Fforchaman Colliery

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Allen, William, 31 Aug 1869, aged 53, Weighman, Killed by trucks on surface

Bailey, Joseph, 05 Nov 1925, aged 68, Stower, Getting into second deck of cage at pit bottom when cage ascended and caught him between cage and shaft girder

Ball, Alfred, 18 Jan 1904, 2 a.m., aged 18, Labourer, Deceased was sitting, having a meal, behind a derailed empty tram, when two men pushed a tram of rubbish against it. When, some few minutes afterwards, they went to put the empty tram on the rails, they found deceased with his head wedged between the tram and the side. They had no idea that he was there, and he gave no warning when they pushed the full tram back

Coombes, Ernest, 25 Nov 1905, 10.45 a.m., aged 22, Haulier, While deceased was walking between a full tram and his horse, which was equipped with chain harness, he lost his light. At the same moment the horse started trotting as there was an alteration in the gradient. The road being of very small dimensions deceased could not spring to the side, but was crushed to death between the tram and the side

Croker, John, 25 Mar 1898, aged 47, Surface foreman, While working a 12-inch haulage engine his coat got entangled in the wheels and he was drawn in

Davies, David, 20 Dec 1873, aged 18, Haulier, Killed by trams

Davies, David, 14 Apr 1914, aged 42, Haulier, As he was assisting to fix a drum on to the shaft of a new engine, the top half of the drum revolved over, before it had been secured, and crushed him beneath it. Another man was injured

Davies, John, 25 Jun 1925, (accident: 19 Jun 1925), aged 65, Haulier, Crushed by tram. Died 25th

Ellis, W. R., 11 Oct 1928, (accident: 02 Oct 1928), aged 25, Haulier, Slipped on rail — horse pulled tram over him. Died 11th

Elswick, W., 28 Apr 1866, aged 12, Collier, Run over by trams

Evans, Benjamin, 16 Oct 1880, aged 22, Collier, Fall of roof

Evans, David, 09 Feb 1869, aged 27, Collier, Killed by an explosion of gas. Lewis Griffith and William Williams, two of the deceased, fired a shot, which was a flagrant breach of the rules of the colliery, shot firing being strictly prohibited [More information ...]

Evans, David, 19 Feb 1896, aged 21, Repairer, Fall on road, stone, while cutting side to enlarge road. Six feet seam

Evans, John, 12 Oct 1905, 11 p.m., aged 27, Haulier, Fall of roof. Deceased was taking an empty tram down a dip heading, and must have omitted to see that the pointers of the stalls were properly set, as the horse turned into a low rubbish stall, on which horse traffic was not permitted, and knocked out two pairs of timber, with the result that a fall occurred which killed horse and haulier. Deceased was riding on the "gun"

Evans, William, 05 Sep 1912, aged 55, Timberman, Fall of roof on haulage road. He was killed by a fall of ground as he was on his way to the shaft at the completion of his work

Falder, Arthur John, 12 May 1917, aged 43, Under Manager, A piece of back slip coal, weighing about two cwts., fell and discharged a post. The fall killed the unfortunate man. The post had been placed there just a week before

Fisher, William, 25 May 1910, aged 37, Collier, Fall of side at working face. While getting down a small piece of projecting and overhanging coal and clod it fell on him

Gouch, Henry, 05 Jul 1929, (accident: 14 Jun 1929), aged 28, Collier, Fall of coal and clod. Died 5th July

Griffith, Herbert, 03 Mar 1887, aged 30, Fitter, Cage descended upon him while attempting to cross shaft bottom instead of going through the proper road ; residence: 14 Hill Street, Aberaman, Aberdare

Griffith, Lewis, 09 Feb 1869, aged 42, Collier, Killed by an explosion of gas. Lewis Griffith and William Williams, two of the deceased, fired a shot, which was a flagrant breach of the rules of the colliery, shot firing being strictly prohibited [More information ...]

Gwynne, Walter, 07 Jan 1913, aged 48, Collier, When walking along an endless rope engine plane to his work, an ascending empty tram became unclipped from the haulage rope, and, running back, crushed him between it and another empty tram

Hill, R., 15 Nov 1883, aged 40, Haulier, Fell under trams

Howells, M., 29 Mar 1869, aged 37, Collier, Killed by a fall of stone

Howells, T., Nov 1876, aged 35, Hitcher, Killed at bottom of shaft by piece of coal falling upon him

Jenkins, John, 17 Aug 1912, aged 55, Haulier, He was fatally injured by being crushed between a loaded tram of horse-feed and the side of the road

John, Brewer, 22 Apr 1913, (accident: 18 Dec 1912), aged 31, Haulier, He was injured on the date given and died on April 22nd, 1913. As he was stooping down cleaning the rails in front of a loaded tram, the horse moved on, crushing him between the tram and the floor, fracturing his spine

Jones, Evan, 22 May 1917, aged 20, Collier, Killed by a fall of stone

Jones, J., 15 Apr 1871, aged 23, Hitcher, Killed by a fall of roof

Jones, John, 20 Oct 1885, aged 15, Collier, Rope broke, crushed by trams [More information ...]

