Dawson is a ghost town in Colfax County, New Mexico. It was a mining town, and suffered two mine disasters killing 376.

The first on October 22, 1913, was an explosion that killed 263 miners. The second, also an explosion, on February 13, 1923, killed 123 miners - many of them children of the men who died in the 1913 explosion.

Its cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery is filled with iron crosses marking the graves of miners, many who died in the two explosions.

Dewsbury, Yorkshire 4th July 1893. Report number C.-7198. 139 dead.

Small shaft explosion set fire to shaft timbers gassing workmen inbye.

Report by A. Young ESQ.

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Fifeshire, 9th September 1967. Report number Cmnd 3657.9 dead with 3 entombed for eternity.

I find that, in accordance with the medical evidence, the men died from asphyxia by gases produced by a fire which occurred at about 3.30 a.m. in a road known as the Loader Mine. Because the affected areas of the colliery working were sealed off in an attempt to contain the fire, a post-incident examination of the area was not possible. The evidence given at the Inquiry was, however, sufficient to lead me to the conclusion that the fire was caused by coal, ignited by spontaneous combustion, bursting out into the Loader Mine where it ignited first part of the polyurethane lining of the roadway and then the belt of the conveyor sited therein. The resulting fire then involved other inflammable material such as coal and wood in the Loader Mine and the Loco Level. The evidence clearly indicated that the fire produced vast quantities of black smoke which issued, with little preliminary warning by haze or smell, into the intake airways, thereby affecting every district of the colliery. All the men in the No. 2 Pit workings escaped, none suffering serious injury, but nine men working in the No. 3 Pit area were unfortunately overcome by the smoke; the bodies of six were recovered.

The sinking of Nos. 1 and 2 Shafts, both rectangular in cross section and wood lined, was begun in 1892 and reached the Chemiss Seam at a depth of 136 fathoms in 1898. The No. 3 Shaft, 24 feet in diameter and concrete lined, was sunk to the present pit bottom at a depth of 300 fathoms in 1928. More recently the No. 2 Shaft was enlarged to 20 feet in diameter, concrete lined and extended down to 430 fathoms. In 1944, No. 1 Pit was completely filled in and the two remaining shafts were used for winding coal, No. 3 serving as the downcast and No. 2 as the upcast. Safety lamps were in use throughout the mine.

Report by H.S. Stephenson Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Yorkshire, 12th & 13th December 1866. 361 dead & 6 injured. Of these 286 lay entombed. Britains 1st worst Mining Accident surpassed in 1913 by Senghenydd Colliery to become 2nd largest explosion. The number of men and boys working in the pit on the 12th of December at the time of the explosion was 340.

There had been more in the pit during the morning, but they had come out before the usual time.

Of those who were brought out, 20 were then still living, but 14 of these have since died; six only are now living.

There were 61 brought out dead, making 81 altogether.

All those of whom I have now spoken were men and boys working at the Oaks, who were in the pit at the time of the first explosion.

The number of lives lost by this explosion is therefore 334, including those who were killed in the pit and those who have since died.

The number of lives lost by the second explosion is 27, of whom four were men working at the Oaks, and 23 were volunteers, out of 198 who went down the pit to assist.

The total loss of lives from both explosions is therefore 361.

One volunteer, Samuel Brown, was brought out alive after the third explosion.

Report by J. Dickinson HMI.

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Lancashire, 12th November 1932. Report number Cmd 4292. 27 dead.

There were two explosions; they occurred in the No 5 Brow district, the first shortly before 2 a.m. on 12th November, and the second some 20 to 30 minutes later.

The Garswood Hall No. 9 Colliery is one of a group of Collieries owned by the Garswood Hall

Collieries Company Limited, of which Mr. James H. Edmondson is the Managing Director. Mr

William Sword is the Consulting Engineer and Mr. H. J. Whitehead the Agent.

Mr. J. Latham is the Manager and Mr. Peter Bullough the Undermanager of the No. 9 Colliery, which has three shafts, namely:- No. 9, the downcast and coal-drawing shaft; No. 2, the upcast and No. 3, a shaft close to No. 2 but not now in use.

Report by Sir Henry Walker Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Lanarkshire, 25th July 1960. Report number Cmnd 1260.4 dead & 7 injured.

The accident was due to an explosion which occurred during operations following the breaking open of stoppings erected some months previously to seal off an underground fire.

Cardowan Nos. 1 and 2 Colliery is situated at Stepps in the County of Lanark about five miles north-east of Glasgow. It produces a daily output of approximately 1,500 tons of coal from four seams, the Meiklehill Main, the Meiklehill Wee, the Cloven and the Kilsyth Coking Coal. The latter, in which the explosion occurred, lies at a depth of approximately 700 yards from the surface. The mine is served by two shafts, No. 1 the downcast and No. 2 the upcast. In addition a third shaft, No. 3, has been sunk to a depth of 700 yards for the future development of the colliery but its existence has no bearing on this accident. During normal working prior to the accident a total of some 1,400 men were employed underground and 250 on the surface. The mine is gassy and safety-lamps are used throughout the workings.

Report by H.R. Houston Deputy Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Lancashire, 22nd March 1962. Report number Cmnd 1846. 19 dead & 13 injured.

the casualties resulted from an explosion which occurred at about 9.45 a.m. in the No. 2 District of the Union Seam. Although coal dust played some part, the explosion was predominantly one of firedamp and affected about 680 yards of roadway and face. The evidence suggests that the explosion originated either in the return gate stable, as a result of shotfiring, or at a point in the return gate between 180 to 280 yards outbye of the face ripping, from a flash produced by friction involving metallic foil (a thermite reaction).

