The memorial (the text of which is a real challenge to read) commemorates 26 children who were drowned in Huskar Pit during heavy rain during a thunderstorm in 1838. SIlkstone, Barnsley, UK.

On the morning of May 19, 1902 in the small town of Fraterville, an oil lamp sparked a methane explosion in an unventilated active mine and caused the 5th worst mining disaster in U.S. History. The disaster killed 216 men, leaving only three men in the entire town.

At Leach Cemetery just outside of what is now Lake City, a monument was built to honor the memories of the men killed in the disaster. Here are the graves of 89 of the men buried in concentric circles around the central tall monument. In 2005, this circle was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

For more info, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraterville_Mine_disaster

A candle burning for Pontardawe and the families of the miners.

A candle burns bright (Facebook thread)

Quote from Facebook thread.

"Tragic loss of lives recently in Pontardawe have reminded us all how fragile life can be. Pontardawe is quite special in its community feeling. Everyone knows everyone, or knows someone who has a connection to those who have lost loved ones recently. Just a small thought through the power of facebook has developed into more. Many houses in the community have started placing candles in their front window tonight. Social networking can be used for good. We invite you to join us for the next few days to burn a candle in your front window to remember the lives lost in Pontardawe recently. A temporary memorial appears to have sprung up on The Cross Square, by the traffic lights. At 9pm on Sunday we will be placing candles there too.

Thanks go to all the messages of support, far and wide. It seems Pontardawe shares the Welsh community spirit with many of our Valley Towns, Welsh Towns, and even further afar. Family members of the lives recently lost have been in touch, and appreciate your gesture of support, and also join you with a candle in their window. Diolch."

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...

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.

From the on-site sign:

The Smith Mine Disaster

The Smith Mine is the side of the worst underground coal mine disaster in Montana history. The decaying buildings across the coulee are a memorial to the 74 men who died in the mine on the morning of February 27, 1943. Smoke pouring from the entrance to the No. 3 vein was the first indication of trouble.”There’s something wrong down here. I’m getting out,” the hoist operator called up. He and two nerby miners were the last men to leave the mine alive.

The families of the men trapped underground anxiously waited as the rescue crews from as far away as Butte and Cascade County worked around the clock to clear debris and search for survivors. There were none. Some men died as a result of a violent explosion, but most fell victim to the deadly methane gasses released by the blast. The tragedy sparked investigations at the state and national level that resulted in improved mine safety.

Today’s marker of the Smith Mine Disaster follows a simpler one left by two miners trapped underground after the explosion, waiting for the poisonous gas they knew would come.

“Walter & Johnny. Good-bye. Wives and daughters. We died an easy death. Love from us both. Be good.”

and

Smith Mine Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior in cooperation with the Montana Historical Society.

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.

Plan of workings, some 500 yds. from the entrance, affected by the explosion of 6th December 1875 in which 16 men were killed.

This plan, constructed by Mr. W. Galloway, Deputy Inspector of Mines, was used at the Inquest to demonstrate the effects and extent of the blast. ( The bold-type annotations are mine)

It was during this investigation that Mr. (later Professor) Galloway formed the opinion that it was coal dust, ignited by methane, that caused the most damaging element of colliery explosions and led eventually, after a number of years campaigning by Galloway, to the extensive use of watering & stone dust in dry mines to suppress the propagation of airborne coal dust during the initial stages of an explosion - so this mine proved to be of great and world-wide significance albeit for the wrong reasons.

In 1901 Professor Galloway headed the official Inquiry into the first Senghenydd Disaster. He received a knighthood in 1924 in recognition of his work into the effects of coal dust within colliery explosions.

Listing of victims as of 6th. December 1875.

Killed

Abraham Phillips, 53, married, Pentyrch

Thomas Llewellyn (Sen), 45, married, Pentyrch

Thomas Llewellyn (Jun), 16, single, Pentyrch

William Llewellyn, 29, married, Pentyrch

David Reece, 14, Pentyrch

Henry Sant, 51, married, Pentyrch

William Peters, 33, married, Taff's Well

Robert Taylor, 21, single, Taff's Well

Moses Llewellyn, 12, Morganstown, Radyr

Daniel Evans, 28, married, Tongwynlais

John Thomas,18, single, Pentyrch

John Pritchard, 16, single, Pentyrch

Injured

Shadrach Davies, married, Gwaelod-y-garth

John Flym, single, Gwaelod-y-garth

Evan Howell, married, Llan Colliery Old Level Houses

William Harding, single, Pen-y-garn Pentyrch

Charles Mills, single, Pen-y-garn Pentyrch

William Llewellyn, married, Radyr

Morgan Morgan, married, Pentyrch

William Morgan, married, Pen-y-garn, Pentyrch

Evan Davies, single, Pen-y-garn, Pentyrch

Abraham Williams, Tongwynlais

Samuel Evans, single, Tongwynlais

(Within a week of the disaster, William Morgan, 18, together with his father Morgan Morgan, 48, had also succumbed to be followed within a few days by Evan Howell and William Harding bringing the total number of deaths to sixteen.)

