	Woolmet Colliery	Index	Woolmet Colliery

Woolmet Colliery

Location:	Niddrie, Portobello 4½ miles [7 km] ESE of Edinburgh
Map Ref:	(Sheet 66 Edinburgh, Penicuik and North Berwick) NT312699, 55° 55' 2" N, 3° 6' 3" W
Opened:
Closed:
Owners:	Niddrie and Benhar Coal Co., Ltd.
	1947 - National Coal Board (N.C.B.)
Output:	1905 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing.
	1910 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing.
	1915 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing.
	1920 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing.
	1947 - Coal: Gas, Household, Manufacturing, Steam. (270,000 tons)
	1954 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing, Steam.
Employment:	1905 - 148 (126 below, 22 surface)
	1910 - 732 (665 below, 67 surface)
	1915 - 569 (507 below, 62 surface)
	1920 - 907 (749 below, 158 surface)
	1923 - 894 (735 below, 159 surface)
	1933 - 883 (706 below, 177 surface)
	1940 - 991 (803 below, 188 surface)
	1947 - 693 (527 below, 166 surface)
	1954 - 860 (700 below, 160 surface)
Seams Worked:	1905 - Blackband
	1910 - Fifteen Feet, Five Feet, Nine Feet, Salters
	1915 - Fifteen Feet, Five Feet, Nine Feet, Salters
	1920 - Fifteen Feet, Five Feet, Nine Feet, Salters
	1954 - Fifteen Feet, Five Feet, Little Splint, Nine Feet, Salters
Notes:	Current Status - Page under construction! and is far, far from complete!

Description

Disasters (5 or more killed)

None found.

Names of those killed at this colliery

Please note that this collection of names is by no means complete!

