982, most of the local pits had closed and the Training Centre had closed, too.

The site was taken over by the Council and in 1989 the Valley Heritage Centre was opened. Renamed the Museum of Cannock Chase in the mid-1990s, it tells the story of local coal mining and illustrates the social, industrial and domestic history of the Cannock Chase area. The top of the museum site leads to Hednesford Hills, which is now a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. As the Valley Colliery buildings once extended onto Hednesford Hills, you may still be able to see signs of its former industrial past as you walk, such as parts of the old chimneys in the undergrowth. You can find out more about the former layout of the site in our Mining Gallery.

The Winding Wheel & Mine Car

The winding wheel outside the museum is from Lea Hall Colliery in Rugeley, which closed in 1990. The wheel was unused and was left in place to give the headframe a balanced appearance. It is one of a small number of remaining winding wheels from the Cannock Chase coalfield. The mine car at the front of the Museum is from Littleton Colliery, in Huntington. It was used to transport coal from underground to the pit surface, where it was emptied onto conveyor belts.

(More details to be added – To be continued)

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The Great War book of Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay, seven years in the making has been launched, detailing the lives of soldiers who died in the First World War.
Great Wyrley & Cheslyn Hay Great War chronicles life in the two villages in the run-up to the conflict, followed by extensive information on those who lost their lives – as well as those that survived – before moving on to further community tales. Written by Paul Ford, with contributions from Helen Ralphs and Andy Parsons, as well as help from Soeli Thomas (Graphic Designer of the book), launched by ourselves at Great Wyrley Local History Society.

It is our fifth book to be published. Chairman & Editor, Gary Smith said 50 copies had been produced, which are not on general sale, but would be available in a host of libraries, including Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Cannock and Walsall, as well as William Salt in Stafford. There will also be copies at the South Staffs Regiment Museum at Whittington. Gary said: “It’s very informative and very well put together, a vast amount of research as gone into producing the Great War book, with many late nights. Heritage Lottery funding of £8,900 was awarded for the project in 2018, but due to Covid-19 there as been a delay in getting the book completed.

The villages are getting closer together as the boarder between Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay is starting to blurr.
Full plans have been lodged for the construction of more than 100 new homes on land between Cheslyn Hay, and Great Wyrley. The scheme is for 130 dwellings, public open space, allotments, linear park and groundworks and infrastructure on land south of Landywood Lane. Details of the application by Cameron Homes can be viewed at South Staffordshire Council. Deadline for comments is April 16 by going online via staffs gov. uk/planning or via email to planning@sstaffs gov.uk

The notice also states: “All representations will be made publicly available. ln the event of an appeal that proceeds by way of the expedited procedure, any representations made about the application will be passed to the Secretary of State and there will be no opportunity to make further representations.”