Wednesday, 8th. December, The coroner's inquest opened at the Junction Hotel, Walnut Tree (Lower Taff's Well) headed by Mr. E.B. Reece, District Coroner and, in spite of the weather, the jury were commanded to accompany the court officials in visiting the homes of all the deceased which involved a walk of considerable distance and elevation to formerly view the bodies at their homes prior to issuing consent for burial.

During the Inquiry, which concluded on 21 December, evidence emerged of lax attention to ventilation at the mine particularly with regard to inadequate sealing of old workings some of which dated back some 35 to 80 years and the lack of upkeep of return airways all of which contributed to the build-up of gas pockets.

The seams being worked at the time were the Hard Vein, Brass Vein, Forked Vein and Wing Vein - the explosion occurred in the Brass Vein workings where naked lights were allowed, as they were in the other seams except for the Forked Vein which was fiery.

Evidence was given to show that the Brass Vein workings had been driven to make contact with broken coal adjacent to the windway (return airway) and in at least one instance a few days prior to the explosion the pillar had been pierced to be patched up with straw to prevent the return air short-circuiting!

On the day of the explosion, Evan Davies, who had made that hole, was sitting nearby close to the straw smoking his pipe (permitted) when the explosion happened and miraculously survived though badly burned the flame passing over his face. It was not thought, however, that this was the ignition source this was attributed to a naked candle lamp

Also criticised was the practice of brushing out pockets of gas from the stalls by the use of jackets etc. to displace it - this was illegal - together with failure to enter all gas inspections in the register.

Mr. Seymour, the manager, was mildly criticised for not having ensured inspection of the return airways as required to do so under the Mines Act whereupon he commented that he had only been in that post for some five months but when questioned agreed that he had been the Mine Surveyor for nine years previous.

The deceased over-man, Abraham Phillips, was alleged to have instructed his fore-men to overlook some of the ventilation and inspection problems telling them "remember, I am your master"

Some sad accounts by survivors were related to the court of the lad Moses Llewellyn who died having been playing hide and seek to relieve the boredom of his duties as door-boy. Abraham Phillips having just enough time to implore his men, in Welsh, to "stay calm boys"

Another young lad who, instead of running away, went into the area where his father had been working rescuers found him lying unconscious alongside his dad, who had perished, with his arms around him.

Men were heard crying "Arglwydd, achub fi nawr" - "Lord, save me now"

Daniel Evans of Tongwynlais had planned to visit New Tredegar on the Monday afternoon to visit his wife's relatives who had lost loved ones in that disaster which occurred on the previous Saturday morning instead of which he was himself brought home, the victim of a like catastrophe.

The verdict of the jury was inconclusive in that the exact cause of the explosion could not be identified but that there was a deficiency in the ventilation and maintenance of the airways and recommended greater vigilance in future.

Also remarked upon was the opinion by the Mines Inspector, Mr. Wales, that the presence of much small coal in the gob was a factor in fuelling the blast furthermost from the initial fire.

As a number of the jurors were employed locally it is not surprising that such a lenient verdict was passed, this was common practice in those days when mine owners could wield influence over mining jurors and local businesses who feared retribution by the employers /landowners.

The Families

Nine families had been left without fathers including :

Abraham Phillips, leaves a widow and six children

Thomas Llewellyn leaves a widow and four children

William Llewellyn leaves a widow and three children

Henry Sant leaves a widow and five children

William Peters leaves a widow and two children

Daniel Evans leaves a widow and one child

None of the men were in the Miner's Union - the Federation -had they been then their widows would have received a small pension of 9 shillings a week plus one shilling for each child.

Without this the families, with no other breadwinner, were destitute and were condemned to Parish Relief and the infamous Work-house with it's harsh regimes and the splitting up of the families - a plea was made "that this be made known to the benevolent"

This tragedy and it's aftermath was apparently keenly felt for many years afterwards in this area and I, myself, am mindful of it when I walk past the Lan drift, particularly at this time of the year, when all those years ago the anticipation of Christmas and it's associated family gatherings was cruelly swept away in an instant for those families.

In 1876 William Galloway claimed there were seventeen fatalities of this disaster which is quite plausible as an extra one could have succombed within the legal "year and a day" of the explosion.

To commemorate this tragedy a plaque is to be unveiled at the Gwaelod village hall on Thursday 6th. December 2012 11.00 a.m. - the 137th. anniversary.

To enlarge click photo..

County Durham, 29th May 1951. Report number Cmd 8646. 83 dead.

firedamp was ignited when the picks of a coal cutting machine operating on a retreating longwall face struck pyrites. The explosion spread through 16,000 yards of roadway and caused the deaths of 81 persons. Two persons died in the ensuing rescue operations.

