Aitken Colliery

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Bailey, William Stewart, 08 Feb 1922, 7.30 p.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 49, Miner, He was working at a stooping face when a small fall of top coal came away from the waste side.  He was knocked backwards and fell on top of some loose coal in such a way as to cause internal injuries. He was weak constitutionally and very much run down in health. He died of shock about two hours after the accident occurred.

Bauld, Robert, 20 Dec 1924, (accident: 25 Nov 1924, 9.0 a.m., 3rd hour of shift), aged 18, Oncost Worker, At the end of a level mine a rise heading commenced. Earlier in the day a runaway tub came down the heading and probably struck a prop supporting the carrying bar at the junction. Less than an hour later the horse was turning under the carrying bar when its harness knocked it out and a stone slid down the covering wood, causing wounds to deceased's left arm. He received ambulance treatment in the pit and was sent to a doctor, who cleaned and dressed the wound. A week later everything seemed to be going on all right, and he was walking about outside, but septic poisoning developed and he died 25 days after the injury. The wound probably became infected outside the colliery premises

Beveridge, Peter, 12 Dec 1908, aged 34, Brusher

Black, Andrew, 23 Mar 1905, aged 26, Brusher, Deceased was engaged putting a building on the low side of a level which had been brushed, when a large stone fell away from between two lypes and killed him instantaneously.

Brown, Timothy, 24 Oct 1910, aged 28, Miner, A hutch had been pushed to far over some rails ; the hauling rope was attached to it to pull it on again. Deceased was standing partly in front of the hutch, and when the engine took hold the hutch sprang forward and caught him

Chalmers, David, 02 Jul 1898, aged 17, Fall of roof

Collins, Mitchell, 08 Sep 1915, aged 34, Struck by hutches

Cowan, John, 20 Jan 1925, aged 31, Fall of stone

Dickson, James, 15 Mar 1907, aged 42, Labourer, In order to take away the debris to the redd bing with the least possible delay as it is raised from the shaft, an aerial ropeway was erected, and close by the pit was a large hopper with a capacity to hold 90 tons of debris. By means of "shoots," the debris was filled into buckets, and the buckets were carried by a rope to the redd bing. While the work of filling the buckets was in progress the structure collapsed, and deceased was buried among the debris. The cause of the collapse was due to a cross-beam of wood breaking at a part which was defective, but which could not be observed

Drummond, John, 25 Oct 1916, aged 17, Fall of roof

Drysdale, David, 11 Oct 1921, aged 27, Caught by cage

Duffy, Patrick, 04 Apr 1920, Crushed by hutches

Easson, Walter, 25 Apr 1916, Fall of stone

Elliot, John, 19 May 1919, aged 42, Crushed

Fernie, George, 26 Sep 1912, aged 48, Brusher, Whilst filling dirt in a road passing through old workings, a large stone fell on him, from between two joints, killing him instantly

Halkett, James, 23 Oct 1912, aged 20, Driver, Whilst dismounting from a rake of six full trams in motion he slipped and fell. His head was squeezed between the moving trams and a stationary rake in front

Hunter, John, 13 Nov 1907, aged 40, Fireman, Deceased was the shot firer, and went to a coal face to fire two shots. The explosive used was Saxonite fired by Bickford's safety igniters. One igniter missed, and it is supposed he attempted to light the fuse by means of a red-hot wire heated at the light of the Davy safety lamp, after he had cut the igniter off the end of fuse, this caused delay, and the other shot which had previously been lighted exploded on him

Hunter, Thomas, 16 Apr 1931, Blood poisoning

Hunter, William, 03 Oct 1919, Crushed by waggon

Laird, Alexander, 26 Jul 1911, aged 28, Oversman, He was watching a new coal-cutting machine being prepared for its first cut when a fall of blaes from the roof, caused by a breaking poll, caused his death by suffocating him

Leslie, James, 19 Apr 1910, aged 24, Miner, He was sitting at the corner of level road when four tubs which had run away from the dook head caught and crushed him against the side

McCabe, James, 15 Sep 1903, aged 45, Miner, Deceased was taking down coal at a longwall face, when a large stone fell from between two keen lypes, converging upwards, and killed him almost instantly

