Penrikyber Colliery

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Allen, Charles, 08 Jan 1897, aged 25, Colliers boy, Fall of roof at face, rock 7ft. x 6ft from 9in to nothing thick inside of props. Four feet seam

Barber, Bennett G., 02 Feb 1914, aged 52, Ashman, When working a surface lift from the boiler pit he was caught between the planks of the landing and the band of the cage and broke his neck

Barrow, Robert, 29 Oct 1909, aged 54, Signalman, Owing to a serious underground fire, referred to elsewhere in this Report, the men were ordered to leave the workings by the return airways. Deceased, however, persisted in going out along a main intake and endless rope haulageway. The heat of the fire caused the haulage ropes to break, and the full and empty trams ran down the drift, and killed deceased

Belcher, Alfred, 14 Oct 1904, Noon, aged 17, Collier, Fall of side. At face, coal, 3 ft. by 15 ins. by 18 ins. thick, fell off a "back slip" as deceased was wedging loose the bottom part of the seam. Deceased's brother said that they had tried to pull down this piece of coal a few minutes before, but had failed. Six feet seam

Bryant, Henry, 30 Aug 1890, aged 30, Ripper, While deceased and another ripper were boring a hole in the roof on the main dip two men at work 400 yards above allowed an empty tram to get away from them. On hearing the tram coming one of the rippers got into a manhole and escaped but deceased ran further down and was struck by the runaway tram

Buckley, Dennis, 05 Mar 1913, aged 32, Assistant Timberman, Fall of roof while repairing on road. As he and his comrade were preparing to timber a hole on a roadway, a stone fell from above, causing fatal injuries

Bush, Felix, 04 Oct 1890, aged 19, Collier, Fall of roof (8½ft. x 5½ft.) at face while stowing rubbish. One prop discharged. Four-feet seam, 6ft. thick. Nottingham longwall

Collins, Alfred, 13 Jan 1925, (accident: 05 Jan 1925), aged 37, Collier, Acting as haulier crushed against side by derailed tram. Died 13th

Coombes, Frederick, 19 Feb 1914, aged 47, Roadman, He was standing at the roadside waiting for a horse to pass with a loaded tram ; something fell from the roof, frightening the horse, and in attempting to stop the animal he was pulled underneath the tram and killed

Davies, David, 19 Apr 1895, (accident: 17 Apr 1895), aged 55, Fireman, Died 19th April from peritonitis the result of internal injuries by a loaded tram crushing him at the mouth of a rubbish stall while on his rounds

Davies, Evan, 14 Aug 1889, aged 19, Collier, Fall of a "scale" of rock roof 7ft. x 4ft. x from 7ins. to nothing in thickness between a row of roadside props along the face and the coal which space was not propped. Four Feet seam. Nottingham long wall

Davies, Morgan, 18 Oct 1887, aged 28, Ripper, Run over by trams which had run wild owing to breakage of link on engine plane the deceased having failed to get into a manhole

Davies, Richard, 04 Jul 1904, 10 a.m., aged 32, Collier, Fall of roof. At face, coal, shale, and cliff, 8 ft. by 4 ft. by 5 ft. thick. Three pairs of timbers and a prop were said to have been discharged. The roof and coal were said to have been very friable at that spot, and it was intended to abandon the stall as soon as deceased had finished the gob wall he was building. Nine feet seam

Davis, William, 27 Jul 1887, aged 18, Door boy, Knocked down by a pony and run over by tram while attempting to pass. Road 7ft. high and 8ft. wide, dipping 3ins. per yard

Duncan, John, 01 Sep 1928, aged 56, Foreman smith, Slipped off ladder and fell down pit

Erasmus, Idris Pugh, 01 Aug 1924, 4.10 p.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 35, Assistant Electrician, He, with other electricians, descended the pit to complete the work of soldering the leads and filling some joint boxes with compound, which had been put in temporarily by Erasmus on the previous day. While the other electricians were in a substation close by a flash was seen, and the current was immediately cut off. On going to investigate, they found that Erasmus had taken the cover off one of the joint boxes, and had commenced to untape one of the leads before switching off the current on that circuit, with the result that he came in contact with one of the live leads. The pressure of supply was 2,000 volts A.C. He was apparently dead when found, as all efforts at artificial respiration proved of no avail. He was considered an experienced and competent electrician. Why he proceeded to work on the joint box before cutting off the current is inexplicable, as it was a distinct violation of General Regulation 131 (g)

