At 7.50 am, on 1 January 1942, a devastating explosion took place 800 yards below ground at No 4 pit of Sneyd Colliery, Smallthorne. In normal times the pit would not have been working on New Years Day, the miners considering it unlucky, but because of the demand for coal during the war, work had gone on as normal and a full shift was on duty at the mine when the explosion occurred. A total of nine local mines rescue teams were called in to help, but despite their best efforts the explosion claimed the lives of 57 miners, the youngest being 15, the oldest 65, most of whom had been killed in the initial explosion, while two later died in hospital. The subsequent inquiry found that the disaster had been caused by coal dust being ignited by friction between a haulage rope and a set of tubs, though this cause has since been disputed. The Sneyd Colliery explosion has the dubious honour of being the last major pit disaster in the Potteries.
A memorial to the men who lost their lives in the disaster was unveiled in Burslem in 2007.