Easington Colliery is situated on the coast in the County of Durham, between the ports of Seaham Harbour and West Hartlepool, nine miles north-west of the latter. There are two principal shafts, both circular and both 20 feet in diameter. The North Shaft, the downcast, was sunk to the Hutton Seam at a depth of 1,430 feet, the present winding level being at the Main Coal Inset at a depth of 1,130 feet. The South Shaft, the upcast, is 1,500 feet deep to the Hutton Seam. Both are used for winding men, mineral and materials. A third shaft, the West, 470 feet deep, is connected to the South Shaft by a drift at the 164 feet level. Although sinking was started in 1899, coal drawing did not begin until 1910 because of difficulties encountered in passing through waterbearing strata.

Report by H.C.W. Roberts Chief HMI

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

From the on-site sign:

The Smith Mine Disaster

The Smith Mine is the side of the worst underground coal mine disaster in Montana history. The decaying buildings across the coulee are a memorial to the 74 men who died in the mine on the morning of February 27, 1943. Smoke pouring from the entrance to the No. 3 vein was the first indication of trouble.”There’s something wrong down here. I’m getting out,” the hoist operator called up. He and two nerby miners were the last men to leave the mine alive.

The families of the men trapped underground anxiously waited as the rescue crews from as far away as Butte and Cascade County worked around the clock to clear debris and search for survivors. There were none. Some men died as a result of a violent explosion, but most fell victim to the deadly methane gasses released by the blast. The tragedy sparked investigations at the state and national level that resulted in improved mine safety.

Today’s marker of the Smith Mine Disaster follows a simpler one left by two miners trapped underground after the explosion, waiting for the poisonous gas they knew would come.

“Walter & Johnny. Good-bye. Wives and daughters. We died an easy death. Love from us both. Be good.”

and

Smith Mine Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior in cooperation with the Montana Historical Society.

The Risca Colliery Explosion. Illustration for The Graphic, 24 July 1880.

Plaque commemorating those killed in the Pretoria Pit disaster of 1910

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

This monument is particularly poignant. This lady lost her husband several weeks before the mine disaster; her son and grandson died in the blast; and then she died only days later.

Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts, 21st February 1957. Report number Cmnd 327. 5 dead & 15 injured.

On 21st February, 1957, at about 11.30 a.m., firedamp was ignited at the intake roadhead of No. 28's fully mechanised longwall face in No. 28's district in the Low Main seam when a stone about 3 feet by 3 feet by 1½ feet fell from the insufficiently secured top or sides of a cavity about 36 feet long, 9 to 12 feet wide and 10 to 12 feet high above the roadway supports. This cavity was left by previous falls of roof in the intake roadhead. The stone struck the cast steel terminal box of a 50 H.P. motor driving a face conveyor and smashed it, causing an electrical short circuit and an incendive flash before the automatic devices for cutting off the supply of electricity had time to operate.

Sutton Colliery is situated about four miles west-south-west of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. The Top Hard, Deep Hard, Deep Soft, Low Main and Piper seams have all been worked, the Top Hard being exhausted many years ago. At the time of the explosion the daily output was 1,200 tons of which 850 tons were from the Low Main seam, which has been worked for the past 40 years, and the remainder from the Piper seam.

Report by A. Winstanley Deputy Chief HMI

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

The iconic statue 'Guardian' by Sebastien Boyesen, often referred to as Wales' Angel of the North, is made from a multitude of thin strips of Cor-ten steel, which enables it to develop a patina of rust that then protects and enhances the appearance of the statue.

Located at Six Bells near Abertillery, the statue is at the site of the Six Bells Mining Disaster in 1960, when 45 out of 48 men in W district of the mine were killed in an underground gas explosion, and was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the disaster (minus it's arms which were added later after remedial work to strengthen the structure to bear their weight) in June 2010.

The names/home towns of those killed are laser cut into steel plates bolted to the stone plinth, and the statue is an evocative 20m high memorial dedicated to these men and all colliers killed in mining accidents in the Welsh coalfields.

It is intended that the statue will form the centrepiece of regeneration in the area.

Glamorganshire, 17th May 1965. Report number Cmnd 2813.31 dead & 1 injured

The casualties were caused by an explosion which occurred just before 1.00 p.m. in the P. 26 District in the Pentre Seam, the explosion was almost entirely one of firedamp, flame spreading along about 325 yards of face and return roadway and coal dust playing no significant part.

The firedamp involved was emitted into the airway from strata other than the seam being worked and assumed explosive proportions because of a severe reduction in the ventilation circulating the district ; this reduction resulted from a prolonged short-circuit through two access holes in an air bridge (or air crossing) and from a connec¬tion with previous workings ; and the firedamp was ignited by an electric arc within a gate-end switch, which electricians were testing while the front cover was unbolted.