The colliery has three shafts: No. 3, the downcast, used for winding men, coal and materials; No. 4, the upcast, used for winding men only; No. 2 was used for pumping only but, although it was downcasting, it did not contribute to the ventilation of the mine workings. No. 4 shaft was equipped with an electrically driven exhausting fan producing 112,000 cubic feet of air per minute at 4.3 inches of water gauge. Following its completion in January, 1962, a surface drift, 1260 yards long and dipping at a gradient of 1 in 4. 16, was brought into use as a second intake

Report by H.S. Stephenson Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Site of Pantglas school.(arrowed)

The present day A470 (Cardiff to Merthyr road) runs across photo just below the pylon.

The yellow clad building on the right is the Community Centre which occupies an area of houses destroyed in the disaster.

Archive photo of the disaster www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/politics/aberfan/home.htm

View of the cemetary from across the valley.

The Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip in the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, on 21 st October 1966, killing 116 children and 28 adults. It was caused by a build-up of water in the accumulated rock and shale, which suddenly started to slide downhill in the form of slurry.

Over 40,000 cubic metres of debris covered the village in minutes, and the classrooms at Pantglas Junior School were immediately inundated, with young children and teachers dying from impact or suffocation. Many noted the poignancy of the situation: if the disaster had struck a few minutes earlier, the children would not have been in their classrooms, and if it had struck a few hours later, the school would have broken up for half-term.

The official inquiry blamed the National Coal Board for extreme negligence, and its Chairman, Lord Robens, for making misleading statements. Parliament soon passed new legislation about public safety in relation to mines and quarries.

Staffordshire, 25th November 1911. Report number Cd 6152. 6 dead & 6 injured

The manager discovered a trace of "gob stink" (which is the usual indication of a gob fire), and, although no fire was seen, he determined to shut off the district by building a dam or dams. This was being done, when at 9.30 on the following morning an explosion took place, apparently blowing out the stoppings or dams. Six men succumbed to the effects of the after-damp, and six were partially gassed, one having his leg fractured and another being burnt on the back. A. A second and more violent explosion took place at 6.30 that evening, when there was no one in the mine, and twenty-seven horses perished, as nothing could be done to save them

Report by R.A.S. Redmayne Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

On 27 January 1982, 40 men were seriously injured when an explosion of firedamp occurred below ground in the V52 District of the Cloven Coal Seam at Cardowan Colliery near Glasgow.

Cardowan Colliery is one of 17 producing mines in the Scottish Area of the National Coal Board and is situated eight kilometres to the east of Glasgow, adjacent to the village of Stepps. The sinking of Nos 1 and 2 shafts was commenced in 1924 and completed to the Kilsyth Coking Coal Seam, at a depth of 614 m, in 1928. Both are 5.03 m in diameter. No 3 shaft, 7.3 m in diameter, was sunk between 1958 and 1960, to a depth of 658 m with insets formed at 435 m and 621 m. The latter shaft is used for winding coal and materials with the other two shafts being used for winding men.

Report by A. Harley Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Warwickshire, 21st May 1882. Report number C.-4256. 32 dead

The colliery was in the estate of the late W.S. Dugdale and was a few miles from Atherstone and the property of the owners of Merevale Hall. An explosion of gas caused the loss of twenty three lives and nine others died from suffocation including the owner Mr. Stratford Dugdale. The explosion was caused by a firedamp ignition caused by an unprotected boiler for pumping water in the return airway

Of the 32 or more men who were in the mine at the time of the explosion, 23 died from the injuries which they received. No one of the 23 men died immediately from the effects of their injuries, but lingered on, in some cases for five and six weeks.

9 men were entombed, and whose bodies are still in the pit

Report by Arnold Morley, ESQ., M.P

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original borrowed from a collection of disaster reports

Monmouthshire, 6th February 1890. Report number C.-6098.176 dead.

Explosion in a heading from an outburst/accumulation of methane.

The Llanerch Colliery consists of two shafts, an upcast, 16 feet by 11 feet, and a downcast, 13 feet in diameter, sunk in about the year 1858 through all the seams of coal to a total depth of 250 yards.

It is situate in the parish of Trevethin, in the county of Monmouth, on the eastern outcrop of the South Wales Coalfield, and is 3 miles north-west of the town of Pontypool.

Report by H.D. Greene Q.C.

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Derbyshire, 30th July 1973. Report number Cmnd 5557. 18 dead & 11 injuired

18 men lost their lives and the other 11 sustained serious bodily injury because the cage in which they were travelling in the No. 3 shaft crashed into the pit bottom as a result of an overwind.

Markham Colliery is one of 14 producing mines in the North Derbyshire Area of the National Coal Board and is situated near Duckmanton about five miles by road to the east of Chesterfield. At the time of the accident the saleable output was 30,000 tons per week with 1,870 men employed below ground and 425 on the surface.

Report by J.W. Calder Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Five men lost their lives and one man sustained serious injury as a result of an explosion in the Meltonfield seam workings at Houghton Main Colliery at approximately 6.50 pm on 12 June 1975. The explosion resulted from the ignition of an accumulation of firedamp in B 05's return development heading which had been unventilated for a period of nine days prior to the explosion. The most likely source of ignition was frictional sparking from the impeller and casing of the Carter Howden auxiliary fan.

Houghton Main Colliery is one of 18 producing mines in the Barnsley area of the National Coal Board. It is situated some 5 miles* east of Barnsley. A total of 1361 men are employed; 1191 underground and 170 on the surface.

