Elliot Colliery

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Absalom, William, 24 Jan 1907, 9.45 p.m., 2nd hour of shift, aged 21, Collier, Fall of roof at the face in the East District of the Ras Las Seam, while he was engaged building the road side pack wall. The stone fell from a break close to a prop and a smooth top on parting. It was about 7 feet long, 2½ feet wide and 16 inches thick

Baldwin, Timothy, 25 Feb 1896, aged 62, Tramp, He was fatally burned at the Elliott Colliery coke ovens having lain down too near the fire which ignited his clothes. Not comprised under the Act

Barnett, Charles, 17 Feb 1904, aged 28, Collier, Fall of roof. A shell of stone fell from between two slants. The place was well timbered according to the present practice with props and short lids, but evidently something more was needed

Beale, William, 31 Jan 1914, aged 42, Collier, He appears to have been caught at the return pulley of a coal conveyor fixed at the working face, as he was removing small coal from the working parts of the machinery

Bishop, William, 30 Dec 1915, aged 45, Ripper, Killed by a fall of roof [More information ...]

Butson, William, 16 Dec 1915, aged 36, Repairer, Killed by a fall of roof ; residence: Greenfield Terrace, Ogmore Vale [More information ...]

Clarke, Tom, 08 May 1908, aged 15, Collier's boy, Fall of coal from the face. It came from an unusual "back rider" slip, whether in consequence of a "squeeze" or not, is somewhat doubtful. The Collier (deceased's father) seems not to have known of, or expected the slip, and the coal was not overhanging at the time

Collins, Evan, 17 Sep 1902, aged 20, Collier, Deceased, the rider, and another collier were waiting in a refuge hole on the engine plane to allow the empty journey to pass, the last tram left the rails at some points and knocking out the timbers, a fall of about 60 tons resulted. The two who escaped jumped forward and got clear of the fall, but deceased stepping back, was crushed against the side

Davies, Abiathan, 05 May 1914, aged 15, Collier's Boy, Fall of side near the face of a heading after a shot had been fired

Davies, Arthur, 25 Jul 1906, aged 32, Collier, Fall of roof at the face. He was in the act of putting a post up underneath some top coal, when it fell upon him

Davies, Ben, 13 Oct 1899, aged 27, Engineman, His foot slipped when he was examining the new fan bearings, and he fell backwards over the stage into the cellar below. The floor of the engine house had not been completed

Davies, George, 04 Mar 1892, aged 54, Overman, The cage in which they were ascending an underground staple pit (65 yards deep) fell away from the top in consequence of the rope pulling through the socket. A long iron bar which they were bringing up on top of the cage, caught under the framing and caused the accident [More information ...]

Davies, Thomas, 18 May 1904, aged 62, Oiler, He was run over by waggons which were being put into the sidings by the Railway Company's locomotive. The guard when passing told him to keep out of the way, but soon afterwards on returning to the place found him decapitated

Davies, Walter, 30 Dec 1915, aged 52, Timberman, Killed by a fall of roof [More information ...]

Davies, William, 20 May 1903, aged 28, Collier, The pin attaching the horse shafts to the "gun" accidentally rose and allowed the tram to run back ; owing to a sheet hung in the road, deceased, who was repairing, got warning too late to get out of the way

Davis, Ivan, 23 Apr 1909, aged 39, Collier, On his knocking out one or two broken props close to the gob wall of a "Barry" work which was pinned up to the roof, a fall of stone occurred and knocked him down, causing him to strike his head against the corner of a wooden sleeper or a sharp stone, thus fracturing his skull

Edwards, James, 05 Apr 1900, aged 19, Collier, Fall of coal from an unseen slip in his working place

England, Charles, 14 Jan 1894, aged 34, Engineman, He attended a pumping engine situated in an offset from the side of the West Elliot Shaft 180 yards from the bottom. In consequence of the breakage of the condensers motion bar an escape into the engine room occurred which caused his death