Cambrian Colliery, in the No. 3 Area of the National Coal Board's South Western Division, is situated near the village of Clydach Vale in the Borough of Rhondda, some 20 miles north-west of Cardiff. There are four shafts ; No. 1 Shaft, a downcast sixteen feet in diameter, sunk to the Five Feet Seam at a depth of 506 yards, the present winding level being at the Pentre Seam inset at a depth of 212 yards; the Maindy Shaft, at the former Colliery of that name, elliptical 14 feet by 12 feet, serving as the upcast for the Pentre Seam workings; and No. 3 and No. 4 Shafts, used for workings in the Five Feet, Lower Nine Feet and Bute Seams.

The Colliery employed 816 men at the time of the incident, 654 below ground and 162 on the surface, and the daily output was 700 tons from the Pentre Seam and 300 tons from the Lower Nine Feet and Bute Seams

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

From the pictured sign:

The Smith Mine Disaster

The Smith Mine is the side of the worst underground coal mine disaster in Montana history. The decaying buildings across the coulee are a memorial to the 74 men who died in the mine on the morning of February 27, 1943. Smoke pouring from the entrance to the No. 3 vein was the first indication of trouble.”There’s something wrong down here. I’m getting out,” the hoist operator called up. He and two nerby miners were the last men to leave the mine alive.

The families of the men trapped underground anxiously waited as the rescue crews from as far away as Butte and Cascade County worked around the clock to clear debris and search for survivors. There were none. Some men died as a result of a violent explosion, but most fell victim to the deadly methane gasses released by the blast. The tragedy sparked investigations at the state and national level that resulted in improved mine safety.

Today’s marker of the Smith Mine Disaster follows a simpler one left by two miners trapped underground after the explosion, waiting for the poisonous gas they knew would come.

“Walter & Johnny. Good-bye. Wives and daughters. We died an easy death. Love from us both. Be good.”

Additionally:

Smith Mine Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior in cooperation with the Montana Historical Society.

A coal miner heading to work carrying his safety lamp, from the Trimdon Grange disaster memorial at Kelloe, County Durham

Glamorganshire, Tuesday, 14th October, 1913. Report number Cd. 7346. 439 dead

The explosion, which in point of loss of life constitutes the greatest disaster in the annals of British mining happened at about 8.10 a.m. on Tuesday, the 14th October 1913.

The number of persons killed by the explosion or who died from the effects of the afterdamp was 439 and one man lost his life on the day following the explosion whilst engaged in work at the fire on the main west level, being killed by a fall of stone.

There is strong probability of the explosion having originated on the Mafeking Incline, and that it was preceded by an occurrence similar to that which took place further outbye in the Mafeking Return in October, 1910, namely, by heavy falls liberating a large volume of gas. These heavy falls exposed seams of coal and beds of hard rock, and an outburst of gas may have come away at one of them. The only apparent means of ignition would be sparks from the electric signalling apparatus, or from rocks brought down from the fall, and we know that explosions have been originated by both these causes. The only other possible means of ignition were safety lamps or matches. The difficulty in regard to the former is that no lamp was found in the place, and even were a broken lamp found under a fall there would be the inference that it may have been broken by the fall. There were however, lamps lower down the hard heading, but there is no evidence pointing to any of them having been the igniting cause of the explosion. In respect of matches, as has already been stated, a rigorous search of the persons descending the mine was being carried out daily, and the possibility of a match being the igniting cause is remote.

Report by R. A. S. Redmayne, H.M. Chief Inspector

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

Blumberg Building, 1910. 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.

On 18 August 1993, three men were killed by an extensive fall of roof in the 45's supply gate district of the Parkgate seam at Bilsthorpe Colliery, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Three others were also trapped but rescued some time later, following sustained and heroic effort, with only minor injuries.

At the time of the accident, Bilsthorpe Colliery was one of ten producing mines in the Nottinghamshire Group of the BCC; it is situated 11 km east of Mansfield and six km south of Ollerton. The mine is provided with two shafts, the sinking of which commenced in 1925. The No 1 shaft was sunk to a depth of 724 m to a level below the Blackshale seam. Insets were provided at the Top Hard and Parkgate seams' horizons at depths of 442 m and 625 m respectively. The shaft was later infilled to a depth of 477 m. The No 2 shaft was sunk to a depth of 461 m and the pit bottom established in the Top Hard horizon from which seam production commenced in 1928. Access to the Parkgate seam was provided by cross-measure drifts driven from the pit bottom area. The No 1 shaft is equipped with a skip and is used for mineral winding, while the No 2 shaft is used for winding men and materials.

Report by B. Langdon Deputy Chief HMI

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

© I m a g e D a v e F o r b e s

Engagement 600+

Moodiesburn Bridgend North Lanarkshire G69 0JN

A close-up of the life-sized mourning miner at the centre of this memorial near Moodiesburn in North Lanarkshire.

