Dolcoath (Metalliferous)

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Adams, -, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

Avant, John, 21 Sep 1898, aged 27, Filler, Was engaged in a winze dipping a water barrel which while being drawn up became detached from the rope in consequence of the breakage of the U-bolt and falling down caused his death. The air winch was worked by a lad 16 years of age who as well as deceased was employed by a contractor. No supervision seems to have been exercised as to the condition of appliances by a competent person

Baker, Samuel, 05 Nov 1896, aged 53, Miner, He was found dead in a ladder way his head being cut and bruised. An autopsy not having been made the doctors could not agree as to whether death resulted from an accident or from heart disease. In deference to the verdict of the jury and the possibility of its being so I have treated is as an accident

Bennetts, James, 02 Nov 1883, aged 21, Miner, Was sitting down resting with his comrade on the 290 fathoms level, when a large stone came away from the hanging wall and crushed him to death. There was a strong stull a few feet above his head. The stone turned out from just beneath the stull

Berryman, Garfield, 19 Nov 1912, aged 15, Stoper, He was walking along the 490-fathom level stope tramway, a place 30 feet high and 60 or 70 feet wide at the top, when suddenly and without any warning he was buried under a huge mass, estimated to be 400 tons, of bastard lode which fell 30 feet from the hanging wall. The extent of the fall was 60 feet long by 60 feet wide, averaging about 2 feet 6 inches in thickness. A slip, seen afterwards, formed the back of it. Before commencing work the "taker" had made only a superficial examination of the hanging wall by means of a lighted tonite placed on the floor. It had not been sounded for a long time, consequently its weakness was not revealed

Bray, William, 02 Sep 1905, aged 26, Assistant Timberman, They were engaged putting in a balk of timber just below the 352 fathom level in order to carry the road over an old "gunniss" 11 feet wide. Deceased men were on a stage hung by chains at three corners, the fourth resting on a hitch in the foot wall 3 or 4 feet deep. The balk when swung in on the blocks knocked the bearer of the scaffold from the hitch, resulting in its tipping up and the men falling away to the 375 fathom level. The failure to suspend the fourth corner in the same way as the other three was reprehensible and due either to want of thought or laziness in fetching a chain from some other place. An unsatisfactory point however was the underground agent expressed himself at the inquest as satisfied with the stage [More information ...]

Chynoweth, Joseph, 27 Aug 1888, aged 54, Mine agent, Whilst going up in the man engine the main rod broke not however injuring anyone. The deceased then walked to another shaft and climbed the ladders and when he got to within 20 fathoms of the surface he fell on a sollar and died. It was at first thought that the shock might have had something to do with his death but from the medical evidence it appeared that he died from failure of the heart's action due from over exertion in climbing. The breakage of the man engine rod was owing to oil having got into the wood by an unobserved crack. The rod apparently was quite sound

Clarke, John, 14 May 1913, aged 54, Surface labourer, He was assisting a plumber to fix a cut-off tray between the top and bottom sections of a slime table while the machinery was in motion. The tray was riveted to the ends of two iron hangers, 3 feet long and set 2 feet apart. These were slotted at the top for adjusting purposes, and when in position were attached by bolts to two overhead bearers which carried a counter shaft 1½ inches in diameter, from which motion was transmitted through gearing and a vertical shaft to the slime table. The counter shaft was making 11 revolutions per minute and the slime table one revolution in three minutes. He was standing on the motion section of the slime table with his body between the counter shaft, which at this point was very rough and rusty, and one of the bearers. He reached over the counter shaft to one of the hangers and held it in position while the plumber was securing it by screwing up a nut. Deceased was wearing a very ragged cloth coat which was caught by and coiled round the shaft. He was fatally injured by being pulled on to the top of the shaft and wedged between it and the bearers before the water wheel actuating the machinery was stopped. If the precaution had been taken to stop the machinery for the few minutes which were necessary to effect the repairs, the accident would not have happened