Jones, John, 08 Jan 1904, (accident: 07 Jan 1904, 5.5 p.m.), aged 20, Assistant Rider, Deceased was riding on the "shackle" connecting two trams of a journey composed of 20 full, and seven empty trams which were being drawn up an engine plane, rising 1 in 6. When partway up, a shackle pin gave, and 13 full and seven empty trams ran back on to the "barhook." A pair of wheels got detached, shot to one side, and smashed deceased's leg. The condition of the shackle clearly showed that the pin had not been put properly in place. Riding on this road had been prohibited on account of a portion of it having recently become low through heavy squeeze. Deceased was therefore illegally riding. He died on the following day

Jones, T., 14 Sep 1883, aged 45, Repairer, Fall of roof

Jones, Walter, 31 Aug 1936, aged 63, Manager, died from a heart attack while making a routine inspection of the colliery

Kitchen, H. G., 24 Mar 1929, (accident: 22 Mar 1929), aged 20, Assistant collier, Crushed by derailed tram. Died 24th

Lake, John, 22 Aug 1906, 4.40 p.m., aged 59, Wagonman, Deceased was found in a dying condition, having been run over by empty wagons. He had been lowering empties towards the screen on a road dipping 1 in 36, but how the accident occurred no one knows

Lawrence, David, 30 Oct 1904, (accident: 09 Sep 1904, 2.30 p.m.), aged 48, Labourer, Fall of roof. At face, cliff, 13 ft. by 4 ft. by 23 ins. thick, fell from between two diagonal, smooth slips while he was stowing the place with rubbish. Two props were crushed out. Died 30th October. Two feet nine seam

Lewis, Benjamin, 18 Dec 1877, aged 42, Collier, Killed by an explosion of gas

Lewis, John, 23 Jun 1886, aged 14, Collier boy, Fall of coal

Lewis, Robert, 27 Jul 1882, aged 30, Repairer, Fall of roof

Lewis, Thomas, 08 Aug 1884, aged 19, Collier, Fall of coal

Lewis, Thomas, 17 Dec 1891, aged 39, Collier, While assisting a haulier in pushing a tram he complained of a stitch in his side but finished his shift. Died 10 days afterwards from inflammation of the lungs produced by a rupture of a blood vessel through the effects of a strain

Lloyd, Herbert, 11 Apr 1904, 8.45 a.m., aged 37, Screens Attendant, Deceased was caught by the clothing, and drawn into a pair of bevel wheels at the junction of two shafts, the bearings of which he must have been oiling when the machinery was in motion. He had been warned not to do so, and had power to stop any part of the screening plant to allow of oiling

Mahoney, John, 02 Jul 1865, aged 15, Door boy, Fell under trams

Mason, William, 18 Apr 1896, aged 49, Hardgroundman, Explosion of a charge of carbonite while tamping the hole with a copper rammer

Morgan, David, 27 Apr 1909, aged 63, Roadman, Deceased left a manhole, the mouth of which was obstructed by a full journey, temporarily at rest, and was about to cross the shackles, when the journey started off, and he was crushed between trams and side

Parry, Thomas, 14 Nov 1907, 5 p.m., aged 53, Labourer, Deceased was on his way home, and was about to cross the Great Western Railway, when he saw a steam motor approaching. He stepped back and leaned against the buffer of a truck on the colliery siding, when a brakesman lowered a loaded truck down and crushed him. The brakesman did not see deceased until he was within seven yards of him. He then shouted to him, but deceased appears not to have heard him

Perkins, William, 08 Oct 1910, (accident: 24 Sep 1910), aged 35, Collier, Fall of side (Clod Band) at working face while he was knocking out a short prop supporting it. Died 8th October, 1910

Phillips, Gomer, 07 Dec 1907, (accident: 26 Nov 1907, Noon), aged 21, Collier, Fall of side. At face, coal, 3½ ft. by 7 ins. by 5½ ft. thick, burst off the face, struck deceased against a "cog," and fractured his spine. He was at the time engaged in setting a prop. He died on December 7th. Four-feet seam

Phillips, James, 05 Jul 1924, (accident: 04 Jul 1924, 11.0 a.m., 4th hour of shift), aged 56, Collier, He was working on the coal when he exposed an unseen slip in the fireclay roof, and a fall of roof occurred which discharged one face prop. He was so badly injured by the fall that he died the following day. Electric safety lamp used

Phillips, Thomas, 22 May 1880, aged 16, Collier, Fall of roof

Pickrell, H., 01 Feb 1869, aged 17, Haulier, Killed by a fall of stone

Powell, James, 04 Oct 1924, (accident: 03 Oct 1924, 12.0 noon, 5th hour of shift), aged 33, Collier, He was clearing off a depth of 2 ft. of coal along his working place, which had been undercut by a coal cutting machine, when the fireman gave instructions for a prop to be set, and whilst Powell was stamping a hole in the floor to set the prop, a piece of roof, about 6 ft. long by 14 ins. by 12 ins., fell from unseen slants and caught him, causing injuries from which he died on the 4th October. Oil flame safety lamp used