Evans, Edward, 07 Nov 1912, aged 39, Shifter, Crushed between a full journey and the side of the road on an inside double parting, owing to the breaking of a "bull" chain, which caused the journey to run back

Evans, Evan, 15 May 1901, aged 33, Haulier, Fall of side. On road, while opening a door, cliff, 5½ ft. by 2 ft., by 20 ins. thick, near face of rippings. It was unsupported. Six feet seam

Evans, John, 01 Sep 1881, aged 30, Collier, Fall of roof

Evans, John, 13 Nov 1888, aged 43, Collier, Fall of rock roof 12ft.x 10ft. between gob and face where the width was 18ft. with props at irregular intervals but none below the stone that fell, 4ft. seam. Nottingham system of longwall

Field, Charles, 20 Oct 1899, (accident: 18 Oct 1899), aged 13, Collier's boy, [Fall of side] At face, top coal, 4 ft. x 3 ft. x 13 ins. thick, from a back slip, while filling coal — the bottom coal had been "holed" under 15 ins., and was not spragged. Died 20th October. Six feet seam

Goode, Benjamin, 09 Oct 1901, aged 52, Collier, Fell into a hole 5½ ft. deep in a recess by the side of engine plane, in which the haulage tightening sheave worked, having hurriedly entered the place to keep clear of a passing "journey." The rail which fenced the recess had been removed. There was a proper manhole 6 ft. away. Died in 5 days

Griffiths, Ivor, 11 Jul 1913, aged 26, Collier, As he was filling coal on a conveyor he was caught and crushed between the conveyor tram lever and a post at the side of the road

Griffiths, John, 03 Dec 1902, 10.30 a.m., aged 45, Haulier, Fall of roof. On road, cliff, 20 ft. long by 1 to 4 ft. wide by 6 ins. to 3 ft. thick, fell and crushed out one pair of timbers and partly displaced another. It fell from a slant which ran from one side to the middle of the roadway. Six feet seam

Griffiths, Thomas, 08 Jul 1905, 9.30 a.m., aged 45, Hitcher, This accident arose from a misunderstanding between the hitchers on the upper and lower decks of a simultaneous loading installation. The hitcher on the upper deck, thinking that he had received a signal from the lower deck that all was right, signalled the carriage away as soon as he had secured his tram. Deceased, who was scotching at the time, was lifted a short distance and dropped back into the sump. The hitcher who made the mistake had been employed in the same capacity for 25 years

Haines, John, 30 Jul 1900, (accident: 20 Jul 1900, 4.50 p.m.), aged 15, Signal boy, While passing some trams on his way out he slipped and fell, the wheels lacerating his leg. Lockjaw followed, and he died on July 30th

Hamer, Francis, 19 Dec 1912, (accident: 16 Dec 1912), aged 29, Haulier, He was kicked by the horse he was in charge of as he was bringing it out from the stables. He died on 19th December 1912

Harries, David, 21 Feb 1888, aged 16, Collier, Fall of roof (rock) 6ft.x 3ft. over the road laid along face while he was cutting a place for a prop. 4ft. seam, 6ft. thick. Long wall. (Nottingham System.)

Harris, George, 21 Sep 1895, aged 18, Rider, Found fatally injured on engine plane in Four feet seam supposed to have been riding and fallen off. Riding was not permitted on that portion of the plane

Harris, Llewellyn, 10 Sep 1887, aged 15, Door boy, Struck either by a horse or by tram on a heading 9ft. wide and 6ft. high. The haulier was pushing another tram towards the first to be coupled thereto

Hennesy, Dennis, 02 Mar 1889, aged 24, Rider, Crushed by trams. While riding on a rope behind a full journey down an engine plane two trams ran wild from the top in consequence of stop blocks having been left open and overtook the journey

Howells, Evan, 10 Dec 1914, aged 38, Collier, Fall of roof in stall road as he was clearing some rubbish from the rail to allow a horse to pass. Six pairs of double timbers were discharged by the fall

Howells, John E., 31 May 1889, aged 13, Door boy, Crushed by trams. His haulier had brought a full tram from a cross heading to the main heading and then went a few yards up the latter to bring down another tram. Deceased had followed the haulier out and got in behind the first tram and when the haulier lowered the second down the boy was crushed between the two trams

