Big Pit Colliery

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Allen, John, 01 Sep 1920, Trucks ran wild

Allsopp, Thomas, 11 Dec 1918, Injured by mandril

Austin, William, 24 Jul 1866, aged 32, Collier, Killed in the Garn slope workings by fall of stone from the roof

Bond, William, 07 Apr 1913, aged 30, Fireman, Underground fire [More information ...]

Boulton, Emmanuel, 04 Aug 1865, (accident: 03 Aug 1865), aged 20, Collier, By coal falling on his leg on the 3rd and it was thought necessary to amputate. Died this day

Brankley, Nathaniel, 11 Dec 1908, 3.55 a.m., aged 35, Repairer, Explosion of firedamp at naked lights (used throughout the mine), in a rise cross measure drift from the Old Coal to the Meadow Vein, which was commenced about 130 yards from the bottom of the Big Pit. It had only been stopped the evening before, having passed through the Yard Vein. Brankley and Jones had worked in the drift the day before, and on their way out at the end of their (night) shift about 3.55 a.m. went up to fetch some tools which had been left there. They had naked lights as usual, and passed the fence at the mouth of the drift, contrary to the Special Rules. They were found suffocated or poisoned by C.O. and slightly burned, about 60 yards up the drift and 20 or 30 from the face. The third man Williams was found dead with his head fractured, near the stables about 100 yards from the Pit or 30 from the bottom of the drift. Residence: Duke-street, Blaenavon [More information ...]

Challenger, Edward, 13 Jul 1917, Roof fall

Coles, J., 31 Jan 1876, aged 22, Collier, Fall of roof

Davies, John, 03 Dec 1896, aged 36, Repairer, Fall of roof in a heading when clearing after a fall killed him instantly and injured Samuel Charles who was working with him [More information ...]

Davies, William, 13 Jul 1872, (accident: 11 Jul 1872), aged 46, Collier, Explosion in Dodds Slope on the 11th ; died on the 13th

Davies, William, 04 May 1884, (accident: 02 May 1884), aged 41, Labourer, On May 2nd William Davies, a labourer, 41, employed at Blaenavon, was reported injured. He was engaged in oiling the switches on the railway, and was sheltering behind a truck on the main line through the works, when an engine joined up against the truck and his leg was run over. He died two days after from loss of blood [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Davies, William, 16 May 1899, (accident: 10 May 1899), aged 51, Labourer, Knocked down by the lash of haulage rope, in consequence of a jerk occasioned by a roll of rope running and striking the trams. He continued work at the time, but died from the shock on the 16th

Davis, Charles, 06 Aug 1875, (accident: 29 Jul 1875), aged 31, Haulier, Fall of clod ; died 6th August

Davis, William, 04 Dec 1901, aged 47, Banksman, Crushed between an empty waggon and a post supporting the screens. He was letting the waggon down by gravitation to replace a full one

Edwards, Henry, 02 Nov 1912, aged 14, Platelayer's Boy, Run over and killed on sidings near screens

Evans, Alfred, 11 Dec 1912, (accident: 07 Nov 1912), aged 37, Fireman, Fall of side near working face. He was supervising the ripping near the working face, and at the time of the accident was sitting at the side of the road, when a part of the side fell and fractured his spine. Died December 11th 1912

Evans, Reuben, 13 Nov 1856, Fall of coal

Finney, Thomas, 13 Jul 1891, aged 27, Collier, Fall of coal from the face. It was holed 2½ to 3 feet deep and 7 or 8 feet long. He appears to have been knocking out the sprags when it occurred and failed to get clear

Godfrey, Abraham, 27 Mar 1906, aged 55, Collier, He went to help his son to rip some top in the "face" of a X heading. They had ripped most of it and had set a spanner across, when a piece of side fell out from a hidden slant. It injured his chest, arm, and face, from which he died

Griffiths, William, 04 Feb 1876, aged 58, Died suddenly at Blaenavon while proceeding to his work. The medical man reported it a death from natural causes [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Gulliford, Henry, 13 Jan 1930, (accident: 12 Dec 1929), Cut leg . Died Jan 13th 1930

Gunter, James, 20 Nov 1911, aged 28, Collier, Fall of roof at working face. While getting down coal holed by a coal cutter, a stone fell from between two wet joints close to the face

Harris, Edmund, 09 Apr 1887, aged 49, Repairer, Ruptured a blood vessel when lifting a lump of rubbish into a tram

Harris, John, 06 Jun 1912, aged 31, Screenman, It is probable he fell in front of a wagon containing small coal, during some moving of wagons on sidings. No one saw the accident and he was picked up dead

