Fauldhead Colliery

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Bennie, Thomas Dalziel, 11 May 1953

Black, John, 21 Feb 1914, 5 a.m., aged 51, Fireman, When making the inspection prior to the shift commencing work an explosion of gas occurred, which extinguished his light, and he was burned. He appears afterwards to have crawled some distance into an old end and was killed by C.O. poisoning. A naked light lamp, after the explosion, was found along with his safety lamp near a break in the roof where gas was occasionally found. He had evidently been carrying the naked light, in Contravention of Section 64 (2) of the Coal Mines Act, and thus ignited some firedamp, the explosion of which deranged the brattice cloth, and, at the same time, continued to burn at the feeder, and produced carbon monoxide, which caused his death

Bone, James, 18 Aug 1899, aged 30, Miner, Fall of roof at working face. Caused by want of propping

Brown, John, 06 Oct 1922, (accident: 02 Oct 1922, 1.10 p.m., 7th hour of shift), aged 30, Miner, He was working at the face of a longwall place when a stone 7 ft. 3 in. long parallel to the face, 2ft. wide and 6 in. thick fell from the roof, causing injuries from which he died four days later. The stone came from two weight breaks. One prop was reeled out by the fall. The place was inspected by a fireman two hours before the accident and was considered safe. The timbering was not contravened, but systematic strapping would have prevented the accident

Farnsworth, Joseph, 14 Jul 1914, aged 55, Miner, Deceased was engaged holing in a place 12 feet wide in stoop and room workings. He had two sprags set under the coal ; part of it, however, broke over him owing to an unseen lype behind the holing, and fell on him, and injured him so severely that he died the same day

Halliday, Marion, 14 Apr 1909, aged 14, Stonepicker, When crossing rails in front of two moving waggons at the scree she got run over

Harkness, John, 05 Nov 1914, (accident: 26 Oct 1914), aged 39, Miner, Deceased and his neighbour were engaged ripping the roof of a roadway preparatory to converting it into a haulage road, when a stone fell from the roof causing injuries to which he succumbed 10 days later. The stone came away from an unseen lype

Mains, John, 12 Apr 1924, (accident: 11 Apr 1924, 11.0 p.m., 1st hour of shift), aged 62, Pumper, The deceased men were riding in a hutch down a dook with an average gradient of 1 in 10 ; the hutch being controlled from behind by a third man. When about half-way down the hutch ran away from the man behind, and, gathering speed, jumped the rails at a turn, about 160 yards below where it got out of hand. Both men were thrown head first into the roadside, and sustained such injuries that Tervit was killed practically at once and Mains died in the Infirmary 22 hours later. The men contravened the rules of the mine, which forbid persons riding in hutches [More information ...]

McNaught, John, 05 Sep 1922, (accident: 30 Aug 1922, 11.30 p.m., 2nd hour of shift), aged 18, Miner, He was following an empty hutch up a cuddy brae when a stone fell from the roof on to him, inflicting injuries from which he died six days later. The area over which the roof fell was 8 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft. 3 in. and 5in. thick. The place had been examined by the fireman about two hours before and reported safe. The roof was hard sandstone.

Milligan, Thomas, 22 Feb 1902, aged 28, Miner, When knocking out a sprag set to the coal a stone from the roof fell on him

Sim, William, 11 Mar 1904, aged 60, Brusher, He is said to have been inserting unthawed gelignite cartridges into a shot hole when the charge exploded. Another man was injured

Tervit, Thomas, 11 Apr 1924, 11.0 p.m., 1st hour of shift, aged 61, Repairer, The deceased men were riding in a hutch down a dook with an average gradient of 1 in 10 ; the hutch being controlled from behind by a third man. When about half-way down the hutch ran away from the man behind, and, gathering speed, jumped the rails at a turn, about 160 yards below where it got out of hand. Both men were thrown head first into the roadside, and sustained such injuries that Tervit was killed practically at once and Mains died in the Infirmary 22 hours later. The men contravened the rules of the mine, which forbid persons riding in hutches [More information ...]

Wilson, Robert, 07 Mar 1924, (accident: 27 Dec 1923, 9.0 a.m., 3rd hour of shift), aged 17, Drawer, Deceased was getting down coal at the face of a room when a fall of roof occurred, causing injuries which ended fatally on 7th March, 1924. The stone which fell was a "sow back." The place was examined by a fireman one hour before the accident and reported safe. No timber was displaced by the fall. The timbering rule was contravened in that one prop required setting, but it seems doubtful whether compliance with the rule would have prevented the accident

Wright, William, 19 Jul 1913, aged 35, Miner, He and his neighbour were lighting the fuses of two shots in the same place and at the same time, but when one had succeeded in doing so the other thought he had not lighted his. They retired until the charge exploded and then returned immediately to light the second shot. Deceased was close to the second shot when it exploded and injured him so severely that he died in about half an hour. The cotton of the fuse must have ignited unknown to him and singed till it lighted the powder train