Memorial to Edward Ormerod in Atherton, England

Tucked away in small local cemetery in the town of Atherton, Greater Manchester in the UK, is the gravestone of several members of the Ormerod family. At the foot of it is a smaller memorial stone with a unique carving found on no other grave marker. It shows a detailed depiction of the invention of Edward Ormerod. Edward Ormerod was a mining engineer who worked at the Gibfield Colliery in Atherton in the 19th century.

The town was located on the Lancashire coal fields and was a major producer of high-quality coal during the Industrial Revolution. There were coal mines all over the region and it was a major employer. Mining was dangerous and accidents involving the equipment used to winch the coal to the surface from the coalface were common. In 1867 Edward Ormerod patented his ‘detaching hook’ which prevented the overwinding of cages as they reached the top of mine shafts.

Edward Ormerod died in May 1894 and was interred in the Ormerod family plot at Atherton Cemetery. Such was the gratitude of the community for his invention that a tribute was commissioned and placed at the foot of his grave. This smaller gravestone has a detailed carving of the safety device Edward created. Around the edge is the inscription; ‘THIS STONE IS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF THE INVENTOR OF THE PATENT SAFETY LINK WHICH HAS BEEN THE MEANS OF THE SAVING OF MANY LIVES’.

Edward’s invention is still manufactured and sold around the world – produced at the same location in Atherton by a company that carries his name ‘Edward Ormerod & Co.