Evans, Arthur, 19 Dec 1907, 10.50 a.m., 4th hour of shift, aged 23, Collier, Fall of roof at the face. Apparently the fall occurred directly upon his returning to the place after having had his lunch. The roof is not good in this place and he was working on the face "slip" with the lower side leading. He worked on day wages for his brother. It is intended to experiment with some of these working places to see whether some safer method of working for this seam cannot be arrived at as several accidents have occurred under the present method

Evans, Edward, 21 Mar 1902, aged 33, Charge Haulier, A horse which he was taking from the stables into the workings turned into the wrong road, and up or into which a journey or set of trams was being drawn from the main level. In saving the horse he was himself caught and fatally injured

Evans, Phillip, 11 Aug 1885, aged 29, Hitcher, Thrown off the cage into the sump owing to the cage starting unexpectedly from the bottom

Evans, Thomas, 02 Feb 1907, 8.10 a.m., 2nd hour of shift, aged 28, Collier, Fall of roof at the face of Scammell's Old Deep, in the Lower Four Foot Seam, where he and others were repairing and re-timbering in order to re-start this deep which had been standing for some time

Evans, William, 01 Dec 1890, aged 47, Dayman, Crushed by a tram on a road inclined about 1 or 1½ins. to the yard where he was cleaning up. He went to move the tram which he was filling and it appears to have overpowered him

Evans, William, 12 Feb 1894, aged 55, Collier, While in a sitting posture between a prop and the face getting down coal which had been previously holed a stone about 8cwt. and one end of which was overriding the coal became loosened and fell upon him from unseen slips

Feltham, Henry, 13 Oct 1901, aged 45, Mason, Henry Feltham, 45, mason, was found dead on the 13th October in the Elliott Quarry, belonging to the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Co., Ltd. How he got there is unknown, as he must have climbed over a fence 4 to 4½ feet high which surrounded the quarry [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Griffiths, Roger, 28 Jan 1891, (accident: 31 Dec 1890), aged 36, Master haulier, Waiting at a bend in engine plane for journey to come out he sat down in the inner side of the rope the place of one of the sheaves broke causing the rope to fly to the side of the road and catching his leg broke it. Blood poisoning set in followed by erysipelas in the other leg from which he died on the 28th January 1891

Harding, Frank, 04 Apr 1906, aged 19, Collier, He was cutting out a post in a "barry" face between two flats only 3 feet 4 inches apart. It is thought he missed his blow and knocked out one of the arms supporting the flats, and thus liberated a stone which fell upon him, causing internal injuries

Harding, Oliver, 11 Aug 1903, aged 38, Assistant Timberman, While sitting down after having set a pair of timber under a fall a sudden squeeze or bump caused the roof to burst down over two pairs of timber, one of the stones falling on deceased's chest caused his death. It took two hours to recover the body

Honey, William, 29 Sep 1903, (accident: 24 Sep 1903), aged 27, Collier, Fall of side. When pulling coal down from the face, a piece rolled against his leg and broke it. The cause of death was embolism due to inflammation of the lungs. He died on the 29th, and the doctor stated it probably was the result of the accident. This is one of those cases in which even the doctor would only say that the accident probably was due to the accident and it remains more or less uncertain

James, Phillip, 26 Apr 1890, aged 26, Collier, Fall of roof. He was engaged securing the place with props but owing to the slips and general condition of the place he should have used double timbers so far his judgement was in error

Jenkins, David, 26 Mar 1903, aged 21, Collier, When pulling a piece of coal down from the face, the roof fell from an unseen slip. There were two inside slips which ought to have acted as a warning, so that apparently he neglected to take reasonable precautions

Jones, David, 12 Oct 1901, aged 37, Assistant Timberman, Fall of roof from under which they were removing old timber with a view to replacing it with new. He apparently erred in the way in which he tackled the work, commencing on the lower instead of the higher side timbers

Jones, David, 30 Dec 1915, aged 31, Fireman, Killed by a fall of roof [More information ...]