There are three shafts: No. 1 and No. 2 are downcast and each is 14 feet in diameter; No. 3 shaft is an upcast and is 20 feet in diameter. The shafts were sunk originally to the Barnsley seam and subsequently No. 2 and No. 3 shafts were deepened to the Thorncliffe seam at a depth of 816 yards. The shafts at the colliery are used principally for ventilation, man-winding and materials winding, but some 150 tons of coal per day are raised at No. 2 shaft. In the Beamshaw and the Parkgate seam horizons there are coal transport roadways inter-connecting with the neighbouring Grimethorpe Colliery where the combined output of both collieries is wound to the surface.

Report by J. Carver Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

One of the remaining buildings at the ghost town (old mining town) of Dawson. I'm posting this primarily to see if anyone knows more about this building. What was it? I took this very poor shot from far away--the townsite is behind a locked gate and is visible only from a road at quite a distance from the place itself.

Here's a website giving background info on Dawson: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson,_New_Mexico#cite_note-gtgall...

Lancashire, 22nd March 1962. Report number Cmnd 1846. 19 dead & 13 injured.

the casualties resulted from an explosion which occurred at about 9.45 a.m. in the No. 2 District of the Union Seam. Although coal dust played some part, the explosion was predominantly one of firedamp and affected about 680 yards of roadway and face. The evidence suggests that the explosion originated either in the return gate stable, as a result of shotfiring, or at a point in the return gate between 180 to 280 yards outbye of the face ripping, from a flash produced by friction involving metallic foil (a thermite reaction).

The colliery has three shafts: No. 3, the downcast, used for winding men, coal and materials; No. 4, the upcast, used for winding men only; No. 2 was used for pumping only but, although it was downcasting, it did not contribute to the ventilation of the mine workings. No. 4 shaft was equipped with an electrically driven exhausting fan producing 112,000 cubic feet of air per minute at 4.3 inches of water gauge. Following its completion in January, 1962, a surface drift, 1260 yards long and dipping at a gradient of 1 in 4. 16, was brought into use as a second intake

Report by H.S. Stephenson Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

"Owles" derives from Cornish "als", meaning cliff or shore. The period of Wheal Owles greatest prosperity was the 1860s, when it had 11 engines, 29 miles of levels and 3 miles of adits.

Just before 9am on 10th January 1893 the miners broke through into the flooded section of nearby Wheal Drea (due to a miscalculation by the mine's purser). The torrent of water surged into Wheal Owles with such force that a survivor described it as "louder than ten thousand thunders". A huge crater was created near the Kenidjack almshouses. Nineteen men and a boy were drowned - their bodies never recovered. Soon after the management gave up any attempt to drain the workings or recover the bodies.

As a postscript, one survivor, by the name of Thomas Lutey had a premonition of the impending disaster several days beforehand. After the disaster he never went underground again. He earned a meagre living selling oranges in and around St. Just, "walking along the roads with a shuffling gait, his eyes always fixed on the ground, as if he were expecting the earth to open under his feet.... ".

Five men lost their lives and one man sustained serious injury as a result of an explosion in the Meltonfield seam workings at Houghton Main Colliery at approximately 6.50 pm on 12 June 1975. The explosion resulted from the ignition of an accumulation of firedamp in B 05's return development heading which had been unventilated for a period of nine days prior to the explosion. The most likely source of ignition was frictional sparking from the impeller and casing of the Carter Howden auxiliary fan.

Houghton Main Colliery is one of 18 producing mines in the Barnsley area of the National Coal Board. It is situated some 5 miles* east of Barnsley. A total of 1361 men are employed; 1191 underground and 170 on the surface.

There are three shafts: No. 1 and No. 2 are downcast and each is 14 feet in diameter; No. 3 shaft is an upcast and is 20 feet in diameter. The shafts were sunk originally to the Barnsley seam and subsequently No. 2 and No. 3 shafts were deepened to the Thorncliffe seam at a depth of 816 yards. The shafts at the colliery are used principally for ventilation, man-winding and materials winding, but some 150 tons of coal per day are raised at No. 2 shaft. In the Beamshaw and the Parkgate seam horizons there are coal transport roadways inter-connecting with the neighbouring Grimethorpe Colliery where the combined output of both collieries is wound to the surface.

Report by J. Carver Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Monmouthshire,10th October 1952. Report number Cmd 9019. 1 dead & 20 injured

There was a mildly explosive mixture of methane and air in the Companion Road throughout the time it was being surveyed, and it was this which caused the flame safety lamps carried by John Beauchamp to be extinguished.

This explosive mixture was ignited by the Thomas & Williams' Cambrian "Midget" Internal Igniter flame safety lamp when John Beauchamp made his final attempt to relight it.

Report by T.A. Jones Divisional HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Lanarkshire, 18th September 1959 . Report number Cmnd 1022. 47 dead

Fire originated in the balata transmission belt of the electrically driven booster fan in the return airway from No. 2 Pit workings. The fire was caused by frictional heat generated between the rotating motor pulley and the belt, which had left the fan pulley and jammed near it. Flame from the belt ignited oil vaporised from the fan shaft bearings and oily deposits in and around the fan. The flame then spread downwind to ignite roadway timbers.

Forty-seven men on a man-riding train underground in a return airway died from asphyxia due to poisoning by carbon monoxide contained in smoke from a fire which originated in the driving belt of a booster fan farther inbye and spread to wood props and laggings used as roof supports.

Report by T.A. Rogers Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Yorkshire, 21st March 1973. Report number Cmnd 5419. 7 dead, of these 6 entombed for eternity.

seven men lost their lives as a result of an inrush of water at the face of South 9B district in the Flockton Thin seam. The conditions in the district following the incident were such that only one body could be recovered.