						Allan, David, 16 Feb 1916, aged 63, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Anderson, Andrew, 09 Feb 1958, aged 36, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Benn, Robert, 14 Mar 1930, aged 45, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Beveridge, James, 12 Dec 1907, aged 31, Brusher, The roadway was being widened close to the shaft bottom to make room for a brick wall, when a piece of coal fell off the side upon deceased
						Brown, Thomas, 25 Jul 1946, aged 55, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Chalmers, John, 13 Nov 1918, aged 24, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Clark, Christina, 18 Apr 1918, aged 16, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Clark, James, 08 Jan 1914, aged 24, Repairer, He was walking into a level driven through old stoops when a flat piece of blaes roof fell, without warning, and killed him instantly. The timbering rules required crowns to be set every 5 ft. on the roads under roof of the kind which fell, and if these had been set the accident would have been avoided
						Crawford, Robert, 18 Oct 1945, aged 66, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Dalling, James, 02 Apr 1914, aged 14
						Davis, Thomas, 21 Aug 1930, aged 49, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Docherty, Edward, 14 Feb 1910, aged 19, Drawer, He coupled an empty hutch on at the bottom of a face brae, and when it had gone a few feet the chain broke about 8 feet from the hutch. The hutch ran back and caught the deceased. The chain was 5/16 in., and appeared to be quite good, but as there were one or two joining links in it probably one of these gave way
						Easton, George, 23 Dec 1926, aged 50, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Fairgrieve, Robert, 03 Feb 1911, aged 29, Miner, He was taking down coal, after firing a shot, when some of it suddenly fell upon and fatally crushed him
						Flynn, Thomas, 23 Aug 1918, aged 48, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Gibson, Frank, 14 Mar 1930, aged 38, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Graham, George, 18 Jun 1933, aged 32, Miner, Killed by a fall of stone from the roof
						Hamilton, Robert, 09 Dec 1921, aged 56, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Leslie, Alex, 20 Jun 1925, aged 40, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Letheny, James, 25 Jan 1929, aged 50, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Marr, William, 17 Mar 1940, aged 32, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Matchell (Pole), Joseph, 20 Oct 1909, aged 26, Miner, Deceased was "backening" coal to the road, when the roof suddenly fell upon him
						McDonald, Daniel, 24 Jan 1929, aged 25, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						McLauchlan, John, 01 Jul 1910, aged 43, Miner, He was pinching down coal from the face when some fell suddenly and caught and knocked him against a hutch. When coal is being levered down a hutch should not be left in such a position as to impede a man jumping clear in case of more coal or stone falling than is expected
						McVee, William, 23 Aug 1918, aged 19, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Middleton, Nisbet, 01 May 1930, aged 43, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Millar, Samuel, 30 Aug 1951, aged 42, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Murray, David, 18 Dec 1922, 5.40 a.m., 8th hour of shift, aged 26, Machineman, He was flitting a coal cutting machine along the face when the spindle of the haulage pulley broke. The pulley struck him on the back of the head, fracturing his skull and killing him instantly. The frame carrying the haulage pulley was of such design as to allow the pulley to be drawn out when the spindle broke. An ordinary 5/8in. diameter bolt was in use as a spindle
						Murray, William, 30 Oct 1913, aged 44, Miner, He was passing along a roadway when a portion of the post roof, 6 ft. by 5 ft., 16 in. thick at one side, and tapering to a feather edge on the other side, fell on him without any warning. He died about three hours later
						Murry, John, 11 Dec 1923, aged 23, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Placido, Carmen, 01 Aug 1919, aged 24, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Porteous, James, 08 Mar 1931, aged 33, Oncostman, Killed by a fall of stone
						Primrose, James, 21 Nov 1934, aged 33, Miner, Electrocuted
						Rae, Thomas, 24 Jan 1935, aged 40, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Ramsay, Charles, 23 Nov 1938, aged 30, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Stewart, William, 07 Apr 1947, aged 34, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Sutherland, Daniel, 25 Feb 1919, aged 19, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Swan, Andrew, 17 Jan 1928, aged 70, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Tyson, John, 29 May 1957, aged 72, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Walker, Edward, 05 Dec 1923, aged 30, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Waller, George, 13 Sep 1940, aged 48, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Weigham, John, 30 Jun 1935, aged 50, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Wilson, Philip, 22 Nov 1911, aged 22, Railway Shunter, He was shunting waggons up to some others which he intended taking away. As they were nearing each other he tried to jump between them to reach the other side of the rails but was caught between the buffers. He had a coupling pole in his hand at the time
						Wood, Thomas, 31 Mar 1960, aged 60, [details unknown - name listed on Colliery Memorial]
						Wright, John, 19 Jan 1931, aged 37, Collier, Killed by a fall of stone
						Yorkston, Donald Wright, 12 Nov 1924, 5.30 p.m., 4th hour of shift, aged 18, Miner's Drawer, The massive rock roof had taken a break earlier in the day and the roof was much shattered. After several props had been set work was resumed, and deceased was throwing back coal from the rise side when a fall of slightly over a ton of roof swung out five props and broke his neck. The men should have cut in at the roadhead and should have worked up under new and strong roof instead of attempting to continue in a face which had such a broken roof
						Young, Robert, 22 Apr 1911, aged 48, Brusher, He and his partner were walling stone from brushing when a stone 2 tons in weight, which appeared very strongly supported, fell on to him

						47 names found

If you know of any fatalities missing from the above list then please contact us with the details and we will add them to our database.

Those names marked with , have a web page providing individual details of the accident, the page may also include a photograph of the deceased. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the web page.

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Woolmet Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Woolmet Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1907 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4045), East Scotland District (No. 1) by Robert McLaren, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1909 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5177), East Scotland District (No. 1) by Robert McLaren, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1910 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5676), Scotland District (No. 1) by W. Walker, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1911 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6237), Scotland District (No. 1) by W. Walker, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1913 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 7439), Scotland Division (No. 1) by W. Walker, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1914 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 8023)), Scotland Division (No. 1) by W. Walker, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1915 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1920 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1922 Mines Inspectors Report
1923 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1924 Mines Inspectors Report, Scotland Division (No. 1) by J. Masterton, H.M. Inspector of Mines [DMM Ref: L-01624 - Tom Bainbridge Collection]
1933 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1940 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1947 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1954 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
OS Grid Reference from Adit Now website