Craze, John Harvey, 01 Nov 1903, aged 49, Miner, John Harvey Craze, 49, worked part of a day at Dolcoath Mine and is supposed to have strained himself when lifting a boring machine. He climbed to the surface and walked home, and was subsequently taken to the Redruth Miners' Hospital, where an operation was performed, but he died on the 1st November from "strangulation of the bowels." [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Davies, Henry, 08 May 1886, aged 40, Tributer, Was carrying some dynamite cartridges and detonators in one hand and a lighted candle in the other and whilst climbing over a pile of stuff in the level changed the candle from one hand to the other when an explosion occurred causing his death

Dennis, James, 23 Jul 1878, aged 38, Shaftsman, Explosion of gunpowder while tamping a hole

Dunn, John, 22 Apr 1896, aged 71, Carter, Died suddenly it is believed from a fit of apoplexy as he was conveying tin ore from Dolcoath to Cook's Kitchem mine. Death not compromised

Dunn, William, 20 Aug 1889, aged 26, Miner, Deceased and his comrade, James Holman were engaged at the 338 fathom level and while walking along the 814 fathom level on their way to surface a rock fell on the road which gave way and took deceased with it a distance of 80 fathoms. He died five days after the accident occurred. The ground at the spot did not appear to be badly secured

Dunstan, Edwin, 21 Aug 1874, aged 23, Miner, Giving way of the piece of ground on which he was sitting

Eady, John, 01 Jul 1897, aged 42, Miner, Killed instantly by the explosion of compressed powder which he was forcing into a hole which was too small for the bobbin

Edwards, John Martin, 11 Mar 1880, aged 17, Miner, Blow on the head while standing on a sollar in the man-engine shaft

Eva, Thomas, 09 Jan 1897, aged 21, Assistant shaftsman, Fell about 15 fathoms from a ladder in the Old Sump Shaft up which he had climbed to the 200 fathom level to grease the rolls. He was picked up dead directly afterwards by his comrades

Evans, James, 04 Jul 1910, aged 22, Assistant Boring Machineman, A hole was drilled into the socket of an old hole in which there was some explosive. The old hole was beneath water, standing in the bottom of the level, and consequently would be difficult to examine. At the same time, if the Special Rules had been rigidly carried out, the accident would most probably have been avoided

Floyd, Thomas Leonard, 13 Feb 1913, aged 24, Miner, Contrary to instructions, he and his partner were preparing to run a pile of stuff from the top of a stull at the back of the 364 fathoms level east of new sump shaft. They knocked a hole through the covering boards of the stull to enable them to place a charge of dynamite between the loose rocks. Floyd was standing on a spreader which was fixed underneath and was in the act of preparing a cavity in which to insert the explosive, when suddenly a huge quantity of stuff fell on him and killed him instantly. Apparently in preparing for the shot they disturbed the pile, probably by dislodging a key stone, and so caused the mass to surge. A week previous to the accident the "taker" of the "pare" asked the captain to give them permission to run the stull and was refused pending an examination of the place by the captain, with a view to his instructing them how to proceed. The "taker" had informed Floyd's partner of this. The partner was subsequently prosecuted, convicted and fined for contravention of Special Rule 94

Floyd, William, 23 Dec 1889, aged 23, Timberman, Deceased was proceeding underground by the man engine together with other miners. He was carrying an axe in his hand. When they were between the 80 and 90 fathom level those who were following deceased heard and noise and a scream. On reaching the next sollar they found the deceased sitting on it. He complained of severe pains in his bowels and in reply to questions as to how he fell away said that his head got light. Steps were being taken to get the men to surface by means of the man engine as he expressed his opinion that he could manage to get up but before arrangements for doing this were completed he died much to the surprise of those present. An inspection of the place discovered nothing unusual or likely to cause the man to fall and therefore the occurrence must be considered accidental