Howells, William, 10 Jun 1904, (accident: 09 Jun 1904, 7.15 a.m.), aged 53, Labourer, When unloading timbers from a railway wagon, deceased cut away the upright timbers holding the horizontal ones in position, and before he could get out of the way a nine feet prop fell on him, and inflicted serious internal injuries. He died on the following day

Hughes, John, 23 Aug 1912, aged 48, Ripper, He walked out of a horse way, leading on to the main haulage road, just as a full journey was passing. He was caught, fatally injured, and died the same day

Jehu, Samuel, 07 Jul 1892, 10.30 a.m., 4th hour of shift, aged 21, Collier, A piece of rock, 9 sq. ft. from 2 in. to 18 in. thick, burst out of the roof from a slant, and knocked deceased against the tram he was filling. Roof not double timbered over roadway

Jenkins, John, 09 Jun 1882, aged 13, Door boy, Run over by a tram of coal

Jenkins, Samuel, 11 Oct 1889, (accident: 16 Aug 1889), aged 39, Pitman, While deceased and another man were pulling down a door frame set in brick work a fall of roof occurred and injured them both. Deceased died 11th October. Six Feet seam in heading between the two shafts

Jones, Charles, 11 Dec 1911, (accident: 20 Nov 1911), aged 31, Haulier, Fall of roof on road. A small stone fell on his hand. He worked eight or nine days after, but blood poisoning supervened, from which he died on 11th December, 1911

Jones, Cleveland, 08 May 1914, aged 25, Cutterman, Fall of roof at face. He was killed by a fall of roof as he was placing a prop beside the coal cutting machine

Jones, David, 07 Nov 1889, (accident: 04 Nov 1889), aged 21, Labourer, He was holding a light while a ripper pulled down some loose stones after a shot and pieces of it fell off on him. Died 7th Nov. Four Feet Seam. Nottingham longwall

Jones, David, 10 Mar 1897, aged 45, Hardheadingman, Struck by stone from a shot fired forty yards away

Jones, David, 13 Nov 1903, 12.15 p.m., aged 14, Collier Boy, Fall of side. At face, coal, 4 ft. by 13 ins. by 3 ft. thick, fell off a vertical break. The coal overhung 13 inches, and should have been spragged. The collier in charge of the stall said that he had warned deceased to keep away from that side of the stall. Six feet seam

Jones, David, 04 Oct 1909, aged 59, Hard ground man, Deceased, having tumbled two empty trams on the side of a rising, arched, roadway, to allow the haulier to bring a full tram from the face, stood, on the low side of the empty trams while this was being done, instead of getting into a good manhole immediately opposite. The full tram safely passed the first, but struck the second and shifted it forward. Deceased tried to pass the horse, fell, and was run over. The empty tram had been tumbled too near the road

Jones, James, 31 May 1913, aged 14, Collier Boy, Fall of roof at working face

Jones, John, 02 Mar 1883, aged 30, Shackler, Struck by hauling rope

Jones, John, 11 Jan 1905, 4.40 p.m., aged 22, Rider, Deceased was killed by a runaway empty tram at the feet of a gradient of 6 ins. per yard. The tram had been attached to an endless rope by two clips, one of which was afterwards found unbroken on the gradient. The other was found, in a damaged condition, still attached to the tram. The clips could not have been securely fastened to the rope

Jones, Jonah, 18 Feb 1902, 12.45 p.m., aged 45, Collier, Fall of side. At face, fireclay and shale, 11 ft. by 4½ ft. by 3 ft. thick, fell off a "back slip." Two sprags were crushed out. Nine feet seam

Jones, Robert R., 09 Feb 1895, aged 22, Rider, Crushed by runaway tram of rubbish on engine plane the rope having broken at the capping

Jones, Thomas, 19 May 1904, 5 p.m., aged 18, Collier, Fall of side. At face, coal, 27 ft. by 3 ft. by 2 ft. thick, fell on deceased, killing him and injuring two other men. This top coal, from under which the bottom coal had been worked, had been supported by four sprags and four props. When the sprags supporting 18 feet of the coal were knocked out to get the coal down, the whole length fell, crushing the four props out. Taking such a length of coal down at one operation is very dangerous, on account of the great area of roof exposed, unpropped, while the coal is being filled away. Six feet seam [More information ...]

