Cannop Colliery

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Bessant, William Henry, 09 Aug 1929, aged 42, Collier, Fall of roof

Fitzgerald, Theodore, 12 Oct 1912, (accident: 26 Sep 1912), aged 15, Office boy, In getting down from a railway wagon on which he had climbed to ascertain what coal was in it, he struck the inside of his knee against the iron buffer and grazed the skin. He died 16 days afterwards from blood-poisoning

Holder, Henry, 17 Aug 1910, aged 43, Hardgroundman, This accident occurred in a pumping engine house which was being made in the solid rock. Twelve shots had been fired in the side of the excavation, one of them near the roof. The place was examined by the chargeman after the shot-firing, and he thought it was perfectly safe. Shortly afterwards a piece of stone fell from the roof, and striking Holder caused fatal injuries The stone which fell was slippery on its upper bed, and on one side and one end there more joints, whilst the other end and side were loose. The shot firing had brought down a stone next the side which had been supporting the stone which fell. The chargeman's judgement was at fault

Holt, John Henry, 11 Mar 1909, aged 22, Sinker, He was a skip rider, i.e. he rode up the shaft with a "hoppet" or "kibble," in order to guide it past the pumps which occupy a large space in the shaft leaving very little room for the "hoppet." His duties may be compared with those of a journey rider on an engine plane. He had followed this work nearly a year, and was therefore no novice. At the time of the accident he was ascending the shaft and had got within 17 or 20 yards of the top when something occurred to cause him to stop the "hoppet," and have it moved up and down two or three times. It then appears to have tilted and thrown him down the pit. At this part of the pit, and 30 or 40 yards below, there is nothing within three feet of the edge of the "hoppet," and whas he stopped for is a mystery. When the "hoppet" was afterwards drawn up to the surface it was upside down, and the signal wire which hung four feet clear of it was caught in the D link of the spring hook. One can only imagine that one of the catches for keeping it from tilting was open when he left the bottom, and that his clothes or waterproof disturbed and opened the other on the opposite side. How it really occurred will never be known, but strangely enough another skip rider fell out of the same skip in the No. 2 Shaft about five weeks before and was killed

Jeffries, Frederick William John, 13 Jun 1929, aged 33, Collier, Fall of roof — fatal skull fracture

Mumford, Henry, 01 Feb 1909, aged 23, Sinker, In consequence of the pumps in the bottom of the shaft, which is in course of sinking, preventing the "hoppet" dropping down perpendicularly for the last 13 or 14 yards, it appears to have been considered desirable to have a rider travelling on the "hoppet." Deceased was a rider, and had acted as such for a year or longer, and on the present occasion was performing his duties as such. He appears to have come up about 40 yards from the bottom to where an electric pump, 117 yards from the surface, is installed and where there is a staging in the shaft. As this point the "hoppet" appears to have caught under one of the girders and thrown him out, the exact circumstances being only surmised. If he steadied the "hoppet" properly above the bottom pumps before signalling it away, the accident should not have occurred, but apparently he must have started before it was steady

Pulham, Joseph, 17 Aug 1909, aged 21, Trammer, An empty tub which was going up a steep, self-acting road about 14 yards long to the face, became unhitched from the rope, and running back, crushed him against the lower side at the bottom. Probably the tub unhooked in consequence of a jerk

Short, George, 16 Oct 1924, 8.15 a.m., 2nd hour of shift, aged 40, Miner, This accident occurred at the face of a level heading 18 ft. 6 ins. wide. Deceased was at work when, without warning, a piece of stone weighing perhaps 5 tons dropped out of the roof and killed him. The roof was sandstone, and an examination revealed that the stone was in the form of a "bell-mould." There was a prop under the stone, and it was stated in evidence by the deputy who examined the place and also by deceased's mate that the "bell-mould" could not be discerned ; also that it was tried with a pick before the accident and sounded solid

Taylor, Osman, 18 Nov 1922, Roadman, He was in the No. 24 Jinney road and asisting in putting a empty cart back onto the rails. The journey went up leaving him standing in the roadway. The empty cart somehow became uncoupled at the top of the incline and ran back down striking and killing him

Williams, Thomas, 11 Dec 1908, aged 23, Filler, On the surface rubbish tip, a tub (in the wheel of which there was an iron sprag was being turned over on its side to empty it. He appears to have been standing astride the sprag, which caught him between the legs and injured him as the tub went over