Gallant, Albert, 28 Nov 1907, 5 p.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 47, Chargeman, In Williams' (sinking) Shaft he was struck on the head by a piece of brick, which fell about 100 feet from above the curb of the last length of walling, where it was damaged by blasting. It was disturbed by the bell wire which he was using at the time. The chargeman in the previous shift had examined the shaft after blasting, and dislodged all pieces of brick that he considered loose or dangerous

Gilbert, John, 02 Nov 1904, aged 18, Miner, A piece of ground fell from the back of the lode, about 16 feet above where he, with three others, was filling waggons, and struck him, causing injuries from which he died before a doctor could see him

Gill, Henry, 06 Jul 1895, aged 60, Miner, Fall of ground which carried away the timbers he and others had nearly completed setting

Glasson, James, 07 Nov 1911, aged 35, Miner, He had been working about half-an-hour after blasting when a piece of ground fell from the side 10 ft. above him, and striking him while in a stooping position, killed him instantly. If the stone had been carefully examined and sounded with a short iron bar it would have been known to be dangerous, and proper precautions could have been taken to pull it down before commencing to work

Goninon, William Henry, 16 Jan 1908, aged 43, Shift Boss, Fall of ground from the back of a stope in the 375-fathom level. The stone seems to have come from the roof, or hanging wall, some 30 feet above them. Examination by candle is impracticable ; in such places thorough and careful examination can only be made from time to time with flare lights. There undoubtedly is a danger, but how to meet it practically is an unsolved difficulty

Hancock, John, 02 Jul 1894, aged 31, Timberman, While engaged about the pumps in the shaft he apparently slipped and fell 3 or 4 fathoms to where he was found. Men 24 fathoms above him were engaged lowering some iron buckets rods and allowed them to slip through the lashing chain the noise of these rods falling inside the pumps no doubt brought about the accident to him

Harris, Alfred, 11 Sep 1882, aged 22, Miner, Deceased was charging a hole with tonite at the 295 fathoms level, when it exploded, and inflicted injuries from which he subsequently died. The cause of the explosion is not known, but it is very probable that deceased used the iron tamping bar for ramming the tonite into the hole, as he had been seen to do so on previous occasions

Harvey, -, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

Harvey, Richard, 06 Jun 1901, aged 49, Miner, Explosion of compressed powder which he and his partner were ramming into a hole by means of a copper rammer. The hole was too small at the bottom to receive the cartridge

Heather, Albertus, 23 Jan 1911, aged 28, Sinker, He descended in the kibble with others and was getting out of it when he fell between the staging and the kibble into the sump and was drowned. The space between the staging and the kibble was only 18 ins., and there were chains to hold on by

Heither, William, 06 Jul 1880, aged 51, Miner, Bursting out of some ground in stopes

Hendra, Thomas H., 14 Dec 1911, aged 24, Miner, He was levering a block of ore from a heap which was resting on the floor at an angle of about 40 degrees. After releasing the stone he was apparently knocked down and forced by it against the side where he was found with his neck broken

Henry, John, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

Hicks, William James, 18 Jul 1912, aged 58, Engine driver, Apparently he was on his way to examine some bearings in the crusher house, and attempted to pass between some belting travelling at the rate of 2,000 feet per minute. He was caught by the belt and carried round a pulley on the counter shaft, then about 20 feet along the top of the belt to a pulley driving a crusher, and projected to an opening on a platform, eventually falling 10 feet down a gangway to a lower platform. The engineer had some weeks previously seen him pass between the belting while in motion, and did nothing more than remonstrate with him. He alleged that his instructions to Hicks were to stop the machinery before going to the bearings, and a clutch had been provided for this purpose. Proceedings were taken against the Owners for contravention of Section 10 (1) (c) of the Factory & Workshops Act, 1901, when they pled guilty to a technical offence, and were fined 10s., and 6s. costs

