Balgonie Colliery

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Adams, Robert, 17 Mar 1932, (accident: 16 Mar 1932)

Adamson, William, 28 Jan 1891, 7 a.m., aged 15, Collier, Fall of coal

Bell, James, 06 Jun 1903, aged 29, Miner, Deceased was engaged in the top division of the Dysart Main Coal, working off the coal coming back, and at the time of the accident was "backening" coal toward the roadhead, when the roof suddenly fell upon him

Gathereum, James, 28 Sep 1908, aged 50, Miner, Deceased was working back in second working of Dysart Main Coal. A fall occurred in the face, and he went into the "waste" under the fallen area to fill loose coal, when a further fall took place, and killed him

Gilmour, William, 30 Jun 1896, aged 53, Miner, Fall of coal at face of close place in top section of Dysart seam, above longwall waste of bottom section

Gorie, James, 27 Jan 1899, aged 71, Signalman, Deceased was employed as a signalman on a private railway at a point where, after a sharp curve on a falling gradient, it passed under an over-bridge, on the further side of which there was a public footpath. After signalling that the road was clear, and in order to prevent anyone approaching by the public footpath, he crossed the railway in front of some trucks which were being pushed round the curve, and was run down by them and killed instantly

Herd, Samuel, Aug 1908, (accident: 08 Jul 1908), aged 68, Oversman, Deceased was laying rails near the pit bottom on a main and tail rope haulage road. The rake going inbye ran into a fall 1,000 yards inbye from the shaft, and the strain on the tail rope broke the suspending pulleys, one of which struck him on the head causing injuries to which he succumbed a month after

Holland, Michael, 10 Dec 1884, aged 33, Sinker, Fell out of "kettle" while ascending

Hutcheson, John, 11 Apr 1864, aged 19, Collier, Fall at face of "head coal"

Ireland, William Raeburn, 22 Mar 1924, 2.45 p.m., 2nd hour of shift, aged 42, Machineman, Deceased was in front of an electric disc coal cutting machine superintending the cutting, when, without any apparent warning, he was buried by a fall of blaes and ironstone from the roof. The fall, which displaced two bars, measured 10½ ft-long by 4½ ft. wide by 1½ ft. thick and would weigh nearly 5 tons. He was so severely injured that he died a few hours later

Kerr, Henry, 12 Oct 1871, aged 21, Collier, Fall of coal while holing

Law, Robert, 06 Feb 1905, aged 27, Drawer, While proceeding on his way homeward after his shift was over, he took a shock of apoplexy, and died [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Lister, Alexander, 15 Feb 1899, aged 34, Miner, While holing the coal at the face of a longwall place in the lower leaf of the Dysart coal, a mass of coal and stone fell a way from a back

Lynch, James, 08 Dec 1913, aged 28, Drawer, He was about to run his hutch on a cut-chain brae when the drawer at the bench above ran his hutch out on the brae, and, losing control of it, allowed it to run down the brae. Deceased was crushed between this hutch and the hutch he was preparing to run. He died about 9 hours later. The other drawer alleged that his block was properly set on the side road, and he did not know he was so near the brae. Both statements are hard to believe, as he passed through a screen only 7 yards from the side of the brae, and tests showed it was not possible to set the block in any way so that it would fail to stop the hutch

McGraw, William, 05 Jul 1909, aged 19, Drawer, While pushing away a loaded tub from a face, deceased put one foot against a prop supporting the roof, which came out allowing part to fall upon him

McGregor, Alexander, 02 Apr 1912, (accident: 01 Apr 1912), aged 16, Motorman, He and six other men were raising some pipes in a shaft by means of a double-geared winch, and, when doing so, they attempted to change the gears with the load on, with the result that the winch became free, and ran away, and one of the revolving handles hit and fractured the deceased's skull. Two other men were also injured. The winch had no "pawl" to prevent it running back ; if one had been fitted the accident would not have occurred. He died the following day

McGregor, David, 30 May 1910, aged 50, Roadsman, He was enlarging a horse road when a piece of stone fell from the roof

Nelson, George, 13 Aug 1914, aged 29, Contractor, He apparently slipped on to the bar of a coal cutting machine when preparing to lever it into the cut, and was so severely injured that he died about three hours later

Nicholson, James, 28 Dec 1898, aged 16, Drawer, Deceased was working at the coal face in a longwall working of the Dysart Coal, when some coal fell from the face upon him

Nicholson, Thomas, 15 Jan 1906, aged 29, Miner, The roof, which was coal, was low, and deceased and two others began to heighten and repair it. Deceased was filling a tub when some roof coal fell close by him, and thinking he would be safer inside he ran forward, and just then the roof collapsed and he was buried beneath it

Page, Andrew, 23 Mar 1914, aged 76, Waggon Greaser, Deceased was attempting to cross in front of four loaded railway trucks, and was run over and instantly killed

Penman, Robert, 24 Dec 1898, aged 13, Signal boy, Deceased was riding on the buffer of a locomotive engine near his post; in jumping off he must have stumbled, as he was run over by the waggons the locomotive was drawing

Slater, John, 25 Mar 1913, aged 51, Miner, Deceased was sitting in a lye waiting for a rake of empty hutches coming in, when he was caught, and fatally crushed against a rake of full hutches standing in the lye, by a runaway full hutch from the top end of the lye, and which he mistook for an empty hutch

Smart, James Berwick, 25 Nov 1901, aged 46, Roadsman, Deceased and three other workmen were repairing a main horse road, on the usual idle day, when a large fall took place off the side and crashed through the timbers completely burying him

Smith, Charles, 28 Feb 1907, aged 24, Labourer, Deceased was inside a cylindrical water softening apparatus cleaning out the wood fibre, which lay to a depth of six feet below the top of the tank, when the iron plate supporting this fibre gave way and he was precipitated into some hot water below which had not been drawn off. The plate was supported by two bolts, which appeared to be insufficient to sustain the weight

Wallace, George, 11 Apr 1890, 9.00 a.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 19, Drawer, Fall of stone