Jones, Evan, 21 Aug 1896, aged 38, Tunneller, While drilling a hole near a missed shot charged with carbonite and a detonator and which the battery had failed to fire it exploded killing deceased and injuring David Williams working who was with him. Presumably the hole which they were boring ran into the missed shot [More information ...]

Jones, John, 09 Sep 1906, (accident: 14 Jun 1906), aged 41, Collier, Fall of roof, which fractured his leg, in a gob heading where he was filling a tram of rubbish. The place was double timbered close to the face. Mortification set up, and he died 9th September

Jones, Lewis, 02 May 1907, 9.30 a.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 28, Journey-rider, As he was riding on a full journey outbye standing on the shackle or coupling between the first and second trams, an old collar in some manner caught and knocked him off, resulting in his being so injured that he died the same evening. How it occurred is not clear, one suggestion is that the first tram, which was out of shape, caught in one of the arms of the collar, and another is that the collar snapped about the time when the journey approached. There was no one near at the time

Lysett, Thomas, 10 Sep 1908, aged 25, Collier, He and others were engaged in filling up a fall which had occurred on a roadway some 60 yards from the face, when a further fall occurred, which knocked out some more timbers and killed him. This is always dangerous work, and has to depend on the judgment of those employed at it. He is said to have been a skilled man and a leading hand ; there were also other experienced men at the place, some of whom had narrow escapes

Mack, Peter, 11 Aug 1900, aged 30, Charge haulier, Riding on the shackle of a journey, he appears to have knocked his head against the roof, and to have fallen between the trams, resulting in fatal injuries to his head and neck

Matthews, Sydney, 14 Dec 1904, aged 35, Ripper, Fall of side. When he and another were engaged in repairing a heading some 70 yards back from the face a fall of side came away from a break and caught him 4 or 5 yards away from where he had been knocking out double timber to let down a piece of roof. He had been at this work 15 or 16 years

McCarty, Mike, 16 Oct 1901, aged 42, Labourer, Fell under trucks which he was taking along the railway sidings to the screens

Mills, William Frederick, 13 May 1904, (accident: 03 May 1904), aged 15, Collier, William Frederick Mills, 15, collier, slightly scratched his face when at work at Elliot Colliery on the 3rd May. He died about ten days after from meningitis, and it was attempted, but in my opinion failed, to prove that the scratch on the face caused it. [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Morgan, Thomas, 19 Feb 1903, aged 36, Collier, Fall of roof. When working with a comrade in a narrow stall, a large roof stone fell and buried them both. It tell from a "slicken side" or glassy slant though it had apparently sounded strong shortly before

Morgan, William, 30 Aug 1884, aged 45, Engineman, Knocked off staging in shaft, and fell to the bottom of the pit

Newbury, Reuben, 13 Jan 1907, (accident: 09 Jan 1907, 1 p.m., 6th hour of shift), aged 36, Haulier, As he was taking three full trams out along the Main West Level of the Lower Four Feet Seam and walking close in front of the horse, he stumbled over an iron sleeper and was crushed under the first tram before the horse could be stopped. He died on the 13th January

Parry, Francis, 03 Apr 1906, aged 18, Collier, Owing to empty trams not having been pushed far enough up a heading beyond a stall road to give sufficient clearance. The full tram which was being taken out from the stall road with a horse caught the empty and knocked out some timbers, resulting in a fall which killed him. His butty, and leading hand, was blamed by the coroner's jury for not having pushed the trams up further to allow of more space, although it was at the same time stated to have been only an error of judgment on his part

Perrot, William, 17 Dec 1895, aged 44, Collier, Fall of roof at the face from an unseen slip and a smooth bed above. The place appeared to have been generally well timbered