Hocking, Richard, 28 Feb 1896, aged 66, Lander, He was found dead in the Landing Brace and medical examination showed that death was due to natural causes. Death not Compromised

Hocking, William, 17 Jun 1905, aged 20, Trammer, He was found at the 412 fathom level Eastern Shaft with a fractured skull. He had been climbing down from the 352 fathom level to the 375 fathom level, and had evidently fallen into the shaft from one of the landings, which had not been fenced

Husband, Samuel, 17 Jul 1908, aged 33, Stoper, Fall of rubbish from a stull over the 220-fathom level, 40 fathoms east of Harriott's shaft. Apparently some shots which he and his comrades had fired disturbed the stull pieces. Deceased and his comrades having resumed work, without properly examining the place, did not notice that the stull piece had been disturbed

James, -, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

James, William, 13 May 1905, aged 34, Timberman, After blasting — by others — in a stope they went to take measurements for some timber, and whilst doing so a fall of roof occurred, which killed James immediately and so injured Luke that he died within a few hours [More information ...]

Jennings, -, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

Johns, Thomas Henry, 01 Sep 1892, aged 29, Miner, While clearing away ground after having fired five shots an explosion occurred which knocked him off the stope and caused him to fall about 10 fathoms into the level below where he died within a few minutes. It was unknown whether it was one of the shots that not having gone off now exploded on being struck with a pick or a loose cartridge of dynamite but presumably it was the former

Jones, Richard, 10 Dec 1903, aged 41, Shafteman, He fell from the 314 fathom level, in the Wheal Harriett Shaft, to the 375 fathom level where he was found dead. The timber carrying the road over the shaft, which is underlaying, had decayed, and upon his stepping on it, after getting out of the gig. it fell away with him. The man in charge of the signals sending the men up had not realised that a hole which he had noticed, and over which he had thrown a few boards, indicated a decayed condition of the bearers. The shaft men had repaired the part of the collar nearer the shaft only a few weeks before without observing the condition of these timbers

Kemp, John, 04 Mar 1893, aged 20, Miner, While engaged on a staging in the New East Shaft repairing the skip rod at the 100-fathom level, he appears to have overbalanced and fallen away to the 125-fathom level where his dead body was found

Knight, James, 18 Jan 1903, (accident: 13 Jan 1903), aged 37, Stonebreaker attendant, and lander, James Knight, 37, stonebreaker attendant, and lander at Dolcoath Mine, died on 18th January from "strangulated hernia gangrene peritonitis." He was taken ill when at work on the 13th, but as he had been previously ruptured the doctor certified as to death and no inquest was held [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Lowry, George H. B., 19 Sep 1891, aged 18, Miner, While ascending to the surface by the man engine he at the 40-fathom level slipped from the step was crushed and instantly killed. Apparently it was due to thoughtlessness

Lugg, James, jnr., 27 Dec 1881, aged 24, Miner, Was working with his father in a "back stope" on the 338-fathoms level; had fired one hole, and after carefully sounding the ground commenced boring another, when a rock of about 1 cwt. fell, striking him on the head, and knocking stage and ladder, with deceased, a distance of 18 feet into the "gunniss," death being instantaneous

Luke, Albert, 13 May 1905, aged 21, Timberman, After blasting — by others — in a stope they went to take measurements for some timber, and whilst doing so a fall of roof occurred, which killed James immediately and so injured Luke that he died within a few hours [More information ...]