Rees, John, 14 Jul 1903, 3.40 p.m., aged 34, Collier, Fall of roof. At face, rock and fireclay, 13 ft. by 4 ft. by 17 ins. thick, fell as he was pulling some coal down. One prop was crushed out. Two feet nine seam

Rees, Thomas, 30 Sep 1865, aged 45, Fireman, Carriage came down on him when passing the shaft bottom

Rhodes, Arthur, 06 Aug 1904, 1 p.m., aged 25, Haulier, A link of a chain, holding 17 trams, broke ; the trams ran down a road having a dip of 3 ins. per yard, knocked deceased down and ran over him. The link showed a flaw and signs of crystallization

Richards, David, 02 Feb 1898, aged 45, Collier, Fall of roof at face clift 9ft x 8ft from two slips which appeared to have had three props under it

Rogers, William, 18 Mar 1891, aged 50, Labourer, Crushed by the tram of a small coal apparatus while cleaning out the hopper

Rothwell, Stephen, 25 Aug 1912, (accident: 17 Aug 1912), aged 45, Foreman, Owing to some misunderstanding in the signals, the cage was started down, from a landing in shaft, as he was in the act of pulling out a cask from a tram on the cage. He was crushed between the wall and cage and died as a result of his injuries on August 25th, 1912

Siford, John, 06 Sep 1909, aged 31, Collier, Fall of roof. Deceased, having removed the sprags, was barring down a face slip of coal, when more came away than he expected, knocked out some posts and caused a fall of cliff 10½ feet by 13 feet by 2 feet, under which there had been nine posts. Six feet seam

Thomas, Daniel, 27 Jan 1909, aged 45, Haulier, Fall of roof. On road, cliff, 14 feet by 10 feet by 2½ feet thick, fell and buried deceased as he was filling some coal and cliff which had been ripped down by a repairer. The place had been examined twenty minutes before and was considered safe. Five feet seam

Thomas, Gwilym, 30 Aug 1911, aged 49, Haulier, Crushed by trams running wild, owing to the breakage of a chain 10 ft. long connecting two parts of a journey of trams

Troakes, Edward, 18 Feb 1900, (accident: 13 Feb 1900, 7 a.m.), aged 21, Collier, Injured by a chisel while taking it down, contrary to rules, in the cage. Died of lockjaw five days afterwards

Watkins, John, 05 Sep 1891, aged 27, Rope inspector, Crushed between full trams while riding on journey down a gradient of 1 in 36. A chain connecting two ropes had broken and deceased, instead of getting it properly repaired by a knot in it and set it to work again when the knot caught in the sheave

Wheeler, David Rees, 24 Nov 1929, (accident: 20 Nov 1929), aged 29, Collier, Fall of roof. Died 24th

Williams, Alfred, 09 Aug 1878, aged 13, Collier, Killed by fall of roof

Williams, Daniel, 31 Dec 1887, aged 12, Collier, Fall of roof from between two slants and a break along the face

Williams, David, 08 Apr 1911, aged 23, Rider, Fall of roof on road as he was riding behind journey. The place was well timbered but three pairs of timber discharged as the journey was passing, supposed through their footing giving way

Williams, E. D., 13 Jan 1906, 9.40 a.m., aged 20, Collier, Fall of roof. At face, a wedge-shaped piece of rock, 6 ft. 6 ins. long, 3 ft. 4 ins. wide at the base, and 25 ins. thick, fell from between glassy slants. From the position in which deceased was found, it was presumed that he was preparing to set a post under it

Williams, Gwilym, 20 Oct 1885, aged 15, Collier, Rope broke, crushed by trams [More information ...]

Williams, James, 20 May 1874, Labourer, Killed by falling under trams

Williams, James, 24 Aug 1882, aged 23, Rider, Killed by falling under a journey of full trams

Williams, John, 12 Aug 1900, (accident: 09 Aug 1900, 3.45 p.m.), aged 48, Hitcher, Cage descended on him while illegally attempting to cross through the shaft. Died in three days

Williams, Samuel, 05 Oct 1906, 9 p.m., aged 54, Haulier, Deceased was taking with his horse a journey of four tanks and two trams down a road dipping 2½ ins. per yard. He had put eleven sprags in the wheels of the six trams. A man was walking in behind the journey, when it come to a stop, and at the same time he heard a cry. He went forward, and found the horse disengaged, and deceased under the first tank. He had been riding on the gun when the little pin jumped up, and he fell to the ground

Williams, T., 13 Oct 1869, aged 15, Haulier, Killed by trams

Williams, William, 09 Feb 1869, aged 34, Collier, Killed by an explosion of gas. Lewis Griffith and William Williams, two of the deceased, fired a shot, which was a flagrant breach of the rules of the colliery, shot firing being strictly prohibited [More information ...]

Wynn, E., 20 Jan 1874, aged 14, Haulier, Killed by trams