This is the second sculpture after unscrupulous metal thieves cut away the first and original one

South Yorkshire, 15th November, 1907. Report number Cd. 3979. 7 dead

Barrow Colliery, Worsborough, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, where on the 15th of November, through the oscillation of the ascending-cage and its collision with two girders in the No. 3 or Fan Shaft, seven men were thrown to the bottom of the shaft and killed.

The Barrow Colliery shaft accident was due to the carelessness of the hanger-on, Weldrick, in signalling the cage away when the drop-sheet was down on the lower deck of the cage.

Report by R. A. S. Redmayne, Proffesor of mining

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

At about 1 1.15 hours on 18 March 1979 11 men were employed in the Plodder Seam Development District at Golborne Colliery when an ignition and explosion of firedamp occurred. Three men were killed and seven subsequently died in hospital. The explosion occurred during the de-gassing of the P.1 Intake Drivage where firedamp had accumulated following a breakdown in the ventilating arrangements. The investigation concludes that the firedamp was probably ignited by electrical sparking.

Golborne Colliery is one of twenty two producing mines in the Western area of the National Coal Board. It is situated in the village of Golborne within the Wigan Metropolitan Borough of the Greater Manchester County and lies approximately mid-way between the towns of Wigan and Warrington. A total of 870 men are employed; 766 underground and 104 on the surface

The mine was sunk circa 1865 and is served by two shafts known as No 2 (Upcast) and No 3 (Downcast). The No 2 shaft is 4.2 m in diameter and sunk to a depth of 545 m and is used for manriding. No 3 shaft is 5.4 m in diameter, sunk to the same depth, and is used for manriding and for materials. In August 1975 an underground connection was completed with the neighbouring Bickershaw Colliery and in April 1977 all mineral winding at Golborne Colliery ceased and was transferred to Bickershaw. Parsonage Colliery is also connected underground to Bickershaw Colliery but the fact that the collieries are interconnected is not considered to be of significance to the explosion.

Report by L.D. Rhydderch Chief HMI

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

View On Black

This image is copyrighted to David Smith; 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 daismiff39@hotmail.com for express permission to use any of my photographs.

The deaths of 45 men killed 50 years ago in a colliery explosion have been remembered with a service at the site.

A gas explosion ripped through the Six Bells colliery near Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent at 10.45am on 28 June 1960.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, led a service of remembrance at the site.

He also unveiled a memorial to the tragedy, a 20m high sculpture of a miner by Sebastian Boyesen.

Carmarthenshire, 6th April 1971. Report number Cmnd 4804. 6 dead & 69 injured.

spontaneous outburst of coal and firedamp which occurred at Cynheidre/Pentremawr Colliery, Carmarthenshire, at about 12 noon on 6 April 1971, when six persons were killed and sixty-nine others suffered varying degrees of asphyxia. Three of the men died in the Road 2 Development and three others in Panel 13, a highly mechanised longwall district around which the firedamp was carried by the main ventilation system.

The Cynheidre/Pentremawr Colliery is in the West Wales Area of the National Coal Board and is situated some five miles (8 kilometres) North of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, at the Western extremity of the coalfield. Cynheidre and Pentremawr Collieries were linked underground in 1966 and came under one manager in 1970. The Pentremawr Colliery began production in 1875. Sinking of the shafts at Cynheidre Colliery commenced during 1954 and production began in 1960.

There are two downcast shafts, two upcast and three intake drifts, all lying within a circle having a radius of 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres). The No. 1 Downcast and No. 2 Upcast Shafts are 24 feet (7.3 metres) and 20 feet (6.1 metres) in diameter respectively and are both at Cynheidre. The No. 3 Upcast and No. 4 Downcast Shafts, each 18 feet (5.5 metres) in diameter, are three miles (4.6 kilometres) North-East of Cynheidre, near Tumble. The three intake drifts are all at Pentremawr, two miles (3.2 kilometres) North of Cynheidre.

Report by J.S. Marshall Divisional HMI

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

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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

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

The main memorial to the Oaks Disater is at Christ Church, Ardsley. This memorial on Donaster Road, Barnsley, was erected in 1913 and remembers some of the rescuers. Reaad more here: www.oaks1866.com/oaks-colliery/

Carmarthenshire, 6th April 1971. Report number Cmnd 4804. 6 dead & 69 injured.

spontaneous outburst of coal and firedamp which occurred at Cynheidre/Pentremawr Colliery, Carmarthenshire, at about 12 noon on 6 April 1971, when six persons were killed and sixty-nine others suffered varying degrees of asphyxia. Three of the men died in the Road 2 Development and three others in Panel 13, a highly mechanised longwall district around which the firedamp was carried by the main ventilation system.