McDonald, John, 03 Nov 1876, aged 36, Miner, Fall of stuff from the breakage of a stull many fathoms above him after a blast

Michell, William, 09 Oct 1882, aged 25, Shaftsman, Deceased with five other men was riding up in the skip from the 352 fathoms level when the skip had nearly arrived at surface, it stopped for a moment, and deceased attempted to get out into the ladder road, as he was afraid of being caught by the night agent; the skip moving on, however, he was thrown in the shaft, fell to the 40 fathoms level, and was dashed to pieces, one of his arms being found below the 230 fathoms level

Mitchell, Eddie, 28 Feb 1907, 3.30 a.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 23, Stoper, Fall of ground, about 6 cwt., from the face of his working place, a stope about 30 feet above the level, where he was at the time engaged filling. The rock, which was given off from a "Soapy Head," rolled down the stope and struck him. According to the evidence given before the Coroner, and the statements of the men, the face had been cleaned down and examined after blasting, which took place some days before. It was also stated that the men themselves, and the shift boss had examined the place on the night in question, and found it to be apparently sound

Morgan, William Henry, 19 Sep 1913, aged 29, Miner, After assisting his two partners to fill into trams debris which they had blasted from an "end" he, without making known his intentions, left them and walked outbye along the level. He had been gone for more than ten minutes when an explosion occurred. Apparently at the time of the explosion he was near the gelignite locker which is said to have contained about 4 lbs. of gelignite. After the accident it was seen that the gelignite "locker" and the detonator "locker" were missing and no trace of them could be found. There was no evidence to show how the accident happened. Deceased was chargeman of the "pare"

Morris, Edward, 24 Aug 1907, aged 27, Assistant Timberman, Fall of side in the 314 Level east of Wheal Harriet Shaft, where he was assisting the timbermen who were securing for a stope over the level to be carried forward. The stone came away from an unseen joint or slip

Nicholas, Thomas, 28 Nov 1884, aged 44, Timberman, Was with others bringing a new rod for repairing the lower part of the man-engine through the 275-fathoms level ; whilst doing so a plank in the bottom of the level broke, and he fell through to near the 295-fathoms level. Deceased had charge of the roads in this part of the mine, and could have all the timber and assistance that he wanted for repairs. On examination the plank was found to have been attacked by "dry-rot"

Osborne, -, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

Parsons, Richard, 31 Aug 1905, aged 29, Timberman, When engaged with others repairing in Harriett Shaft below the 275 fathom level he unaccountably fell down a branch shaft from that point

Pascoe, Norman, 31 Jan 1914, (accident: 29 Jan 1914), aged 21, Pony driver, He was riding on the front of the first of two full trams of ore, each loaded 6 inches above the top, and drawn by a pony. As he proceeded outbye along the level, his acetylene light went out, said by himself to have been due to concussion caused by blasting, and instead of stopping to re-light his lamp he continued his journey in the dark. While sitting upright his head came in contact with a piece of low roof, the position of which he had misjudged, and he was knocked backwards on the top of the ore, a piece of which penetrated his spine. He died two days later

Penaluna, Ernest, 27 May 1900, aged 19, Shaftman's Assistant, Fell from a plank used as a scaffold in the shaft, at the 140 fathom level, where he and others were repairing guides, &c., which had been broken in consequence of a skip falling away, the result of a broken rope. He died just as he was got to the surface, six hours after the accident

Perkin, Joshua, 27 Feb 1886, aged 51, Lander, Was working night core and whilst going from the landing brace to engine house by some means or other was caught by crank of whim engine and killed. How this happened it is impossible to say, as the machinery was properly fenced, and the deceased had travelled the same road for years

Peters, Richard, 07 Nov 1906, (accident: 06 Nov 1906), aged 21, Stoper, He was descending Harrietts' shaft in the bottom deck of the "gig" when a miner in the upper deck let a drill, which he was taking down with him, fall into the shaft. Striking the side of the shaft it rebounded and in some manner penetrated deceased's side, from the result of which he died next day

Phillips, Herbert, 03 Jun 1905, (accident: 07 Dec 1904), aged 29, Stoper, While standing on a temporary scaffold, drilling a hole, below the 338-fathom level east of Stray Park shaft a stone fell from about 18 inches above his head and striking him in the face fractured the optic plate of his right eye. He was operated upon and subsequently seemed to improve but finally gradually fell back and died on the 3rd of June, 1905, from inflammation of the brain

Phillips, Thomas, 31 Jan 1876, aged 13, Assistant to boilersmiths, Crushed by a boiler rolling over him [More information ...]