Lofthouse Colliery is in the North Yorkshire Area of the National Coal Board and is situated some 2½ miles north of Wakefield, on the western fringe of the working coalfield. Production began in 1877 and at the time of the inrush the saleable output was 18,500 tons per week with 837 men employed below ground and 207 on the surface.

There are four shafts. The A (downcast) shaft of 18 feet 6 inches diameter and the B (upcast) shaft of 15 feet diameter are at Lofthouse while the Silkstone (downcast) and Beeston (upcast) shafts of 14 feet diameter are at Wrenthorpe, some 1¾ miles to the south. Coal winding is confined to the A shaft with man winding at the B shaft. The Silkstone shaft has winding equipment but there are no winding facilities at the Beeston shaft.

Report by J.W. Calder Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Lanarkshire, 18th September 1959 . Report number Cmnd 1022. 47 dead

Fire originated in the balata transmission belt of the electrically driven booster fan in the return airway from No. 2 Pit workings. The fire was caused by frictional heat generated between the rotating motor pulley and the belt, which had left the fan pulley and jammed near it. Flame from the belt ignited oil vaporised from the fan shaft bearings and oily deposits in and around the fan. The flame then spread downwind to ignite roadway timbers.

Forty-seven men on a man-riding train underground in a return airway died from asphyxia due to poisoning by carbon monoxide contained in smoke from a fire which originated in the driving belt of a booster fan farther inbye and spread to wood props and laggings used as roof supports.

Report by T.A. Rogers Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

County Durham, 23rd March 1953. Report number Cmd 9399. 1 dead & 2 injured.

An explosion which occurred at Horden Colliery, County Durham, at 9.15 a.m. on the 23rd March, 1953, when one person was killed and two others injured, and which, during the subsequent recovery operations, was followed five hours later by a second explosion, fortunately without any casualties. The one person who lost his life in the explosion, and found that he was accidentally killed by an explosion underground and that his death Was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Horden Colliery, which was sunk in 1900 mainly for the purpose of working undersea coal, is situated on the coast at the village of Horden, 15 miles south of Sunderland. It produces some 4,200 tons of coal per day from the Five Quarter, Main Coal, Low Main and Hutton Seams, giving employment to 2,711 persons underground and 862 on the surface. About half of the output is obtained from the Low Main Seam.

The mine is served by three shafts, the North and East Pits, both to the Hutton Seam at 1,196 feet, and the South Pit, 1,083 feet deep to the Low Main Seam. The 20-feet diameter North and South Pits are downcasts and both wind coal. The East Pit, 17 feet in diameter, is the main man-riding and upcast shaft

Report by W. Brown Divisional HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Completed in 2010, Guardian was commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1960 mining disaster in Six Bells that claimed the lives of 45 men. The amazing 20 metre sculpture towers over the site of the former colliery where the tragedy occurred and is a fitting tribute to the men whose names are cut into panels wrapped around the memorial.

www.blaenau-gwent.gov.uk/leisure/14674.asp

The narrow main street in downtown Monongah, WV. If you blow the photo up to maximum size you can see the historical marker sign, way down the street, past the stop sign.

MONONGAH DISASTER TO BE REMEMBERED

A tribute will be held this month (August 2007) for more than 350 men and boys who died in a 1907 Marion County mine disaster.

The Monongah Centennial Commemoration Festival is set for Aug. 16-19 to honor the miners who lost their lives in the No. 8 and No. 6 mines in Monongah on Dec. 6, 1907.

Gov. Joe Manchin named an 11-member committee to lead the special events. The August festival will include a dinner with Gov. Manchin as speaker, a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery, a parade and a Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Bishop Michael Bransfield.

In October, the Columbus Day Weekend will feature a dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue, dedicated to the women and families who faced the strategy.

On Dec. 6, the commemoration ceremony will focus on the presentation of a special bell from Italy.

The commemorative events will start with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at Westchester Village. Gov. Joe Manchin will be the guest speaker for the event, and state Sen. Roman Prezioso, who is chairman of the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Committee, will also speak. Prezioso and Marianne Moran, director of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Marion County who is also on the committee, organized the dinner.

The dinner will cost $30 per person, and individuals must make reservations with the CVB at 368-1123 by this Friday. As of Tuesday morning, 90 people had already made reservations for the event.

“It really not only affected the town of Monongah, but the whole mining industry as a whole,” Moran said. “It’s certainly not a celebration — it’s a very solemn occasion — but it’s a remembrance.”

After a prededication of the Monongah Heroine Statue at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, visitors can attend a reception and a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery where many miners were buried.

Monongahfest will take place Saturday, Aug. 18. Festival activities include a country breakfast in the Monongah Town Hall, parade, Christopher’s Buffet in the town hall, entertainment, arts and crafts, children’s activities, food vendors and fireworks.

The remembrance activities will conclude with a Mass with Bishop Michael Bransfield at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by a memorial walk to Mount Calvary Cemetery. Buses will also be available.

A dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue is slated for the week of Columbus Day. All of these events will culminate with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Ceremony Dec. 6.

For information, contact Sen. Roman Prezioso of Fairmont at 366-5308 or Marianne Moran at 368-1123.

Falkirk, 25th September 1923. Report number Cmd 2136. 40 dead.

Inrush of water from old workings in a disused colliery.