The Cynheidre/Pentremawr Colliery is in the West Wales Area of the National Coal Board and is situated some five miles (8 kilometres) North of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, at the Western extremity of the coalfield. Cynheidre and Pentremawr Collieries were linked underground in 1966 and came under one manager in 1970. The Pentremawr Colliery began production in 1875. Sinking of the shafts at Cynheidre Colliery commenced during 1954 and production began in 1960.

There are two downcast shafts, two upcast and three intake drifts, all lying within a circle having a radius of 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres). The No. 1 Downcast and No. 2 Upcast Shafts are 24 feet (7.3 metres) and 20 feet (6.1 metres) in diameter respectively and are both at Cynheidre. The No. 3 Upcast and No. 4 Downcast Shafts, each 18 feet (5.5 metres) in diameter, are three miles (4.6 kilometres) North-East of Cynheidre, near Tumble. The three intake drifts are all at Pentremawr, two miles (3.2 kilometres) North of Cynheidre.

Report by J.S. Marshall Divisional HMI

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Lancashire, 10th October 1959. Report number Cmnd 1000. 5 dead & 1 injured.

Owing to the circumstances immediately following the explosion which demanded the isolation by further stoppings of the affected Plodder Seam, there has been no physical examination of the scene of the explosion after rescue operations were completed, other than a necessarily brief examination made by men wearing self contained breathing apparatus. Evidence showed that all five men had died from carbon monoxide gas poisoning.

Bickershaw Colliery is served by four shafts, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Numbers 1 and 2 Shafts serve one part of the mine, and Nos. 3 and 4 the other. Both parts have separate systems of ventilation, but are accessible to each other below ground

Report by R.H. Clough Divisional HMI

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South Yorkshire, 15th November, 1907. Report number Cd. 3979. 7 dead

Barrow Colliery, Worsborough, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, where on the 15th of November, through the oscillation of the ascending-cage and its collision with two girders in the No. 3 or Fan Shaft, seven men were thrown to the bottom of the shaft and killed.

The Barrow Colliery shaft accident was due to the carelessness of the hanger-on, Weldrick, in signalling the cage away when the drop-sheet was down on the lower deck of the cage.

Report by R. A. S. Redmayne, Proffesor of mining

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The iconic statue 'Guardian' by Sebastien Boyesen, often referred to as Wales' Angel of the North, is made from a multitude of thin strips of Cor-ten steel, which enables it to develop a patina of rust that then protects and enhances the appearance of the statue.

Located at Six Bells near Abertillery, the statue is at the site of the Six Bells Mining Disaster in 1960, when 45 out of 48 men in W district of the mine were killed in an underground gas explosion, and was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the disaster (minus it's arms which were added later after remedial work to strengthen the structure to bear their weight) in June 2010.

The names/home towns of those killed are laser cut into steel plates bolted to the stone plinth, and the statue is an evocative 20m high memorial dedicated to these men and all colliers killed in mining accidents in the Welsh coalfields.

It is intended that the statue will form the centrepiece of regeneration in the area.

Ayrshire, 7th September 1950. Report number Cmd 8180. 13 Dead.

The accident was due to a big inrush of peat or moss from the surface. Thirteen lives were lost and the 116 men whose escape was cut off were rescued about two days later.

The accident occurred about 7.30 p.m., whilst the afternoon shift was at work, on Thursday, 7th September, 1950, when a large volume of liquid peat or moss suddenly broke through from the surface into the No. 5 Heading Section of the Main Coal Seam. The inrush started at the point where the No. 5 Heading, which was rising at a gradient of 1 in 2, had effected a holing at the outcrop of the seam beneath superficial deposits and had made contact with the base of a relatively large natural basin containing glacial material and peat. The liquid matter, rushing down the steeply inclined heading, continued to flow for some time and soon filled up a large number of existing and abandoned roadways as well as several working places, until it eventually cut off the two means of egress to the surface from the underground workings of the colliery.

Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery is situated in the Parish of New Cumnock in the County of Ayr and lies about 22 miles almost due east from the town of Ayr. Before the accident the colliery gave employment to about 600 persons underground and 120 on the surface and had a weekly output of coal varying from 4,500 to 5,000 tons. The output came from two seams, the Main Coal and the Turf Coal, the major portion coming from the Main Coal. The downcast shaft, completed in 1942, was ordinarily used for the winding of men, mineral and material and is 16 feet in diameter and 122 fathoms deep. The older Knockshinnoch No. 1 Pit served as the upcast shaft and also as the second exit. It lies about a quarter of a mile to the north of the downcast shaft and is 12 feet in diameter and 70 fathoms deep.

Report by Sir Andrew Bryan Chief HMI

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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

The memorial (the text of which is a real challenge to read) commemorates 26 children who were drowned in Huskar Pit during heavy rain during a thunderstorm in 1838. SIlkstone, Barnsley, UK.