Jones, Thomas, 20 Nov 1912, aged 69, Ashman, Killed by falling down a lift on surface. The lift is used for bringing up loaded trams from the boiler level below

Jones, William, 12 Jun 1888, aged 24, Labourer, Fall of roof at mouth of an old stall which had been stowed where he was building a wall of stones. He attempted to remove a cog before the wall was built. 4 feet seam, 6ft. thick. Longwall

Jones, William, 19 Oct 1901, aged 30, Labourer, Fell a depth of 53 ft. from a ledge. No-one knows what caused him to fall. Died in two days

Lewis, Thomas, 26 Jan 1901, aged 24, Brakesman, Crushed between locomotive and waggon while going between them to couple, instead of using the coupling hook provided

Lewis, William, 09 Oct 1909, aged 26, Rider, Slipped off the chain and fell in front of a journey of full trams which was being drawn up a road of ample dimensions

Lloyd, David, 28 Nov 1893, aged 52, Repairer, Fall of a small piece of stone from the roof on road while retimbering a large hole. Four feet seam

Lock, Walter, 19 Jul 1927, aged 34, Collier, Fall of top while holing coal. Died 9th June

Loosemore, George, 11 Sep 1899, aged 54, Sheave oiler, He was crossing the endless rope near the pulley, when his leg was caught between the rope and pulley, and he was drawn round, and crushed against a beam of timber

Malooney, Jeremiah, 01 Mar 1895, aged 39, Shackler, A journey of five trams of ashes was being drawn up rubbish tip incline when one of the shackles opened and four of the trams ran wild and caught deceased at bottom. He had neglected to attatch the bar-hook

Miles, William, 18 Feb 1893, aged 28, Haulier, In moving a tram by hand assisted by a collier it overpowered them and deceased who was in front was crushed against a pair of timbers at a bend where the tram left the rails. This was an improper method of moving a tram

Morris, John P., 13 Mar 1907, 9 a.m., aged 38, Collier, Fall of side. At face, coal and clod, 13½ ft. by 2 ft. by 37 ins. thick. Deceased knocked out two sprags, set for the purpose of supporting overhanging coal, and while doing something at the face, the coal and clod fell on him. He should have pulled the coal down before doing anything else. Six-feet seam

Mould, Walter, 01 Apr 1892, 9.45 p.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 29, Labourer, Fall of roof at face of rubbish stall, which had not been double timbered except in places

Murton, Horace, 02 May 1924, 1.15 a.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 17, Colliers' Boy, His head was crushed against the side of a tram by a stone falling from the edge of the rippings in the face of a stall road in the 9-ft. seam. The roof was strong clift with irregular glassy joints, and the stone fell from between the last pair of timber and the face of the rippings. Oil flame safety lamp used

Palmer, James, 10 Feb 1887, aged 14, Collier, Fall of roof on side of stall road 7 yards back from face. Longwall

Phillips, Edward C., 24 Jun 1927, aged 28, Collier, Fall of stone from top

Powell, Horace, 23 Oct 1901, aged 32, Master Haulier, Fall of roof. On road, cliff, 18 ft. by 12 ft. by 19 ft. thick. This large fall occurred suddenly at a place closely timbered, discharging 5 pairs of timber. There was probably a cavity above the timbers. Six feet seam

Price, David, 30 Jun 1888, aged 33, Rider, Run over by journey on engine plane. He was riding up a portion of the deep where he was not required. Road 9ft. wide 6ft. high. Rock roof, not timbered

Price, Edward, 10 Oct 1900, 2.30 a.m., aged 35, Repairer, Fall of side. On road, cliff, 3 ft. x 2½ ft. x 1 ft. 8 ins. thick, fell between two "arms," while he was lagging behind them. Four feet seam

Raikes, Walter, 27 Nov 1924, (accident: 25 Nov 1924, 9.0 a.m., 3rd hour of shift), aged 25, Collier, He was working off some bottom coal in a bed, 9 ft. thick, when a ball of mine, weighing about 100 lbs., fell and broke off the friable top coal. He was caught by the fall of coal and mine, and died from his injuries on the 27th November. Electric safety lamp used

Rees, David, 15 Jan 1902, (accident: 06 Sep 1901), aged 35, Haulier, On the 6th September, 1901, deceased, while riding on the "gun," was crushed slightly between it and the tram, through the horse turning one side. He resumed work on the 9th December, 1901, and continued to work until the 14th January of this year. He was taken ill and died on the following day from general inflammation of the bowels together with rupture