This Colliery, owned by Messrs. James Nimmo & Company, Limited, is situated in the Parish of Grangemouth, about one mile west of Polmont Station, and is held under lease from the Duke of Hamilton. The Union Canal and the London & North Eastern Railway from Glasgow to Edinburgh run close together at this point, and the shafts lie between them. The two shafts fifty feet apart, are rectangular in shape and are both equipped with winding engines; No. 1 is 14 feet by 6 feet and No. 2 12½, feet by 5½ feet. Both are sunk to the Main Coal at a depth of 209 feet, passing through the Ball Coal at a depth of 171 feet.

Report by Sir Thomas. H. Mottram Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

On 27 January 1982, 40 men were seriously injured when an explosion of firedamp occurred below ground in the V52 District of the Cloven Coal Seam at Cardowan Colliery near Glasgow.

Cardowan Colliery is one of 17 producing mines in the Scottish Area of the National Coal Board and is situated eight kilometres to the east of Glasgow, adjacent to the village of Stepps. The sinking of Nos 1 and 2 shafts was commenced in 1924 and completed to the Kilsyth Coking Coal Seam, at a depth of 614 m, in 1928. Both are 5.03 m in diameter. No 3 shaft, 7.3 m in diameter, was sunk between 1958 and 1960, to a depth of 658 m with insets formed at 435 m and 621 m. The latter shaft is used for winding coal and materials with the other two shafts being used for winding men.

Report by A. Harley Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Northumberland, 1st October 1951. Report number Cmd 9614. 5 dead.

An explosion in the 3rd East District of the Bensham Seam, at 6.45 a.m. on 1st October, 1951, when a deputy and four workmen lost their lives. The task of exploring the affected area and recovering the bodies of the victims developed into a very protracted operation, due to precautions which were taken to ensure safety following the discovery of unprecedented quantities of hydrogen gas in the atmosphere in the explosion area.

Weetslade Colliery is situated about seven miles to the North of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and adjoins Burradon Colliery, with which its workings are connected, but the two mines have separate systems of ventilation and are separately managed. Sunk in 1903, it is served by a shaft and a surface drift which are 200 yards apart. The former, which is the downcast, is 12 feet in diameter and is sunk to the Beaumont Seam at a depth of 1,140 feet, the coal winding level being at the Bensham Seam inset at a depth of 800 feet

Report by W. Brown Divisional HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

© All rights reserved. This image is copyrighted to Tim Wood; Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws. Please contact me at woodrot147@aol.com for express permission to use any of my photographs.

All of my images can be purchased...... Visit my website, coastal and countryside images at......

www.timwoodgallery.com

Facebook...

www.facebook.com/TimWoodPhotoGallery

Twitter......

www.twitter.com/TimWoodFoto

Northumberland, 1st October 1951. Report number Cmd 9614. 5 dead.

An explosion in the 3rd East District of the Bensham Seam, at 6.45 a.m. on 1st October, 1951, when a deputy and four workmen lost their lives. The task of exploring the affected area and recovering the bodies of the victims developed into a very protracted operation, due to precautions which were taken to ensure safety following the discovery of unprecedented quantities of hydrogen gas in the atmosphere in the explosion area.

Weetslade Colliery is situated about seven miles to the North of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and adjoins Burradon Colliery, with which its workings are connected, but the two mines have separate systems of ventilation and are separately managed. Sunk in 1903, it is served by a shaft and a surface drift which are 200 yards apart. The former, which is the downcast, is 12 feet in diameter and is sunk to the Beaumont Seam at a depth of 1,140 feet, the coal winding level being at the Bensham Seam inset at a depth of 800 feet

Report by W. Brown Divisional HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Yorkshire, 6th August 1936. Report number Cmd 5503. 58 dead.

An explosion occurred in the Wharncliffe Woodmoor Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Colliery about 3.15 a.m. on Thursday, 6th August, 1936, whereby 58 persons lost their lives.The two doors separating the intake airway known as 1's level from the main return airway were found wide open; short circuiting the airflow allowing firedamp to build up, electricians had been working on a commutator cover of the motor of the loader near the inbye end of 1's level was found on the floor and the cover of the starting switch of this motor was found to be loose pointing to electrical sparking as the explosive ingredient.

The Wharncliffe Woodmoor 1, 2 and 3 Colliery is situate some two miles north-north-west of Barnsley and adjoins the North Gawber (Lidgett) Colliery, where an explosion occurred in September, 1935. Both collieries are under the same control.

The Lidgett Seam, in which this explosion also occurred, is about two feet four inches thick and is reached by drifts from the Haigh Moor Seam some 34 yards above it. The depth from the surface to the Haigh Moor is about 280 yards at the shafts.

Report by Sir Henry Walker Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Dewsbury, Yorkshire 4th July 1893. Report number C.-7198. 139 dead.

Small shaft explosion set fire to shaft timbers gassing workmen inbye.

Report by A. Young ESQ.

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

MONONGAH DISASTER. On the 6th of Dec., 1907, 361 coal miners, many of them from countries far across the sea, perished under these hills in the worst mining disaster of our nation. The four who escaped died of injuries.

MONONGAH DISASTER TO BE REMEMBERED

A tribute will be held this month (August 2007) for more than 350 men and boys who died in a 1907 Marion County mine disaster.

The Monongah Centennial Commemoration Festival is set for Aug. 16-19 to honor the miners who lost their lives in the No. 8 and No. 6 mines in Monongah on Dec. 6, 1907.

Gov. Joe Manchin named an 11-member committee to lead the special events. The August festival will include a dinner with Gov. Manchin as speaker, a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery, a parade and a Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Bishop Michael Bransfield.

In October, the Columbus Day Weekend will feature a dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue, dedicated to the women and families who faced the strategy.

On Dec. 6, the commemoration ceremony will focus on the presentation of a special bell from Italy.

