Worsley Mesnes Colliery

Current Status - Page under construction! and is far, far from complete!

Beardsmore, Joshua, 20 Nov 1925, aged 20, Haulage, Drawn into pulley

Bibby, William, 30 Dec 1904, aged 40, Charge-man, Inspection made and inquest attended. The deceased persons were at the bottom of the downbrow tunnel, and appear to have connected the wires of a shot to a cable attached to the electric (haulage) signal, which exploded the shot, fatally injuring Collinson, and also Bibby who succumbed to the injuries received at the Wigan Infirmary [More information ...]

Birch, Robert, 09 Feb 1921, aged 43, Miner, Killed by a fall of roof

Brown, Ellis, 19 Feb 1885, aged 19, Drawer, Inspection made and inquest attended. Deceased was bringing his loaded tram out when it jumped off the road at a bend and knocked a prop out causing a stone to fall on him

Burns, James, 02 Jun 1897, aged 32, Contractor, Inspection made and inquest attended. He was knocking out a prop from under the roof on the lower side of the pack wall with his hammer. He was caught by the edge of the fall, and was killed. The deceased had been using the gablock and chain for getting previous props out, but did not select to use it on this occasion

Burns, William, 19 Feb 1909, aged 22, Drawer, When engaged in pulling a thin layer of dirt down from the roof, at the face, some of the other roof above fell upon him

Burton, James, 07 Nov 1856, A stone falling from the side of the pit which he was sinking

Cafferty, Martin, 17 Sep 1920, aged 55, Dataller, Fall of roof — fractured skull

Clayton, William, 06 Jul 1895, aged 24, Brakesman, Inquiry made and inquest attended. The deceased in jumping off the buffers in front of a coal train in order to turn the points on the railway company's siding he stumbled and fell across the rail the wagon passing over his right leg. He died at the Wigan Infirmary the same night

Close, George, 11 Oct 1892, (accident: 24 Aug 1892, 10 p.m., 4th hour of shift), aged 21, Contractor, Inspection made and inquest attended. Deceased was assisting to clear a fall of roof when a stone fell from the side, causing internal injuries to which he succumbed on 11th October

Collinson, James, 30 Dec 1904, aged 52, Fireman, Inspection made and inquest attended. The deceased persons were at the bottom of the downbrow tunnel, and appear to have connected the wires of a shot to a cable attached to the electric (haulage) signal, which exploded the shot, fatally injuring Collinson, and also Bibby who succumbed to the injuries received at the Wigan Infirmary [More information ...]

Cox, William, 18 Aug 1887, aged 43, Collier, Inspection made. A shot had been fired in his place which was five yards wide and instead of putting up a bar at once he went on filling the coal when a large stone fell knocking out two props and a bar which was seven feet from the face of the coal

Darbyshire, James, 01 May 1889, aged 36, Underlooker, Inspection made and inquest attended. He had just got into the drawing road from one of the working places, when a piece of clod fell from a "slip" at the side, and, running out to a feather edge over the props, which were set in the middle of the road

Groves, Joseph, 06 Nov 1919, aged 50, Rope inspector, Caught by gablock chain

Halliday, Thomas, 03 Oct 1920, (accident: 18 Sep 1920), aged 27, Dataller, Bruise on leg causing menengitis. Died 3rd Oct

Hampson, James, 22 Mar 1886, aged 40, Collier, Inspection made and inquest attended. Deceased was taking a ribbing off a pillar and instead of setting his props every 3 feet as ordered worked for a distance of 7 feet without any timber when a stone fell from over the face and breaking of at the last row of props

Haughton, Robert, 02 Jun 1905, aged 43, Contractor, Inquiry made and inquest attended. Deceased met with a fatal accident, which was due to the explosive saxonite exploding when he was charging the hole with a copper rammer. The first part of the charge only had been put in, the detonator not being in the hole at the time, so that the shot apparently exploded through friction or concussion

Henry, Edward, 26 Sep 1916, aged 36, Contractor, Prop came out which struck him on the head

Hilton, Isaac, 03 Aug 1889, aged 35, Underground Machinery Examiner, Inspection made and inquest attended. He was oiling a pulley and put his hand on the rope, when it was drawn into the pulley, and in trying to extricate himself his head was also caught by the pulley

Hodkinson, Percy, 26 Jan 1921, aged 43, Brakesman, Fell off waggon which passed over him

Holmes, Thomas, 31 Aug 1897, aged 43, Contractor, Inspection made and inquest attended. The deceased who was an authorised shotlighter had asked the fireman to assist him in firing a wet blowing up floor shot and through a misunderstanding of the signalling the shot was fired before the deceased had got clear away and he was instantly killed. Caused by a shotlighter allowing some other person than himself the use of the battery

Hooke, John, 15 Aug 1929, aged 65, Pumpman, Killed by falling down shaft

Kearsley, Richard, 28 Nov 1917, aged 44, Loco driver, Engine overturned killing him instantly

Lee, Richard, 15 Nov 1876, aged 48, Collier, Fall of coal

Lockman, Michael, 14 Dec 1895, aged 54, Prop drawer, Inspection and inquiry made. The deceased and another man were engaged drawing out timber behind the wide work face when the roof gave way crushing him before he could clear himself

Lowe, John, 08 Nov 1896, (accident: 30 Oct 1896), aged 44, Collier, Inquiry made. He was working at the face when a piece of bat and coal struck him on the head. He walked home and did not report the accident to the officials. He died at the infirmary November 8th after undergoing an operation