Phelps, Samuel, 02 Mar 1909, (accident: 21 Feb 1909), aged 37, Ripper, On Sunday night he and others were clearing a fall on a double parting about 11.30 p.m. He received a blow on the back by a small stone, or piece of rashing, about the size of a man's hand while in a stooping position. He worked his shift out to 5 a.m., but did not work the next night ; he worked again on Tuesday night but not afterwards. He was seen by a doctor on Wednesday who suspected pleurisy and pneumonia, which was confirmed the following day and from which he died on the 2nd of March. The Doctors at the post mortem practically agreed that it was the result of the blow, although there were no external signs of any bruising

Poll, Alfred, 08 Jan 1908, aged 33, Collier, Fractured skull by a piece of iron about 16 lbs. weight falling from the surface. As the other cage reached the catches, this piece of iron became detached from the cage owing to a flaw

Pound, John, 07 Apr 1904, aged 30, Collier, Fall of roof. A tram which was being pulled out of an old road knocked against a post and displaced a collar. A fall of stone followed with fatal results

Powell, Lewis, 23 Oct 1905, (accident: 05 Oct 1905), aged 19, Collier, Lewis Powell, 19, collier, died on the 23rd October from "Septic pneumonia." It was alleged that he had bruised his leg slightly when at work at Elliot Colliery on the 5th October, and an attexnpt was made to show that death was connected with this accident, but there was not sufficient evidence to show what was the primary cause to enable the coroner or jury to decide the point. The doctor apparently did not make a post-mortem examination, and would only say that the bruise might or might not have been the primary cause. It seems a somewhat doubtful case [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Powell, Thomas, 04 Mar 1892, aged 26, Rider, The cage in which they were ascending an underground staple pit (65 yards deep) fell away from the top in consequence of the rope pulling through the socket. A long iron bar which they were bringing up on top of the cage, caught under the framing and caused the accident [More information ...]

Price, Alfred Thomas, 24 Mar 1908, aged 20, Rider, When riding a journey of trams on the Abercarn Haulage Deep, he appears to have been on a shackle between two trams, and falling off was run over by the journey. It has been prohibited at this Colliery to ride on the shackles, and a seat has been provided for use at the end of the journey. He had been cautioned by the overman against the practice only the day before the accident. (Mechanical haulage)

Price, Thomas, 06 Mar 1900, (accident: 28 Feb 1900), aged 50, Assistant Timberman, Crushed between tram and the side of the road when assisting a haulier to hitch his horse to the tram. He died on the 6th March

Pritchard, William, 30 Jan 1900, aged 22, Engineman, While oiling the crank pin of the air compressor, he got inside the rail fence, and was so severely crushed by the crank that he died in a few hours

Pugh, Godfrey, 23 Feb 1912, aged 20, Labourer, Fall of roof in an old stall road. In lifting an empty tram on to the rails, a fall occurred which completely covered him. The tram was tight against the timber and must have disturbed it

Pugh, Robert, 21 Jun 1911, aged 44, Timberman, Crushed by trams running loose down gradient 1½" per yard, owing to the trams not being properly secured. Another man was injured

Roberts, Hugh, 09 Oct 1908, aged 33, Timberman, In drawing out a pair of broken timber with a "Sylvester" machine at the mouth of a stall road, several others (some of which had been put in recently to double those already there) fell with a quantity of roof. He hesitated about making his escape, and unfortunately doubled back into danger instead of getting into safety

Roberts, Richard, 04 Mar 1892, aged 36, Roadsman, The cage in which they were ascending an underground staple pit (65 yards deep) fell away from the top in consequence of the rope pulling through the socket. A long iron bar which they were bringing up on top of the cage, caught under the framing and caused the accident [More information ...]