The commemorative events will start with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at Westchester Village. Gov. Joe Manchin will be the guest speaker for the event, and state Sen. Roman Prezioso, who is chairman of the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Committee, will also speak. Prezioso and Marianne Moran, director of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Marion County who is also on the committee, organized the dinner.

The dinner will cost $30 per person, and individuals must make reservations with the CVB at 368-1123 by this Friday. As of Tuesday morning, 90 people had already made reservations for the event.

“It really not only affected the town of Monongah, but the whole mining industry as a whole,” Moran said. “It’s certainly not a celebration — it’s a very solemn occasion — but it’s a remembrance.”

After a prededication of the Monongah Heroine Statue at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, visitors can attend a reception and a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery where many miners were buried.

Monongahfest will take place Saturday, Aug. 18. Festival activities include a country breakfast in the Monongah Town Hall, parade, Christopher’s Buffet in the town hall, entertainment, arts and crafts, children’s activities, food vendors and fireworks.

The remembrance activities will conclude with a Mass with Bishop Michael Bransfield at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by a memorial walk to Mount Calvary Cemetery. Buses will also be available.

A dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue is slated for the week of Columbus Day. All of these events will culminate with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Ceremony Dec. 6.

For information, contact Sen. Roman Prezioso of Fairmont at 366-5308 or Marianne Moran at 368-1123.

Dewsbury, Yorkshire 4th July 1893. Report number C.-7198. 139 dead.

Small shaft explosion set fire to shaft timbers gassing workmen inbye.

Report by A. Young ESQ.

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

Falkirk, 25th September 1923. Report number Cmd 2136. 40 dead.

Inrush of water from old workings in a disused colliery.

This Colliery, owned by Messrs. James Nimmo & Company, Limited, is situated in the Parish of Grangemouth, about one mile west of Polmont Station, and is held under lease from the Duke of Hamilton. The Union Canal and the London & North Eastern Railway from Glasgow to Edinburgh run close together at this point, and the shafts lie between them. The two shafts fifty feet apart, are rectangular in shape and are both equipped with winding engines; No. 1 is 14 feet by 6 feet and No. 2 12½, feet by 5½ feet. Both are sunk to the Main Coal at a depth of 209 feet, passing through the Ball Coal at a depth of 171 feet.

Report by Sir Thomas. H. Mottram Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

David Levy Building, Monongah, WV

MONONGAH DISASTER TO BE REMEMBERED

A tribute will be held this month (August 2007) for more than 350 men and boys who died in a 1907 Marion County mine disaster.

The Monongah Centennial Commemoration Festival is set for Aug. 16-19 to honor the miners who lost their lives in the No. 8 and No. 6 mines in Monongah on Dec. 6, 1907.

Gov. Joe Manchin named an 11-member committee to lead the special events. The August festival will include a dinner with Gov. Manchin as speaker, a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery, a parade and a Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Bishop Michael Bransfield.

In October, the Columbus Day Weekend will feature a dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue, dedicated to the women and families who faced the strategy.

On Dec. 6, the commemoration ceremony will focus on the presentation of a special bell from Italy.

The commemorative events will start with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at Westchester Village. Gov. Joe Manchin will be the guest speaker for the event, and state Sen. Roman Prezioso, who is chairman of the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Committee, will also speak. Prezioso and Marianne Moran, director of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Marion County who is also on the committee, organized the dinner.

The dinner will cost $30 per person, and individuals must make reservations with the CVB at 368-1123 by this Friday. As of Tuesday morning, 90 people had already made reservations for the event.

“It really not only affected the town of Monongah, but the whole mining industry as a whole,” Moran said. “It’s certainly not a celebration — it’s a very solemn occasion — but it’s a remembrance.”

After a prededication of the Monongah Heroine Statue at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, visitors can attend a reception and a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery where many miners were buried.

Monongahfest will take place Saturday, Aug. 18. Festival activities include a country breakfast in the Monongah Town Hall, parade, Christopher’s Buffet in the town hall, entertainment, arts and crafts, children’s activities, food vendors and fireworks.

The remembrance activities will conclude with a Mass with Bishop Michael Bransfield at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by a memorial walk to Mount Calvary Cemetery. Buses will also be available.

A dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue is slated for the week of Columbus Day. All of these events will culminate with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Ceremony Dec. 6.

For information, contact Sen. Roman Prezioso of Fairmont at 366-5308 or Marianne Moran at 368-1123.

Staffordshire, 2nd July 1937. Report number Cmd 5720. 30 dead & 8 injured.

Coalface fire followed by several methane explosions and one large explosion. 2 HM Inspectors killed.

Holditch Colliery, known locally as Brymbo Pit, is about two miles N.N.W. of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

The two shafts, No. 2, sunk in 1912, and No. 1, sunk in 1916, are approximately 2,000 ft. deep to the stone drifts from which the two working seams, the Great Row and the Four Feet, were reached

Report by F.H. Wynne Chief HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

David Levy Building, Monongah, WV

MONONGAH DISASTER TO BE REMEMBERED

A tribute will be held this month (August 2007) for more than 350 men and boys who died in a 1907 Marion County mine disaster.

The Monongah Centennial Commemoration Festival is set for Aug. 16-19 to honor the miners who lost their lives in the No. 8 and No. 6 mines in Monongah on Dec. 6, 1907.

Gov. Joe Manchin named an 11-member committee to lead the special events. The August festival will include a dinner with Gov. Manchin as speaker, a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery, a parade and a Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Bishop Michael Bransfield.

In October, the Columbus Day Weekend will feature a dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue, dedicated to the women and families who faced the strategy.