Hartshorne, George, 04 May 1912, aged 16, Collier Boy, Fall of side at working face. He fell under a piece of top coal which he was getting down with a bar

Hill, Alfred John, 21 Jan 1915, aged 51, Collier, Killed by a fall of roof

Hill, Arthur, 04 Jul 1905, aged 29, Hard Groundman, After lighting a shot, some delay occurred in his lighting a second, and before he could get away the first exploded

Howells, John, 25 Oct 1852, aged 22, Collier, Fall of roof

Jenkins, George Henry, 20 Oct 1913, aged 40, Head hitcher, Explosion of gas caused by naked light

Jenkins, Joseph, 07 Apr 1913, aged 43, Undermanger, Underground fire [More information ...]

Jones, Arthur, 19 Aug 1929, Roof fall

Jones, David, 21 Jan 1915, aged 61, Blacksmith, Knocked down by loco. Died later same evening in Blaenavon Hospital after arm and leg were amputated

Jones, David, 02 Sep 1919, Struck on back by stone

Jones, Henry, 21 Oct 1872, aged 13, Collier, Fall of roof

Jones, James, 17 Sep 1854, aged 15, Haulier, Fell off locomotive

Jones, John, 23 May 1903, aged 48, Labourer, Must have had a fit and fell on the point of a mandril with which he was splitting a piece of wood at the time

Jones, John, 11 Dec 1908, 3.55 a.m., aged 21, Assistant Repairer, Explosion of firedamp at naked lights (used throughout the mine), in a rise cross measure drift from the Old Coal to the Meadow Vein, which was commenced about 130 yards from the bottom of the Big Pit. It had only been stopped the evening before, having passed through the Yard Vein. Brankley and Jones had worked in the drift the day before, and on their way out at the end of their (night) shift about 3.55 a.m. went up to fetch some tools which had been left there. They had naked lights as usual, and passed the fence at the mouth of the drift, contrary to the Special Rules. They were found suffocated or poisoned by C.O. and slightly burned, about 60 yards up the drift and 20 or 30 from the face. The third man Williams was found dead with his head fractured, near the stables about 100 yards from the Pit or 30 from the bottom of the drift. Residence: Duke-street, Blaenavon [More information ...]

Jones, John O., 24 Aug 1891, aged 16, Collier, Fall of roof. A slab about 6 inches thick at one side and running to nothing at the other 8 feet wide and 5 feet long burst off the roof as he was filling a tram of coal. The place it is alleged was well timbered at the time

Jones, Lee Garniston, 02 Apr 1914, aged 53, Whitewasher, The medical evidence at the inquest proved that he died from the effects of acute asthma, which, owing to the extra strain caused by breathing impure air, the valves of a weak heart broke down. As he was at work on a return airway haulage road, the fusing of an electric cable caused some timbers to partially ignite inbye where he was whitewashing refuge holes. He was unable to get out owing to the fumes, and was found conscious, but in a collapsed state, in one of the manholes

Jones, William, 30 Nov 1906, (accident: 13 Feb 1903), aged 30, Collier, William Jones, 30, collier, died on the 30th November from injuries received by a fall of roof at the face in Blaenavon (Forge Slope) Colliery on the 13th February, 1903. Death occurring more than a year and a day after the accident it is not comprised [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Kiely, John, 06 May 1912, aged 36, Hitcher, While crossing the pit bottom when the cages were in motion, he was crushed by the descending cage

Lawrence, Thomas, 28 Jan 1870, aged 67, Platelayer, Knocked down by loco. He was very deaf

Lewis, Harry, 09 Apr 1924, Found dead — cardiac syncope

Lewis, Thomas, 27 Apr 1906, aged 46, Collier, He, with two men and four boys, was walking in to his work along the main and tail rope haulage plane, and met the full journey on its way out to the pit. One of the men behind him shouted that they had better get into a manhole, but deceased and his two boys, one in front and the other following, took no notice of the warning until the journey came suddenly upon them, when they attempted to do so. The boys got in alright, but deceased was caught by the journey and dragged about 20 yards, to where he was found under the ninth tram. He died on reaching the surface

Lewis, William, 17 Jan 1871, aged 25, Collier, Fall of "bell mould" in the Hill pit

Luff, George, 05 Nov 1896, aged 59, Collier, Fall of roof in his stall road while working alone. He was all right at 8 a.m. but when a haulier went into the place to fetch his full tram at 11 a.m. he was found quite dead under part of a fall which had occurred from above the tram at a smooth top and side slips. There were road posts set at the sides close up to the face and collars to within about 9 feet

