A BELOVED local who spent years collecting and preserving mining artefacts will be remembered by loved ones on Wednesday - when an episode of BBC’s The Repair Shop he recorded prior to his death goes on air.
John Beard, from Bolton-upon-Dearne, did countless things for the community, raising thousands for charity and starting Mining Memorabilia To Lend with his friend and fellow former miner John Greaves.
The project saw the pair take relics from mines to local schools and care homes with the aim of ‘keeping mining alive’.
Sadly, Mr Beard died in March at the age of 64, though his friend continues their work to this day
Now, those who knew him have been given the opportunity to remember his dedication to preserving mining history, as an episode of the show The Repair Shop - which sees professional craftspeople restore antiques and heirlooms - they recorded last year airs on BBC One at 8pm on Wednesday.
Mr Greaves told the Chronicle: “Obviously I know what’s going to happen because I was there but I’m interested in seeing the finished product.
“John was very proud to have done it and to be accepted onto TV and it was a great experience.
“We talked a lot about mining and wanted to make sure that everyone understood what it was like by the time we had finished.”
On the show, they will be seen restoring an antique serviette which was created following the West Stanley pit disaster in 1909, when 168 people died.
“It was used for the families of those who died in the disaster,” he added.
“Back in those days there was no insurance or anything like that and people were being paid a pittance.
“The idea was to make these napkins and raise money for the people who were left behind.
“They were sold for £1 which was quite a lot of money in the day.
“The piece we have is quite big, but it was rotting at the corners - they’ve done an amazing job to restore it.
“It’s just remarkable it’s survived after over 125 years.”
Following the show’s airing, John plans on donating the serviette to historians in West Stanley to honour those that died in the disaster.
Yet the show will be bittersweet for many, with Mr Beard’s daughter, Laura Cook, feeling emotional as the date finally approaches.
“They did the filming just as my dad started to become unwell, but he was determined to do it,” she said.
“I’m glad that he got to play a part in preserving a piece of history and also spend some quality time with John with their shared love of all things mining.
“It’s very bittersweet - it will be a difficult watch for us and I’m sad that my dad never got to see it, but we will be watching with pride”