McGee, Samuel, 12 Dec 1921, aged 21, Hit by coal

McGill, Archibald, 29 Dec 1924, 9.0 p.m., 7th hour of shift, aged 41, Miner, Deceased was walking up a steep haulage dook road when he was caught by a runaway train of full tubs just as he was about to enter a refuge hole. His spine was fractured and he died 4 hours later. The driving belt had suddenly slipped off the motor haulage pulleys and the motorman lost his head and forgot to apply the foot brake until the train had run backward some 30 or 40 yards

McHale, James, 08 Apr 1914, aged 20, Miner, He had just set a bar to some had roof, but had only set a prop at one end. He intended to set a prop at the other end after he had taken down some coal. As soon as he began to work at the coal the bad roof was liberated, and fell on him, killing him instantly

Meek, Andrew, 22 Oct 1909, aged 56, Miner, A loaded tub was being run on a "gurdy" braes dipping 1 in 3, and when a short distance down the tubs stopped, owing to the chain on the wheel becoming locked. To get the tubs to move the chain was "pumped," which caused an extra strain, and a "false" link gave out and tubs ran away ; deceased was caught at the bottom of the brae and fatally crushed

Morton, Thomas, 30 Oct 1934, Fall of roof

Pottie, David, 02 Nov 1909, (accident: 26 Oct 1909), aged 43, Washery-Engineman, Deceased was oiling the bearings of one of the washery conveying tables while the machinery was going, at a part which was cramped and difficult of access. He was caught and carried several times round the shaft receiving injuries from which he died six days later

Purvis, William, 15 Jul 1913, (accident: 07 May 1913), aged 19, Miner, He was getting down a piece of top coal with his pick, and the coal coming away more readily than he expected, he slipped forward and his left temple came into contact with the pick point. This caused a scratch which was so slight that deceased did not have it attended to for some days. Blood poisoning intervened, however, and he died on July 15th

Robertson, C., 25 Jul 1935, Miner, killed by a fall of roof [Date of Inquest]

Robertson, John, 20 Feb 1919, Fell into machinery

Rodger, Andrew, 26 Feb 1908, aged 35, Labourer, Deceased was cleaning dross from the rails at the coal washery dross pits, when some loaded waggons, which had got out of control, ran over him

Rodger, David, 12 Apr 1933, aged 69, Collapsed

Rumgay, Andrew, 08 Sep 1904, aged 36, Brusher, While preparing to measure the breadth of the roadway for crowns the roof suddenly fell upon him

Smith, Joseph, 24 Jan 1913, aged 50, Wagon Attendant, He was lowering a full wagon, and, just as it approached a stationary one, he stepped in front, presumably to couple the wagons, and was crushed between the buffers

Stirling, John, 29 Dec 1904, aged 28, Miner, Deceased worked in a mine cross cutting the metals, and he bored a hole in the side to take off a small "bouting". In putting in the first cartridge of gelignite with a copper stemmer it exploded. Apparently the explosive was being too hard pressed

Strachan, David, 28 Dec 1914, aged 46, Hanger-on, Deceased had assisted to put four empty tubs on the lower deck of the cage. He had just finished fixing the guard and the cage was signalled away, when the girl in charge of the blocks allowed some empty tubs to get through, and he was pushed against the automatically closing ventilating doors at the shaft top at the moment they were closing and caught and killed

Thomson, James, 19 Mar 1909, aged 60, Wagon-Shifter, While following his ordinary duties he fell from the gangway, alongside the waggons, to the railway, a .distance of 7 feet and was killed

Thomson, Thomas, 24 Jul 1925, aged 23, Electrocuted

Todd, Thomas, 11 Jul 1917, aged 33, Roof fall

Wallace, James, 01 May 1908, aged 21, Pony-driver, Deceased was driving a rake of 12 loaded tubs outbye towards the shaft, when by some means he got in front of the second tub which rested on him ; he was discovered dead by some officials who were proceeding outbye

Williamson, Alfred, 28 Jan 1908, aged 34, Brusher, Deceased and two others were brushing a road, and had almost completed the work, while "topping" the building on low side of road, a mass of coal and blaes burst from the face and he was instantly killed