Poat, Henry, 07 Oct 1896, aged 30, Stoper, When attempting to enter a gig or cage after the signal had been given to draw up he was fatally crushed. It resulted from a scrimmage as to his attempting to ride out of his turn

Pollard, John, 20 Sep 1893, Timberman [More information ...]

Prisk, Joseph, 04 Jul 1911, aged 33, Assistant Electrician, He was renewing the electric cable in a shaft, when the sollar on which he was standing gave way and he was precipitated into the shaft and killed. The boards of which the sollar was made were rotten, but were said to have been carefully examined a day or two before and their condition not to have been noticed

Rawlings, Abraham, 22 Jul 1878, aged 58, Miner, Fall from a tram road into workings underneath [More information ...]

Richards, John, 03 Jul 1878, aged 29, Trammer, Fall of 14 feet through an open trap hatch on a tram road [More information ...]

Richards, John, snr., 13 Mar 1894, aged 42, Miner, He returned to a shot which he found had only partially done its work and asked for the dynamite canister and a detonator. Shortly after these were handed to him an explosion occurred which blew deceased four fathoms away and slightly injured his son John Richards jnr. It would appear as though he was recharging the hole [More information ...]

Richards, Richard, 09 May 1908, aged 63, Stoper, A piece of the shaft timbering fell down and struck him at the "platt" or mouthing where he and others were filling ore into a kibble for hoisting. As the kibble was about to land he stepped forward to guide it on to the "platt," and as he did so, the piece of timber struck him on the shoulder causing injuries which proved fatal the same evening. The shaft, an old one, does not appear to have been examined since it was fitted up for hauling purposes some months before, which seems a serious omission where men were employed in filling stuff or working at the bottom. As it was not used for men to ascend or descend the shaft men whose duty it was to examine it believed that it was not necessary

Roach, John, 16 Jun 1896, (accident: 04 Jun 1896), aged 22, Stoper, While at the usual place for crowst a rock weighing about 3cwt fell on him breaking his back. He died from his injuries on the 16th

Rowe, Ernest, 28 Jul 1909, aged 32, Chemical Assayer, When alone in the Assay Office he appears to have had a fit of some kind, resulting in the breakage of bottles containing acids. He was found next morning on the floor dead, his body in places being more or less burned with acids. The presumption is that he died from shock resulting from the effects of injuries caused by the acids while in a fit. It is not outside possibility that he died from the fit itself and that the acids affected the body after death. He was not known to be subject to fits by his family

Ryan, John, 18 Mar 1913, aged 32, Miner, At the commencement of the afternoon shift he, with the landers permission, was stepping into the bottom deck of a double-decked "gig," which had only just been put in position over the shaft and brought to a stand-still at the surface landing, when suddenly it was lowered by the engineman. Ryan was caught by the upper part of the bottom deck and pinned by it to the floor at the edge of the shaft. The engineman declares he received the signal to lower the "gig," and the lander strenuously denies having given a signal. There was no evidence of a signal, if given, having been given in any way other than by the usual means. Contrary to the requirements of the Special Rules, the lander, on this occasion, gave consent to the men to enter the "gig" before it had been sent on a trial run through the shaft. If keps had been provided at the surface level for supporting the cage when at rest, and used when persons were entering the cage, the accident would have been avoided

Stapleton, Thomas Henry, 30 Apr 1888, aged 14, Tindresser, The deceased and two other boys were waiting at the top of the of the man engine shaft for the men to come up to see if they could get a start to work underground. He (deceased) began to play about the man engine went down one step and on essaying to take the second missed his footing and fell. There is a proper house for the man engine but the men coming from work the door was open. The boy had no business at the place

