Dinnington Colliery

Current Status - Page under construction! and is far, far from complete!

Ainsworth, J., 07 Jan 1907, aged 44, Collier, Two men were holing at the coal face which was properly spragged, and deceased was filling the coal into a tub at a gate when without any warning some stone from the roof fell between the face and the timber. Ainsworth was instantly killed and one of the others received severe injuries to his back. The fall disclosed a slip about 3 feet from the face which could not have been detected previously

Anderson, Samuel, 15 May 1919, aged 47, Screen foreman, Taken ill after heavily exerting himself and died 2 hours later — diseased heart

Barley, Albert, 01 Nov 1907, aged 15, Pony Driver, He was taking a set of empty tubs along a level when a fall of stone occurred and fatally injured him. There was a heavy weight on the road and this caused some timber to be displaced with the fall

Beeston, Francis James, 14 Jan 1910, aged 24, Assistant Banksman, The side plate of a large cage had been knocked off in an accident and was not replaced. Beeston fell through the opening into the shaft

Birkin, Alfred, 12 Nov 1909, aged 32, Coal-getter, Fall of roof. He was getting coal when a small piece of rock suddenly burst from the roof between the timber and the face and fatally injured him. The roof was very treacherous

Boswell, George, 10 Dec 1915, aged 58, Labourer, Seems possible he slipped on a prop and struck his head — skull fractured

Brailsford, L., 03 Aug 1905, aged 36, Ripper, He and another man were taking out timber, ripping the roof and setting permanent timber ; they had got down a lift of ripping, and the deceased was dressing the side for a long bar when a large piece of clod fell from the roof, injuring him so severely that he died shortly afterwards. The fall disclosed a slip in the middle of the place

Brightwell, Herry, 10 Jun 1913, aged 24, Trammer on Coke Ovens, He leaned over a fence which had been accidentally disarranged by a balance weight used in connection with the coke oven doors. The fence gave way under his weight and he fell 14 feet to the ground. The fence was not well designed and was fixed too close to the track of the balance weight

Brown, John, 04 Jul 1908, (accident: 03 Apr 1908), aged 16, Pony-driver, When leaving his pony in the stable, it kicked him over one eye and on his shoulder. Died July 4th

Burton, W., 26 Aug 1910, aged 26, Stallman, He was building a pack when a fall of roof occurred, which pushed two props out, and Burton was partially buried and fatally injured. The cause of the fall was a weight break. More timber should have been set close to the break

Cocking, Wilfred, 24 Oct 1919, (accident: 21 Oct 1919), aged 14, Clip boy, Engaged in knocking clip off set of tubs which were approaching junction when by some means he slipped and fell under set. His shouts were heard and rope stopped. Died in hospital 24th Oct

Cook, William, 12 Aug 1910, aged 54, Stallman, Whilst walking along the coal face between two longwall "banks" a heavy fall of roof occurred and buried him. The fall came from a "waste break" which probably took place simultaneously with the fall of roof

Dilks, Joseph, 27 Oct 1919, aged 22, Stallman, Building pack with some ripping when there was a weight bump which broke down a bar causing a fall which killed him

Doherty, John, 06 Mar 1934, aged 22, Haulage hand, On crossgate where gradient varied 1 in 80 to 1 in 14 he was taking 4 full tubs with a horse and was later found 160 yards outbye dead between rails from multiple injuries

Drabble, Peter, 06 Aug 1908, aged 33, Corporal, They and two other men were getting a tub on to the road when, without warning, about 25 tons of rook fell from the roof killing Drabble on the spot and fatally injuring Fletcher, who died at Rotherham Hospital on August 30th. The other two men were seriously injured but ultimately recovered. The roof was strong sandstone-shale, but it contained treacherous partings. A fault ran parallel with the road, and it is probable that the strata suddenly settled from this. Three bars which were slotted into the rock at one end and had props under the other were displaced [More information ...]