Maiden, John, 24 Sep 1908, (accident: 16 Sep 1908), aged 26, Haulier, In trying to get a tram on the rails he appears to have strained himself, from the result of which he died eight days later. (Horse haulage)

Miles, Charles, 20 Mar 1876, aged 13, He was killed by attempting to ride on trams on a surface road leading from the Blaenavon Collieries, and falling off was killed. He was not employed at the works, and had no right there [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Miles, George, 08 Feb 1871, aged 21, Collier, Fall of stone in the "new slope" (¾ coal)

Mills, James, 12 Oct 1864, (accident: 10 Oct 1864), aged 55, Miner, Fall of roof over ironstone which so injured him that he died on the 12th

Morgan, Albert, 19 Dec 1929, Roof fall

Morgan, Harry, 13 May 1929, Struck by a stone

Morgan, Henry, 15 May 1929, (accident: 14 May 1929), aged 18, Assistant Collier, Fall of clod. Died 15th

Morgan, Isaac, 31 Oct 1919, Knocked down by trams

Morgan, Joshua, 23 Apr 1873, aged 51, Collier, Fall of clod and coal

Morgan, Windham, 22 Feb 1907, (accident: 08 Feb 1907, 2.30 p.m., 8th hour of shift), aged 30, Collier, When, with a comrade, taking a water jailor or tank down to the face, from the lowest level driven out of the deep, and in which the haulier left it, to allow of taking the full tram from the face of the deep, it appears to have got off the rails and, in dropping down from the rails, crushed his leg slightly, the skin not being broken. He took no heed of the injury and worked his shift out and the following day also. Blood-poisoning appears to have supervened and death resulted on the 22nd February. This is another case which, but for the Compensation Act, would certainly not have come under notice as a mining fatality

Mortimer, Thomas, 01 Sep 1903, aged 32, Haulier, Fall of roof at a parting on the main haulage road, from two slants one on each side of the road, the arms under the collars at this place were changed the night before, and probably not being driven tightly up the two pairs of timbers were discharged

Nash, William, 30 Jan 1889, aged 38, Haulier, While clearing a fall with other men a stone from the roof fell upon him

Parker, Thomas, 02 May 1863, (accident: 24 Apr 1863), aged 57, Collier, Burned in an exploison of firedamp, and in consequence of injuries then and there received he died on the 2nd of May. He was not severly burned, but his system was not sufficiently strong to surmount the first shock

Phillips, Llewelyn, 20 Nov 1924, 2.0 a.m., 4th hour of shift, aged 36, Collier, A stone, weighing about 2 cwts., fell from the roof between the last pair of timber on his stall road and the coal face — a distance of about 7 ft. — which caught him and caused such injuries that he died shortly afterwards. A centre prop should have been set between the last pair of timber and the face. Naked light used

Powell, William, 30 Aug 1917, Sucked into a chute

Pritchard, Richard, 02 Jun 1924, (accident: 14 May 1924, 12.30 p.m., 6th hour of shift), aged 49, Haulier, A stone from the roof fell on his hand, which was resting on the edge of a tram, and badly injured it. Tetanus set in and he died on the 2nd June. Electric safety lamp used

Probbert, Job, 27 Oct 1896, (accident: 30 Sep 1896), aged 60, Collier, Fall of roof at the face. A thin piece of shell fell on his head causing a wound which at the time was not considered serious but erysipelas supervened and he died on the 27th October

Probert, C. H., 01 Apr 1911, aged 14, Collier Boy, Fall of roof at working face. A stone 5 feet by 3½ feet by 16 inches thick fell from slips in the roof

Pugh, John, 02 Jan 1918, Trams ran wild

Reed, John, 05 Oct 1927, Crushed by trucks while picking coal

Rees, Samuel, 25 Jun 1855, aged 25, Collier, Fall of stone from roof

Robins, Samuel, 04 Mar 1889, aged 26, Labourer, Blocked between trucks on railway siding near coke ovens

Shoreland, George, 21 Jun 1920, Badly injured finger

Smith, James, 20 May 1876, aged 50, He died suddenly in the Blaenavon works. Said to have been heart disease [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Thomas, James, 18 Dec 1911, (accident: 12 Dec 1911), aged 50, Ripper, Fall of roof on road during repairs. Thomas was engaged in barring down some low roof, and asked Williams, who came to the place, to help him, and while they were pressing on the bar the roof fell and caught them. Williams was killed and Thomas was so injured that he died on the 18th December, 1911 [More information ...]

Tovey, Thomas, 21 Aug 1872, aged 57, Pump man, Found crushed under a pumping water wheel. He had gone there in the night

Tucker, Arthur, 07 Apr 1913, aged 26, Manager, Underground fire [More information ...]