Russell, David, 12 Nov 1901, (accident: 30 Sep 1900), aged 33, Collier, David Russell, 33, collier, injured by a fall of roof, at Elliott Colliery, on the 30th September, 1900, died on the 12th November, from paralysis, resulting from the accident, but as more than a year and a day elapsed between the time of accident and the death, it is not comprised [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Shore, Rees, 16 Apr 1912, aged 51, Sheeveman, While a journey was being lowered he was crushed by it. He should have got to a place of safety

Smith, Henry, 14 Aug 1908, aged 15, Collier, Fall of roof clod at the face from two slants, one of which was visible, but the other could not be seen as the coal had not been taken out from under it before the accident

Smith, William, 24 Mar 1903, aged 44, Collier, Deceased, while on his way out from work, was crushed against the side of the engine plane by some trams which, having broken loose from the ascending journey, got off the rails. He failed to avail himself of a manhole which was close beside the place

Smith, William, 19 May 1908, aged 33, Haulier, Crushed against timbers at the end of a double parting in consequence of one of the full trams of his journey catching in an empty one, on another line, which had been lifted off the rails to prevent its running back. (Horse haulage)

Tippings, James, 01 May 1907, 1.10 p.m., 7th hour of shift, aged 16, Collier, Fall of roof at the face of a Barry Working road in the Old Coal Seam. It fell from two slips running parallel with the face, and broke off at some timbers. These roads are usually secured with flats, but in this case long cap pieces were used instead, with this unfortunate result

Upton, William, 07 Nov 1914, aged 39, Rider, As he was walking down an incline road in front of a full journey of trams he appears to have misjudged the distance they were from him and he was caught and run over by them

Vowles, David John, 12 May 1903, aged 18, Collier's Boy, Fall of side. The collier was engaged pulling coal off the face, a piece in falling knocked out a post, which struck deceased in the stomach. Had the coal been eased down with sprags this danger would have been avoided

Walsh, John, 18 Jul 1904, aged 25, Collier, He was acting as haulier, and appears to have blocked open a door for his horse and trams to pass. The block slipped and he ran back to replace it, and in doing so was caught by the journey and crushed

Westlake, Reginald, 16 Dec 1915, aged 23, Assistant Repairer, Killed by a fall of roof ; residence: 17a Adare Street, Wyndham, Ogmore Vale [More information ...]

Wilkins, Daniel, 14 Aug 1890, aged 22, Collier, Fall of roof near the face. The roof at this place is very liable to slips and joints and the only safeguard in the use of plenty of timber. The strict enforcement of the rule in this respect should and must be done by the officials to avoid becoming the responsible parties themselves. In this case the roof apparently looked good but upon a bump occurring the stone fell from previously unseen slips

Williams, Arthur, 13 Dec 1906, aged 25, Collier, Fall of roof at the face while in the act of sounding it. It fell from glassy smooths in the shape of a bell

Williams, David, 15 Jan 1906, aged 17, Collier, While filling a tram in a "barry longwall face" near the coal, the roof broke off crop with the coal and fell, killing him instantaneously

Williams, David J., 21 May 1901, aged 18, Rider, Fell off the front tram of an empty journey and was run over

Williams, Edward, 21 Oct 1909, aged 20, Collier, Fall of roof at the face of a "Barry" working. The place was secured with flats set across the road, the ends being about 3 feet from the face at this the widest place. The stone was "feather edged" and broke off at the face, the thickest point being about 13 inches. It was smooth, with hard top above where it came from ; the stone was about 20 to 24 inches wide, and 5 or 6 feet long

Williams, Gwyliam, 07 Jun 1884, aged 21, Sinker, When walling a sinking pit a three cornered stone fell upon him

Williams, John, 11 Mar 1893, aged 48, Stoneman, Fall of roof from slips where a large opening was being made for arching near the bottom of the West Shaft preparatory to the erection of a pumping engine. He had only just relived the previous shift the men of which had not left when it occurred. He was engaged continuing the drill hole commenced by one of them under this stone

Williams, Lewis, 30 Dec 1915, aged 32, Assistant Timberman, Killed by a fall of roof [More information ...]

Williams, William, 30 Jan 1898, Collier, Died about the 30th January from inflammation following influenza. It was alleged that he had met with an accident to his head when working at the colliery some time before his death but there was no evidence to show that this was correct