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

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On 18 August 1993, three men were killed by an extensive fall of roof in the 45's supply gate district of the Parkgate seam at Bilsthorpe Colliery, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Three others were also trapped but rescued some time later, following sustained and heroic effort, with only minor injuries.

At the time of the accident, Bilsthorpe Colliery was one of ten producing mines in the Nottinghamshire Group of the BCC; it is situated 11 km east of Mansfield and six km south of Ollerton. The mine is provided with two shafts, the sinking of which commenced in 1925. The No 1 shaft was sunk to a depth of 724 m to a level below the Blackshale seam. Insets were provided at the Top Hard and Parkgate seams' horizons at depths of 442 m and 625 m respectively. The shaft was later infilled to a depth of 477 m. The No 2 shaft was sunk to a depth of 461 m and the pit bottom established in the Top Hard horizon from which seam production commenced in 1928. Access to the Parkgate seam was provided by cross-measure drifts driven from the pit bottom area. The No 1 shaft is equipped with a skip and is used for mineral winding, while the No 2 shaft is used for winding men and materials.

Report by B. Langdon Deputy Chief HMI

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

On 18 August 1993, three men were killed by an extensive fall of roof in the 45's supply gate district of the Parkgate seam at Bilsthorpe Colliery, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Three others were also trapped but rescued some time later, following sustained and heroic effort, with only minor injuries.

At the time of the accident, Bilsthorpe Colliery was one of ten producing mines in the Nottinghamshire Group of the BCC; it is situated 11 km east of Mansfield and six km south of Ollerton. The mine is provided with two shafts, the sinking of which commenced in 1925. The No 1 shaft was sunk to a depth of 724 m to a level below the Blackshale seam. Insets were provided at the Top Hard and Parkgate seams' horizons at depths of 442 m and 625 m respectively. The shaft was later infilled to a depth of 477 m. The No 2 shaft was sunk to a depth of 461 m and the pit bottom established in the Top Hard horizon from which seam production commenced in 1928. Access to the Parkgate seam was provided by cross-measure drifts driven from the pit bottom area. The No 1 shaft is equipped with a skip and is used for mineral winding, while the No 2 shaft is used for winding men and materials.

Report by B. Langdon Deputy Chief HMI

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

On 18 August 1993, three men were killed by an extensive fall of roof in the 45's supply gate district of the Parkgate seam at Bilsthorpe Colliery, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Three others were also trapped but rescued some time later, following sustained and heroic effort, with only minor injuries.

At the time of the accident, Bilsthorpe Colliery was one of ten producing mines in the Nottinghamshire Group of the BCC; it is situated 11 km east of Mansfield and six km south of Ollerton. The mine is provided with two shafts, the sinking of which commenced in 1925. The No 1 shaft was sunk to a depth of 724 m to a level below the Blackshale seam. Insets were provided at the Top Hard and Parkgate seams' horizons at depths of 442 m and 625 m respectively. The shaft was later infilled to a depth of 477 m. The No 2 shaft was sunk to a depth of 461 m and the pit bottom established in the Top Hard horizon from which seam production commenced in 1928. Access to the Parkgate seam was provided by cross-measure drifts driven from the pit bottom area. The No 1 shaft is equipped with a skip and is used for mineral winding, while the No 2 shaft is used for winding men and materials.

Report by B. Langdon Deputy Chief HMI

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

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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

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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

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Yorkshire, 26th June 1957. Report number Cmnd 279. 6 dead & 14 injured.

The explosion followed immediately after a shot was fired in the back-ripping of the main gate bringing down a large stone which fell on a power cable with the result that the cable was damaged and a flash occurred at the damaged point; that the said flash is the only discoverable cause for an ignition of firedamp; that the only discoverable source of an emission of firedamp was from a break in the roof of the main gate some 73 yards inbye from the flash.

Barnburgh Main colliery is situated at Barnburgh in the County of York, 6¼ miles west of Doncaster. There are two shafts, No. 5, the upcast, being 18 feet in diameter and No. 6, the downcast, 16 feet in diameter. The shafts are sunk to the Parkgate seam, 755 yards deep, intersecting the Newhill seam at 340 yards and the Barnsley seam at 508 yards. Both shafts are regularly used for winding men and material. The mine produces nearly 4,500 tons of coal per day with 2,040 men employed underground and 379 on the surface.

Report by C.W. Scott Divisional HMI

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Glamorganshire, 17th May 1965. Report number Cmnd 2813.31 dead & 1 injured

The casualties were caused by an explosion which occurred just before 1.00 p.m. in the P. 26 District in the Pentre Seam, the explosion was almost entirely one of firedamp, flame spreading along about 325 yards of face and return roadway and coal dust playing no significant part.