Turner, George, 28 Feb 1893, aged 13, Picking slag, Fell about 16 feet from a gangway leading from the pit bank down to the screens. It was covered with ice at the time and had a hand rail at each side

Vaughan, Thomas, 18 Jan 1910, aged 30, Loco. latcher, While taking workmen's train to upper collieries he jumped off the loco. to turn a pair of points and got run over

Waters, Samuel, 29 Jul 1910, aged 60, Roadsman, Run over by tram drawn by horse

Watkins, John, 24 Apr 1869, aged 18, Collier, Fall of coal in "garn pit" (drawing pillar)

Watkins, Robert, 03 Mar 1870, (accident: 02 Mar 1870), aged 19, Collier, Run over by 6 full trams 2nd. Died next day

Watkins, Thomas, 07 Dec 1901, aged 39, Mason's labourer, Run over by trucks on the railway siding. How he got under the truck is unknown as he was seen standing at the side a minute or two before the accident occurred

Whent, John, 11 Nov 1908, aged 26, Collier, Fall of roof at the face as he was breaking up and filling out coal which he had just got down

Whiteley, Henry, 10 Mar 1870, aged 77, Coupler, Fell in front of loco and was killed instantly. There is reason to believe he had a fit as he was seen to fall before the engine struck him. He was too old for this employement and should have been pensioned off

Williams, Charles, 18 Dec 1905, aged 65, Roadman, When repairing on the main haulage road he was so busily engaged that he did not hear the journey coming and was run over by it. He was laying down a sleeper close to a manhole and near a small winding engine, the noise of which may have been the cause of his not hearing the approach of the journey

Williams, David, 17 Aug 1911, aged 28, Hitcher, While in the cage pulling back a tram which had gone beyond the catch, he was wound up the shaft and thrown out of the cage by the tram catching a beam. The evidence as to the signals was contradictory

Williams, George, 05 Jul 1896, (accident: 24 Jun 1896), aged 43, Haulier, His arm was very badly smashed having been drawn between the rope and the pulley at far end of the engine plane in consequence of his being knocked down by a horse which bolted. He died on 5th July from shock after an operation had been performed some days previously

Williams, George James, 11 Dec 1908, 3.55 a.m., aged 51, Assistant Timberman, Explosion of firedamp at naked lights (used throughout the mine), in a rise cross measure drift from the Old Coal to the Meadow Vein, which was commenced about 130 yards from the bottom of the Big Pit. It had only been stopped the evening before, having passed through the Yard Vein. Brankley and Jones had worked in the drift the day before, and on their way out at the end of their (night) shift about 3.55 a.m. went up to fetch some tools which had been left there. They had naked lights as usual, and passed the fence at the mouth of the drift, contrary to the Special Rules. They were found suffocated or poisoned by C.O. and slightly burned, about 60 yards up the drift and 20 or 30 from the face. The third man Williams was found dead with his head fractured, near the stables about 100 yards from the Pit or 30 from the bottom of the drift. Residence: 6, Brewery-road, Blaenavon [More information ...]

Williams, Herbert, 09 Feb 1865, (accident: 03 Feb 1865), aged 43, Overman, On 3rd Feb a tram underground was loaded with iron rails for the use in the colliery and one of them projected too far unfortunately touched the horse which caused him to take fright and run. The overman tried to stop it but was overwhelmed by horse and tram and received injuries which rendered amputation necessary. He died 9th

Williams, James, 22 Feb 1890, aged 13, Coal Trimmer, He fell about 9 feet from a plank which was in use about the screens and was picked up insensible. He died the same day

Williams, James, 20 Jul 1896, aged 50, Collier, Fall of roof coal from slips one of which he must have been aware of

Williams, James, 15 Mar 1916, Roof fall

Williams, John, 29 Mar 1894, aged 29, Door boy, Fall of roof as he was passing along a roadway. There were two old pairs of timber under the fall which appear to have been discharged or knocked out by it

Williams, Thomas, 14 Nov 1866, aged 38, Fireman, Died in the discharge of his duty whilst examining workplaces before the men went in in the morning. Fall of roof in the Garn Slope workings and found dead

Williams, Thomas, 08 Mar 1873, aged 38, Roadsman, Sudden fall of stone

Williams, William, 12 Dec 1911, aged 28, Haulier, Fall of roof on road during repairs. Thomas was engaged in barring down some low roof, and asked Williams, who came to the place, to help him, and while they were pressing on the bar the roof fell and caught them. Williams was killed and Thomas was so injured that he died on the 18th December, 1911 [More information ...]