On Dec. 6, the commemoration ceremony will focus on the presentation of a special bell from Italy.

The commemorative events will start with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at Westchester Village. Gov. Joe Manchin will be the guest speaker for the event, and state Sen. Roman Prezioso, who is chairman of the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Committee, will also speak. Prezioso and Marianne Moran, director of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Marion County who is also on the committee, organized the dinner.

The dinner will cost $30 per person, and individuals must make reservations with the CVB at 368-1123 by this Friday. As of Tuesday morning, 90 people had already made reservations for the event.

“It really not only affected the town of Monongah, but the whole mining industry as a whole,” Moran said. “It’s certainly not a celebration — it’s a very solemn occasion — but it’s a remembrance.”

After a prededication of the Monongah Heroine Statue at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, visitors can attend a reception and a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery where many miners were buried.

Monongahfest will take place Saturday, Aug. 18. Festival activities include a country breakfast in the Monongah Town Hall, parade, Christopher’s Buffet in the town hall, entertainment, arts and crafts, children’s activities, food vendors and fireworks.

The remembrance activities will conclude with a Mass with Bishop Michael Bransfield at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by a memorial walk to Mount Calvary Cemetery. Buses will also be available.

A dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue is slated for the week of Columbus Day. All of these events will culminate with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Ceremony Dec. 6.

For information, contact Sen. Roman Prezioso of Fairmont at 366-5308 or Marianne Moran at 368-1123.

Plan of workings in Red Vein seam prepared by the Inspector of Mines following inrush of water which killed five men & boys.

The water issued from old workings of Ynisygeinon colliery - shaft top right - which had been abandoned some 50 / 60 years previously.

The point of contact was at (1) which was 110 yds. beyond the boundary of the old pit "take" - representing illegal trespass. No plan was available of the Ynisygeinon pit and the trespass not suspected, hence the tragedy even though the stalls were being worked AWAY from the old workings as a precaution.

The legend on left gives details of the locations of the victims together with reference numbers marked on the plan.

Two of the victims were electrocuted by damaged cables which they used to haul themselves through the torrent.

The shafts were sunk 1903 to the Red Vein seam - the upcast was 92 yds. deep and the downcast a further 50 yds. due to faulting.

By 1909 the upcast shaft - named Gleison - was deepened to a depth of 435 yds to the Big Vein (Nine Feet seam) which enabled the seams north of the river to be worked - the upper seams being non-existant under the river due to a deep glacial basin - over 230 ft. deep.

List of victims :-

Evan Harris found at (3)

Isaac Rees found at (4)

Evan Thomas, David Rees & Benjamin Griffiths found at (5)

To enlarge double click photo and choose from "View all Sizes".

Glamorganshire, 12th April 1962. Report number Cmnd 1850. 9 dead & 9 injured

The explosion resulted from the ignition of inflammable gas in the MC3 heading. The igniting source was arcing resulting from a short circuit to earth in a newly inserted length of cable serving the electrical equipment in the heading, and occurred on the inside of a loop in the cable where it had been bent back on itself in order to connect it up to the switch in the heading. I think it highly likely that the short circuit was directly due to the insulation of the cable having been weakened as a result of the acute bending to which it had been subjected in making the connection to the switch.

A verdict was recorded that all nine had 'died as a result of multiple injuries accidentally received in an explosion in the MC3 road at Tower Colliery'.

Report by C Leigh Divisional HMI

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original taken from my collection of disaster reports

I went to the Open Day at the Museum Collections Centre - 25 Dollman Street on the 13th of May 2012.

At the Dollman Street Stores they have objects that are not currently on display in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery or Think Tank. Some items used to be in the old Museum of Science & Industry on Newhall Street.

The garage area of the warehouse with old cars, motorbikes etc.

Sculpture

This sculpture by Raymond Mason, called "A Tragedy in the North. Winter, Rain and Tears" depicts a scene after a mining disaster in the north of France.

It is made from epoxy resin and painted with acrylic.

Leicestershire, April, 1898, Report number C.-9060. 35 dead.

Early in the morning of Tuesday the 19th of April 1898 a fire broke out in the main intake of the Old Main or Upper Seam of the Whitwick Colliery whereby thirty-five persons lost their lives, of these persons the bodies of only nine have been recovered. The bodies of the remaining victims are still in the mine.

A fall had occurred about half way between No. 94 and No. 95 road ends, and at both roads there had been gob-fires. It was also in a part where all the coal had been worked away, and the strata above was more or less broken. The fires at the bottom of old No. 94 road had been quiescent for a long time, but the fires at old No. 95 and the immediate vicinity had given considerable trouble, and were a few yards beyond the place where the heavy fall occurred.

It will thus be seen that the part where the fire took place is about half-way between the junction of the roads where gob-fires existed, and had been dammed off.

I am of opinion that the heat from these gob-fires would materially assist in developing a gob-fire in any strata favourably situated, or inclined to develop spontaneous combustion, and that the area of their thermal activity would be in proportion to the broken nature of the strata, or the conductivity of the rocks forming such strata.

Report by Arthur H. Stokes, H.M. Inspector of Mines.

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original borrowed from a collection of disaster reports

The town of Monongah, West Virginia.

MONONGAH DISASTER TO BE REMEMBERED

A tribute will be held this month (August 2007) for more than 350 men and boys who died in a 1907 Marion County mine disaster.

The Monongah Centennial Commemoration Festival is set for Aug. 16-19 to honor the miners who lost their lives in the No. 8 and No. 6 mines in Monongah on Dec. 6, 1907.