Rees, John, 26 Jun 1901, aged 29, Collier, Fall of roof. At face, clod, 14 ft. by 2½ ft. by 17 ins. thick, from between two diagonal "slants," it was not supported. Six feet seam

Reynolds, William, 03 May 1910, aged 36, Platelayer, Trams ran wild down surface incline through breakage of bull chain and ran over him where he was working at bottom of incline

Richards, David, 03 Dec 1909, aged 64, Repairer, Fall of roof. Deceased, having removed an old arm, was clearing rubbish from the floor of an untimbered portion of a main return, when a fall of about 6 tram-loads of cliff occurred. During the process of recovering the body two other falls occurred, making a total of about 20 trams and leaving a cavity of 15 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet thick

Roberts, Richard, 29 Oct 1904, 4.30 p.m., aged 58, Ripper, Fall of roof. On road. Deceased was removing three pairs of timber that had become too low, forming a "bridge," there being higher timbers at each end. He put a prop under the outer collar, and cut out one of the arms. He then stood under the middle pair, and knocked the prop from under the outer collar. When the latter fell, the pair above him also came down, and he was buried by the rubbish which had rested on the collars. A mechanical appliance should have been used for drawing the timbers out. Six feet seam

Robotham, Benjamin, 1915

Sadler, William, 07 Apr 1914, aged 24, Shifter, Fall of roof at the mouth of a heading road as he was assisting to put up timber

Stidder, Charles, 31 Jul 1895, aged 29, Ripper, Fail of bastard roof rock 7ft. x 4ft x 16ins. thick from a joint unnoticed. Deceased and others were sitting taking their food under it near the place they had been ripping. Four feet seam

Street, Edgar, 24 Nov 1891, aged 20, Collier, Fall of roof (bastard rock) on bending where some timbers had been taken out the previous day the roof having settled and appearing thoroughly secure. 6-ft seam. Long wall

Thomas, David, 03 Mar 1887, aged 23, Collier, A block of coal which he had been trying to take down from one side fell while he was passing to the other side. Longwall

Thomas, David, 12 Oct 1888, aged 12, Door boy, While following haulier with horse and two empty trams up a steep heading the last tram became detached ran back and went over him. It was maintained that there was a bar hook behind the tram

Thomas, John, 02 Nov 1904, 10.30 a.m., aged 41, Haulier, Deceased and two other men were stowing rubbish in an old stall, which dipped inwards 1 in. per yard, and then rose 1½ ins. per yard. A loaded tram, with one wheel spragged, was allowed to run down the stall and part way up the rise. The men followed it, and instead of the sprag preventing it from running back, it dropped out of the wheel, and the tram ran back. Deceased, in attempting to stop it, got his neck crushed and vertebrae fractured against a low collar

Thomas, Richard, 04 Apr 1895, aged 37, Ripper, Fall of roof on road in four feet seam. Deceased and his partner were boring holes to blast down the (bastard rock) when a portion 8ft x 8ft. x 2ft. thick, broke off at a slant parallel to the road It was part of a bridge and untimbered

Thorne, Frank, 02 Apr 1913, aged 22, Shifter, Fall of roof at working face. when laying a "conveyor" road along the face in a 24-inch seam, a "pan-shaped" stone fell and killed him

Warlow, Joseph, 10 Nov 1906, (accident: 30 Oct 1906, 12.15 p.m.), aged 46, Collier, Deceased and his son were walking out on the Branch East endless haulage plane with one light between them. He slipped when passing a laden tram and fell under the wheels, which passed over his legs, as did those of several other trams. The roadway was of ample dimensions, with a space of 1 ft. 10 ins. between the two roads, sufficient manholes, and also room to stand between the trams and the sides. He died on Nov. 10th

Williams, David, 21 Dec 1906, 2.45 p.m., aged 75, Roadman, Deceased was going up a rise heading when the journey, which is lowered by a tail rope, commenced to move. A man standing near called and asked deceased if he was safe. He replied that he was safe in a manhole. Screams were soon after heard, and deceased was found lying on the road. His cap and lamp were found near the next manhole, showing that he had tried to reach it after telling the man that he was safe in a manhole. The road was wide and high enough, and there were sufficient manholes

Williams, John, 13 Feb 1883, aged 50, Repairer, Fall of stone

Williams, Morris, 13 Oct 1880, aged 21, Haulier, Loaded tram passing over his leg

Williams, Robert, 09 May 1883, aged 18, Shackler, Fell under trams