Stephens, Albert, 24 Nov 1898, aged 55, Tributer, Having lit two shots and hearing only one report he and his comrade retired and had their croust. After waiting about an hour and a quarter they returned no the place and as they got close to it the second shot went of killing Stephens and injuring his comrade. It had apparently hung fire all that time

Stoneman, Joseph, 02 Sep 1905, aged 19, Assistant Timberman, They were engaged putting in a balk of timber just below the 352 fathom level in order to carry the road over an old "gunniss" 11 feet wide. Deceased men were on a stage hung by chains at three corners, the fourth resting on a hitch in the foot wall 3 or 4 feet deep. The balk when swung in on the blocks knocked the bearer of the scaffold from the hitch, resulting in its tipping up and the men falling away to the 375 fathom level. The failure to suspend the fourth corner in the same way as the other three was reprehensible and due either to want of thought or laziness in fetching a chain from some other place. An unsatisfactory point however was the underground agent expressed himself at the inquest as satisfied with the stage [More information ...]

Thomas, Frederick Charles, Oct 1888, aged 18, Shaftman, While engaged in doing repairs in Stray Park shaft he fell through a sollar from which he had removed two boards the day previously. He had evidently forgotten they were removed and stepped out of the ladder into the hole. The deceased was a steady man and a good workman, and would not have left the hole uncovered had anybody been using the shaft besides himself. Occurred in October

Thomas, William, 16 Jul 1885, aged 57, Timberman, Deceased was killed by being struck on the head by the balance box of the man engine bob at the 143 fathoms level. It was the special duty of deceased to examine and grease the man engine. There was no evidence to show how the accident happened

Toy, William, 14 Dec 1896, aged 45, Miner, Ruptured a blood vessel near the heart when pulling a heavy chain from under his pile of work on the surface and died shortly afterwards. As the result of a post-mortem examination the doctor assigned his death to this cause and I have therefore included it with the list of fatal accidents

Toy, William, 08 Nov 1898, aged 57, Miner, Ruptured a blood vessel near the heart when pulling a heavy chain from under his pile of work on the surface and died shortly afterwards. As the result of a post-mortem examination the doctor assigned his death to this cause and I have therefore included it with the list of fatal accidents

Treloar, William, 14 Aug 1894, aged 16, Tributer's lad, When descending by ladder in a gunnis in order to get to his place of work below the 266 fathom level, or while climbing back from the ladder in the gunnis he seems to have lost his balance and fallen 7 or 8 fathoms on to the sollar over the level below where he was found. The ladders upon inspection seemed in good order

Trevena, William, 25 Nov 1909, aged 38, Stoner, A fall of roof or hanging wall occurred some fathoms above where he and others were working. The stone alighted on the floor or footwall and broke. The main part of the fall passed his two comrades, but whether it struck him or in his attempt to take refuge he fell from the arch of ground on which he was standing to where he was found, (about 12 feet) is unknown. His skull was fractured and he died in hospital the same evening. Two days previously the place had been examined by the men themselves right down from the stall above, and it was visited by the shift-boss daily. The underground agent was there the day before

Truscott, Samuel, 11 Jan 1896, (accident: 11 Dec 1895), aged 30, Boring machinist, Explosion of unconsumed gelignite in a hole which was fired with two others were fired and believed to have gone off. They appear to have commenced drilling at the bottom part of the hole in which the unconsumed explosive existed. Deceased died from the injuries he received on Jan. 11th, 1896. Special Rule 79 had evidently not been complied with

Trythall, Joseph, 31 Aug 1875, aged 18, Miner, Fell through a tram hole, in consequences of the slipping of a ladder

Tucker, Thomas Henry, 11 Aug 1891, aged 20, Miner, While clearing away some of the foot wall to make room for timber which they were about to set at the 314-fathom level some rocks came away killing Tucker breaking Thomas's leg and slightly injuring two of their comrades [More information ...]