Fenton, Bert, 05 Dec 1914, aged 26, Shunter, He was crawling between two full wagons of a train standing on a gradient of 1 in 102 when a second train ran into it and set it in motion, and he was run over by 18 wagons. He had been warned of the approach of the second train, and his death was the outcome of his failing to observe General Regulation 158

Fletcher, Norman, 30 Aug 1908, (accident: 06 Aug 1908), Corporal, They and two other men were getting a tub on to the road when, without warning, about 25 tons of rook fell from the roof killing Drabble on the spot and fatally injuring Fletcher, who died at Rotherham Hospital on August 30th. The other two men were seriously injured but ultimately recovered. The roof was strong sandstone-shale, but it contained treacherous partings. A fault ran parallel with the road, and it is probable that the strata suddenly settled from this. Three bars which were slotted into the rock at one end and had props under the other were displaced [More information ...]

Gibbons, Richard, 14 Jan 1909, aged 29, Stallman, Fall of roof. Fall of roof in a working place. The fall disclosed an unsuspected slip

Gomersall, Edward, 16 Jan 1924, 4.45 a.m., 7th hour of shift, aged 37, Stallman, He was helping to bring a loaded tub out of the stall. As it was passing under the ripping lip a bulge on the tub side caught a prop set to the edge of the ripping and knocked it out. A fall of roof immediately followed, and about 3 or 4 cwts. fell on deceased's head and neck inflicting injuries from which he died in a few minutes. Earlier in the shift attempts had been made to get down with a ringer the roof that actually fell, and when this was found to be unsuccessful, the prop which was subsequently knocked out was set. Twelve tubs were taken past before the one that caught it, and had the men been observant they would have seen the danger

Harlington, William Henry, 23 Oct 1913, aged 14, Errand Boy and Roller Greaser, Deceased dropped a piece of lighted paper into a washed coal storage bunker and thereby lighted an accumulation of gas, which caused severe burns on his face, arms, neck, and chest

Hayward, Samuel, 22 May 1919, aged 27, Stallman, Struck by rock which fell from ripping lip while he was drilling a hole in a block of rock on floor

Holden, Henry, 17 Aug 1914, aged 30, Stallman, Deceased was working at the coal face, probably pulling down some loose roof. He was found by his mate lying on the floor with a large stone on his head which had fallen from a slip in the roof between the timber and the coal face. The place was properly timbered

Hutchinson, Archibald Osborne, 21 Sep 1911, aged 30, Corporal, A runaway had occurred on an engine plane and some timber had been knocked out, causing a fall. Repairs were being effected on the road, and two sets, each consisting of two tubs, had been filled and sent away up the plane on the haulage rope. The first set became detached from the rope, ran back a distance of 200 yards to some runaway points and left the rails unknown to the men working on the repairs. The second set bumped into the first set, became detached from the rope and ran back, passing over two sets of runaway points, and crushing into some full tubs which the repairers were getting away. Deceased was struck by the runaway tubs and fatally injured, and two other men were injured. A drag was used at a steep part of the plane where the tubs were clipped on to the rope, but this was removed before the tubs broke away, at a place where the gradient flattened

Irwin, J., 09 Mar 1913, aged 50, Fireman, Deceased died from burns received by falling into an overflow tank from a steam accumulator, the loose cover of which was afterwards found at the bottom. The accident happened at night and the electric lighting was out of order

James, Samuel, 26 Oct 1914, aged 27, Dataller, He had just started work repairing a gate road and was pulling a loose stone from the roof with a ringer when a large portion of the roof came away from a weight break and buried him

Marriott, Henry, 30 Oct 1909, aged 40, Coal-getter, Fall of roof. He was working at the face when a "bump" burst a slab of coal off the face and caused a fall of roof. He was killed on the spot

Mason, Ernest, 31 May 1910, aged 31, Coal getter, He was killed by a fall of roof in a gate road. The fall displaced a prop, and was caused by a very severe "bump"

