Tilmanstone Colliery

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Arnold, Harry, 14 Jan 1909, aged 27, Sinker, The winding engine man overwound the water barrel, which, becoming detached from the rope, owing to breakage of the pin of the D link, fell down the shaft and caused the death of these three men who were on a scaffold to steady the barrel, about 310 yards from the surface and 5 or 6 yards from the bottom [More information ...]

Finn, Frederick, 19 May 1911, aged 41, Pit Sinker, Deceased and some others were cutting holes in the shaft walling to receive the ends of girders which were to support some pump pipes. They stood upon a temporary scaffold which was hung upon two crab ropes attached to the four corners of the scaffold by bridle chains. To enable them to get at the holes, the scaffold was drawn to one side of the shaft and stayed from the other side by three battens nailed to the scaffold and abutting against the walling. A fencing rope was passed round the bridle chains about 3 feet above the scaffold. The undermanager had descended in a bowk, which, owing to the scaffold being out of centre, had rested near the fencing rope, which appeared to have slipped up over the trunnion on one side of the bowk. Having obtained the measurements, he got into the bowk to ascend, and as it was raised away, the trunnion lifted the fencing rope and tilted the scaffold until the rope broke. Deceased slipped over the lower end of the scaffold and fell to a bricking scaffold which was fixed 300 feet below, and was killed on the spot. The other men saved themselves by clinging to the bridle chains. The fencing rope was used as a precaution, but in this case really led to the accident

Finn, George Albert, 17 Sep 1937, aged 43, Miner, killed by a fall of coal

Hambrook, James, 14 Jan 1909, aged 38, Sinker, The winding engine man overwound the water barrel, which, becoming detached from the rope, owing to breakage of the pin of the D link, fell down the shaft and caused the death of these three men who were on a scaffold to steady the barrel, about 310 yards from the surface and 5 or 6 yards from the bottom [More information ...]

Marsh, Alfred James, 11 Nov 1913, aged 35, Stoneman, The accident happened at a new inset which was under construction. A scaffold, suspended by wire ropes and bridle chains from the surface, was fixed 38 feet above the bottom of the shaft in which was 16 feet of water. About two minutes prior to the accident the doors or covers had been removed from an opening 7½ feet by 7 feet in the centre of the scaffold to allow some of the water to be tanked from the sump, and while one of the men was engaged in fastening a fencing rope to the bridle chain at one side of the opening, the deceased crossed the scaffold from the east towards the west side of the pit, and either walked into, or stumbled and fell through, the opening. He fell into the water and immediately sank to the bottom, where he remained until his dead body was recovered by means of grappling irons 45 minutes later. There was a good light at the scaffold, which was illuminated by a cluster of three 32-candle power electric incandescent lamps

Smissen, Richard, 14 Jan 1909, aged 43, Chargeman Sinker, The winding engine man overwound the water barrel, which, becoming detached from the rope, owing to breakage of the pin of the D link, fell down the shaft and caused the death of these three men who were on a scaffold to steady the barrel, about 310 yards from the surface and 5 or 6 yards from the bottom [More information ...]