McGarr, Joseph, 29 Nov 1899, aged 14, Lasher on, Inspection made and inquest attended. He was engaged in the endless haulage shunt unlashing empty tubs from the rope, when a large rock fell upon him from the roof. The whole of the shunt was on weight at the time. At the inquiry it was recommended that lashing-on places should be timbered

Melling, James, 25 Aug 1890, aged 47, Timberman, Inspection made. Deceased and another man were sent to repair some bars in a down brow where the roof was very bad and the floor soft and while so engaged the roof fell in for a distance of five or six yards. It is supposed that they must have accidentally interfered with the foot of one of the props

Molyneaux, Charles, 24 Feb 1915, aged 31, Collier, Stone fell from roof and broke his neck

Molyneux, John, 21 Aug 1888, aged 16, Labourer, Inspection made. He was in a waggon under the screens when by some misunderstanding between the two waggon lowered some other waggons were allowed to bump against that in which deceased was and he was knocked against a shoot injuring his chest

Murphy, Patrick, 09 Dec 1898, (accident: 05 Dec 1898), aged 19, Drawer, Inquiry made. The deceased was bringing his full tub along the main road in the cannel mine dipping about two inches per yard when there was some loose dirt on the rail and in giving the tub an extra push his foot slipped on the rail and he fell against the edge of the tub causing internal injuries from the effects of which he died on the 9th instant

Newton, Alfred J., 10 Sep 1926, aged 60, Chargehand, Buried by fall of ground

O'Brien, A., 07 Feb 1906, aged 40, Dataller, Inspection made. He appears to have been loosening some props at the foot, with a hammer, in order to blow the roof down, when a fall of ley roof occurred upon him, causing fatal injuries. This accident might have been prevented by the use of the gablock or pulling jack

Parrett, Henry, 09 Apr 1884, aged 32, Collier, Inspection made. Deceased was sitting in the engine plane near a refuge place as the journey went up, and was warned several times to go into the refuge place. The coupling of the rope broke, and the tubs running back were thrown off the road by the "devil" and against deceased

Pendlebury, John, 02 Apr 1894, aged 35, Collier, Inspection made and inquest attended. Deceased was killed by a fall of roof in the shunt where they had considered the roof good and had not been timbered for a distance of 5 yards

Rutter, John, 03 Feb 1887, aged 21, Prop taker, Inspection made and inquest attended. He had drawn a prop and was stepping back out of the way when he came in contact with another prop, which threw him forward and at the same time a stone fell and caught him

Rutter, Thomas, 05 Sep 1913, aged 32, Collier, The haulage rope in a tunnel dipping 1 in 4 was stopped as usual at 2 p.m. and four men started to travel up the tunnel at the end of their shift. Shortly afterwards the rope was re-started by the man in charge at the top of the tunnel in order to move some empty tubs from an unsafe position. The starting of the rope caused a lashing chain, attached to a set of three full tubs to break. The tubs ran down the tunnel and struck deceased, inflicting injuries from which he died the same day

Silcock, Richard, 05 Mar 1904, aged 63, Wagon-greaser, Inspection made and inquest attended. Deceased stepped in front of a standing waggon, just at the moment that it was bumped by some others, and it was knocked forward, fatally crushing deceased. The other waggons were being pushed by a locomotive, and it was said the driver was blowing the whistle. The breaksman was also looking about, but did not see the deceased until the accident had occurred

Stone, Charles, 06 Apr 1904, aged 50, Collier, Fall of roof. Inspection made and inquest attended. He was engaged getting bottom coal out in the Wigan six feet mine pillars, when a sudden weighting of the roof occurred, capping a prop and knocking out others, and the deceased was fatally injured

Talbot, William, 04 Jan 1890, aged 25, Waggon lowerer, Inspection made and inquest attended. Whilst lowering a waggon he was crushed against a post which was too near the rails to allow him to do his work with safety

Taylor, John W., 09 Apr 1902, aged 14, Learning to lash on, Inquiry made and inquest attended. He was standing watching the proper lasher-on liberate the full tubs off the haulage rope, which when liberated, ran down a small incline. The lasher-on stated he shouted to deceased to stand out of the way, as there was plenty of room, but he got caught by the running tubs, and was fatally injured

Thomas, Isaac, 21 Feb 1893, aged 28, Metalman, Inspection made and inquest attended. When driving an exploring level to prove through some disturbed ground a fall occurred from between two steps crossing the road which they had neglected to timber. The officials should have instructed that the place should have been propped during their last examination

Thorpe, William, 15 Jan 1915, aged 35, Contractor, Killed by a fall of roof

Waring, John, 15 Jan 1874, aged 26, Sinker, Overwinding hoppet stone fell down pit

Wheatley, William, 17 Feb 1897, (accident: 30 Jan 1897), aged 35, Fireman, Inquiry made. He was assisting to draw some bars out from under the roof and was holding his safety lamp when a fall of ley occurred causing a prop to strike the deceased in the stomach. He walked home and the injury was considered slight at the time but it afterwards proved fatal on February 17th 1897

Whittlecroft, Frederick, 17 Feb 1899, (accident: 14 Feb 1899), aged 19, Belt engineman, Inspection made and inquest attended. The fencing of this engine had been taken away to repair the engine. Whittlecroft got his fingers between the spur wheels, and they were severely crushed, and he afterwards had to have them amputated at the infirmary. He succumbed to the injuries received February 17th, 1899. This accident would probably not have happened if the fence had been replaced