Nuttall, William, 15 Jan 1914, aged 45, Dayman, Deceased was helping the stallman to rip the gateway by drawing the timber and was caught by a fall of roof. A ringer and chain was in use

Parking, John, 06 Apr 1910, aged 28, Stallman, A heavy fall of roof in a working place. The fall displaced several props and came from a weight break which was not observed before the accident

Parks, Maurice, 13 Nov 1908, aged 17, Pony Driver, He was in front of a set of full tubs turning the points, when his horse caught him knocked him down and the first tub passed over and killed him

Platts, Walter, 05 Sep 1913, aged 26, Stallman, Deceased was setting a prop to the roof in his working place when a stone, measuring about 4 feet by 2 feet 6 inches by 6 inches, fell upon him, crushed him to the floor and fracturing his skull

Smith, James, 15 Sep 1911, aged 32, Collier, He was knocking a prop out from under the ripping with a hammer preparatory to two shots being fired, when a stone fell from the lower part of the ripping, striking him on the head and killing him instantly. A proper timber drawing appliance should have been used

Spencer, William (Willie), 04 Aug 1915, aged 36, Stallman, Ripping a gate pulling down stones from roof before setting a bar when roof fell and canted out three props — severely crushed and killed

Stanhope, Arthur, 27 Jan 1913, aged 21, Clipper, Deceased received a fatal shock from an overhead lighting cable carrying A.C. at 440 volts

Stewart, Willim Henry, 05 Sep 1933, aged 40, Collier, At gate end parallel to a fault where 10 tons of strong bind ripping had been blown down 2 hours before and had been moved into gate side packs — he was walking outbye from pack hole to get snap when there was a heavy bump and a fall of new roof killed him instantly

Sturman, William Holt, 08 Apr 1924, 8 p.m., 7th hour of shift, aged 18, Pony Driver, He was bringing out a set of four full tubs with his pony on a road, having a gradient varying between 1 in 18 and 1 in 24. No one witnessed the accident, but he was found at a point where lockers are usually removed, lying under the second full tub. When extricated he was dead

Sylvester, Tom, 06 Mar 1914, aged 30, Wagon Lowerer, He was found under the screens in an unconscious condition, by the side of a wagon. How received his injuries there was no evidence to show, but probably he had been crushed between the buffers of wagons

Toyne, George, 10 Aug 1909, aged 33, Labourer, With other men he was lowering wagons one by one from a train. They had successfully moved three and Toyne was pushing the buffer of the fourth when the train moved forward and he was fatally crushed. He had failed to sprag the train, thinking the gradient was too slight for the wagons to start by their own gravity

Wale, John, 29 Aug 1935, aged 26, Collier, Standing over a buttock when a weight bump occurred and piece of coal burst off face and struck his side and arm causing wound which severed artery. Bleeding was stopped in 2 mins and dressing applied. Walked out of pit when wound became septic 5 days later

Wilson, Arthur, 01 Jul 1914, (accident: 11 May 1914), aged 38, Bricklayer, Deceased was engaged in the demolition of an old firebrick wall at the coke ovens when a particle of brick flew into his left eye. He worked the next day and then attended the Sheffield Hospital as an out-patient. He was operated upon on 3rd June and died from meningitis on the 1st July.

Wright, M., 05 Dec 1904, aged 44, Assistant Engine-wright, He was superintending the taking down of a steam crane which had a steel upright, a 70-ft. wooden jib and wooden guys and sleepers. The ends of the sleepers had been packed with three or four tons of bricks. Under deceased's directions some of these bricks had been taken away, and the crane driver suggested it would be better not to take off any more. While the driver was lowering the jib the crane commenced to topple over. One of the sleepers lifted through the bricks and the other was drawn out, and the 3-in. pin at the bottom of the upright broke off at the shoulder of the footplate, and the whole structure collapsed. In falling it caught and killed the deceased. None of the bricks should have been removed till the jib was lowered