Vial, James, 09 Sep 1902, aged 36, Shaftsman, After attempting to take down a large loose piece of rock and failing, he began to timber the side ; while engaged putting rubbish behind the laths the rock suddenly fell and crushing his head against the foot-wall killed him instantly

Walters, Elijah, 26 Apr 1886, aged 19, Miner, Small unexpected fall of ground

Webster, Thomas, 25 Jul 1883, (accident: 17 Jul 1883), aged 42, Carpenter, Deceased, with others, was engaged moving a heavy piece of timber from one part of the mine to another. Not being properly secured on the trolly, it rolled over on Webster, crushed his legs, and caused injuries from which he died on the 25th July

Weeks, Arthur, 08 Jan 1909, aged 29, Sinker, While clearing out loose ground after firing 17 shots in the bottom of the shaft, 390 fathoms from the surface, one of the deceased appears to have struck some unexploded gelignite with his pick. It is thought that the explosive may have been in a socket-hole cut off by another shot, but nothing is known definitely. It appears that sockets are of common occurrence, and occasionally some of the explosive remains unconsumed. It is difficult to avoid this, or even to always ascertain the fact, but greater care could he exercised in fixing and examining the sockets than appears to have been taken in this case [More information ...]

Weeks, John, 03 May 1890, aged 30, Shaftsman, Deceased and his comrade James Terrill were engaged in drifting out an old bolt from the main rod under the 220-fathom level in the engine shaft when something came down and struck him on the head cutting it slightly. He was rendered insensible by the blow for about two minutes but then recovered conscious and was able to go from the 220 to the 266 and subsequently to walk from the cab to his house but during the night he became delirious and to the surprise of everyone died at 8 o'clock the next morning. A thorough investigation of the shaft was made but no trace of what it was that fell could be found. Deceased himself was of the opinion that it must have been a small piece of iron of some sort such as a bolt, nut, or end of a screw

Weeks, Thomas, 08 Jan 1909, aged 37, Sinker, While clearing out loose ground after firing 17 shots in the bottom of the shaft, 390 fathoms from the surface, one of the deceased appears to have struck some unexploded gelignite with his pick. It is thought that the explosive may have been in a socket-hole cut off by another shot, but nothing is known definitely. It appears that sockets are of common occurrence, and occasionally some of the explosive remains unconsumed. It is difficult to avoid this, or even to always ascertain the fact, but greater care could he exercised in fixing and examining the sockets than appears to have been taken in this case [More information ...]

Wellington, William H., 09 Aug 1909, aged 40, Tributer, While searching for a tribute pitch in the old workings he fell from or over a stope face. An old rope had been left hanging and was evidently rotten, as the place had not been worked for several months. He apparently laid hold of this rope to get down to some point, when owing to his weight it gave way and caused him to fall some distance. He should never have used the rope under the circumstances

White, Charles, 20 Sep 1893 [More information ...]

Willams, John, 21 Jan 1885, aged 18, Shaftman, Deceased was engaged with others putting in dividings at Wheal Harriett shaft and while climbing from a stage on to the sollar and fell a distance of 83 fathoms above slipped out of the ladder in the shaft

Williams, William J., 24 Jun 1905, aged 15, Stoper, When filling trams a fall of roof occurred from about 5 fathoms above. It fell from a very large cavern where it is impossible to examine the roof closely every day

Wills, Thomas, 01 Jan 1914, aged 41, Miner, He was standing on a stull some 20 feet below the "backs" of an overhand stope preparing to cover with boards an opening in the stull, when a piece of ground, estimated to weigh about 10 cwts., fell from the "backs" and killed him instantly. After the fall it was seen that a slip formed the back of ground which fell. It was alleged that he had examined the ground by sounding it with a pipe, 1 1/8 inches in diameter by 8 feet 6 inches long, immediately before standing underneath it. A ladder was at hand, and if deceased had taken the trouble to use it, a more reliable examination of the ground could have been made by sounding it with a hammer, and if this had been done, its weakness might have been revealed and steps taken to pull it down