The firedamp involved was emitted into the airway from strata other than the seam being worked and assumed explosive proportions because of a severe reduction in the ventilation circulating the district ; this reduction resulted from a prolonged short-circuit through two access holes in an air bridge (or air crossing) and from a connec¬tion with previous workings ; and the firedamp was ignited by an electric arc within a gate-end switch, which electricians were testing while the front cover was unbolted.

Cambrian Colliery, in the No. 3 Area of the National Coal Board's South Western Division, is situated near the village of Clydach Vale in the Borough of Rhondda, some 20 miles north-west of Cardiff. There are four shafts ; No. 1 Shaft, a downcast sixteen feet in diameter, sunk to the Five Feet Seam at a depth of 506 yards, the present winding level being at the Pentre Seam inset at a depth of 212 yards; the Maindy Shaft, at the former Colliery of that name, elliptical 14 feet by 12 feet, serving as the upcast for the Pentre Seam workings; and No. 3 and No. 4 Shafts, used for workings in the Five Feet, Lower Nine Feet and Bute Seams.

The Colliery employed 816 men at the time of the incident, 654 below ground and 162 on the surface, and the daily output was 700 tons from the Pentre Seam and 300 tons from the Lower Nine Feet and Bute Seams

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

Denbighshire, 22nd September 1934. Report number Cmd 5358. 265 dead. Of these 255 lay entombed.

The cause of the explosion was never established. The explosion occurred about 2 a.m. on Saturday, the 22nd September, 1934, in the Dennis Section of the mine (see Plan 1) and its effects were limited to that Section, though the concussion was felt at the pit bottom and in the Slant District. Except for a few persons working near the pit bottom and one Deputy and five men who managed to escape from 29's District, all the men who were employed in the Section at the time lost their lives. In addition, three members of a rescue brigade lost their lives the same day in attempted recovery operations.

Fire followed the explosion and more particularly an extensive fire in the main intake airway at 29's Turn, which was fought continuously but unavailingly until the evening of the following day, by which time it was certain that all men not accounted for must be dead and the conditions as regards the presence of inflammable gas had become imminently dangerous. It was accordingly decided by the representatives of the Owners, Workmen and Inspectors that the mine must be sealed off at the tops of the two shafts, and this was done. A notice announcing that decision was posted at the colliery.

Further explosions occurred in the mine and at 1.25 p.m. on Tuesday, 25th September, one of them wrecked the sealing of the downcast shaft and a surface worker was killed by the projected debris. This brought the total loss of life up to 265, making this the worst disaster in British coal mining since the explosion at Senghenydd Colliery in 1913. So far, only 11 of the bodies have been recovered; the cause of death in each case was poisoning by carbon monoxide.

It was not considered safe to commence any recovery operations until about six months after the shafts were sealed; and then, by difficult and arduous operations, the shafts and the shaft bottom were recovered, and later, the Dennis Section was sealed off by a system of stoppings in the main and other roads leading into it. That is still the position, and no examination or inspection of the Dennis Section has been possible except for exploration along the main Martin return and thence to the top of 142's Deep by men wearing self-contained breathing apparatus.

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

Denbighshire, 22nd September 1934. Report number Cmd 5358. 265 dead. Of these 255 lay entombed.

The cause of the explosion was never established. The explosion occurred about 2 a.m. on Saturday, the 22nd September, 1934, in the Dennis Section of the mine (see Plan 1) and its effects were limited to that Section, though the concussion was felt at the pit bottom and in the Slant District. Except for a few persons working near the pit bottom and one Deputy and five men who managed to escape from 29's District, all the men who were employed in the Section at the time lost their lives. In addition, three members of a rescue brigade lost their lives the same day in attempted recovery operations.

Fire followed the explosion and more particularly an extensive fire in the main intake airway at 29's Turn, which was fought continuously but unavailingly until the evening of the following day, by which time it was certain that all men not accounted for must be dead and the conditions as regards the presence of inflammable gas had become imminently dangerous. It was accordingly decided by the representatives of the Owners, Workmen and Inspectors that the mine must be sealed off at the tops of the two shafts, and this was done. A notice announcing that decision was posted at the colliery.

Further explosions occurred in the mine and at 1.25 p.m. on Tuesday, 25th September, one of them wrecked the sealing of the downcast shaft and a surface worker was killed by the projected debris. This brought the total loss of life up to 265, making this the worst disaster in British coal mining since the explosion at Senghenydd Colliery in 1913. So far, only 11 of the bodies have been recovered; the cause of death in each case was poisoning by carbon monoxide.

It was not considered safe to commence any recovery operations until about six months after the shafts were sealed; and then, by difficult and arduous operations, the shafts and the shaft bottom were recovered, and later, the Dennis Section was sealed off by a system of stoppings in the main and other roads leading into it. That is still the position, and no examination or inspection of the Dennis Section has been possible except for exploration along the main Martin return and thence to the top of 142's Deep by men wearing self-contained breathing apparatus.

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