Gov. Joe Manchin named an 11-member committee to lead the special events. The August festival will include a dinner with Gov. Manchin as speaker, a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery, a parade and a Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Bishop Michael Bransfield.

In October, the Columbus Day Weekend will feature a dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue, dedicated to the women and families who faced the strategy.

On Dec. 6, the commemoration ceremony will focus on the presentation of a special bell from Italy.

The commemorative events will start with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at Westchester Village. Gov. Joe Manchin will be the guest speaker for the event, and state Sen. Roman Prezioso, who is chairman of the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Committee, will also speak. Prezioso and Marianne Moran, director of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Marion County who is also on the committee, organized the dinner.

The dinner will cost $30 per person, and individuals must make reservations with the CVB at 368-1123 by this Friday. As of Tuesday morning, 90 people had already made reservations for the event.

“It really not only affected the town of Monongah, but the whole mining industry as a whole,” Moran said. “It’s certainly not a celebration — it’s a very solemn occasion — but it’s a remembrance.”

After a prededication of the Monongah Heroine Statue at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, visitors can attend a reception and a candlelight vigil at Mount Calvary Cemetery where many miners were buried.

Monongahfest will take place Saturday, Aug. 18. Festival activities include a country breakfast in the Monongah Town Hall, parade, Christopher’s Buffet in the town hall, entertainment, arts and crafts, children’s activities, food vendors and fireworks.

The remembrance activities will conclude with a Mass with Bishop Michael Bransfield at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by a memorial walk to Mount Calvary Cemetery. Buses will also be available.

A dedication ceremony for the Monongah Heroine Statue is slated for the week of Columbus Day. All of these events will culminate with the Monongah Mine Disaster Centennial Remembrance Ceremony Dec. 6.

For information, contact Sen. Roman Prezioso of Fairmont at 366-5308 or Marianne Moran at 368-1123.

Yorkshire, 12th & 13th December 1866. 361 dead & 6 injured. Of these 286 lay entombed. Britains 1st worst Mining Accident surpassed in 1913 by Senghenydd Colliery to become 2nd largest explosion. The number of men and boys working in the pit on the 12th of December at the time of the explosion was 340.

There had been more in the pit during the morning, but they had come out before the usual time.

Of those who were brought out, 20 were then still living, but 14 of these have since died; six only are now living.

There were 61 brought out dead, making 81 altogether.

All those of whom I have now spoken were men and boys working at the Oaks, who were in the pit at the time of the first explosion.

The number of lives lost by this explosion is therefore 334, including those who were killed in the pit and those who have since died.

The number of lives lost by the second explosion is 27, of whom four were men working at the Oaks, and 23 were volunteers, out of 198 who went down the pit to assist.

The total loss of lives from both explosions is therefore 361.

One volunteer, Samuel Brown, was brought out alive after the third explosion.

Report by J. Kenyon Blackwell

Plan scanned and pieced together to remake a copy of the original borrowed from a collection of disaster reports

This image was scanned from a photograph or slide taken by the late Dr John Turner (1933 - 1998), local historian and lecturer. His collection is rich in Australian history and local studies.

This image can be used for study and personal research purposes. If you wish to reproduce this image for any other purpose you must obtain permission by contacting the University of Newcastle's Cultural Collections.

Please contact us if you are the subject of the image, or know the subject of the image, and have cultural or other reservations about the image being displayed on this website and would like to discuss this with us.

If you have any information about this photograph, please contact us or leave a comment in the box below.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

© All rights reserved. This image is copyrighted to Tim Wood; Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws. Please contact me at woodrot147@aol.com for express permission to use any of my photographs.

All of my images can be purchased...... Visit my website, coastal and countryside images at......

www.timwoodgallery.com

Facebook...

www.facebook.com/TimWoodPhotoGallery

Twitter......

www.twitter.com/TimWoodFoto

This is the memorial to not one but two mining disasters at Auchengeich. In 1931 six miners were killed by an explosion - a number of their comrades tried to go back to save them, but were overcome by fumes and had to be rescued themselves.

The second disaster was in 1959, when 47 men were trapped by a blaze, a thousand feet below the surface of the Earth. So severe was the fire and smoke (most were overcome by the smoke, it is thought) that the rescue attempts could not get close, and eventually they were left with no choice but to flood the put to dowse the flames.

47 men gone just like that, dozens of families shattered. My mother was a wee girl when it happened, but she remembered some of the children whose family members were in the pit being taken out of school, wailing and screaming their grief. The history books like to talk about the Great Events - the Industrial Revolution, exploration, empire and all of that, but often neglects that everything was built on the broad backs of men who laboured in such dangerous conditions for little reward.

I went to the Open Day at the Museum Collections Centre - 25 Dollman Street on the 13th of May 2012.

At the Dollman Street Stores they have objects that are not currently on display in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery or Think Tank. Some items used to be in the old Museum of Science & Industry on Newhall Street.

The garage area of the warehouse with old cars, motorbikes etc.

Sculpture

This sculpture by Raymond Mason, called "A Tragedy in the North. Winter, Rain and Tears" depicts a scene after a mining disaster in the north of France.

It is made from epoxy resin and painted with acrylic.

Sign

On 21st December 1910 an explosion at the Pretoria Pit in Lancashire resulted in the deaths of 344 men and boys, many of whom lived in Westhoughton. It was the 3rd worst mining disaster in the UK and the 100th anniversary has been marked with the unveiling of a new memorial in Ditchfield Gardens Westhoughton. The sculpture was made by Jane Robbins ( sister of Ted Robbins) who was responsible for the Fred Dibnah statue on Oxford Street in Bolton.