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	Gallantry		Gallantry

	Thomas Thomas
	Edward Medal, Second Class
	Date:	27 Apr 1913
	Colliery:	Llewelyn Sinking Pit, Glamorganshire
	Occupation:	Mechanic

 

Whitehall, November 7, 1913.

His Majesty the King has been pleased to award the Edward Medal of the Second Class to Thomas Thomas under the following circumstances :—

On the 27th April, 1913, walling was in progress in a shaft, over 500 yards deep and. 20 feet wide, in the Llewelyn Sinking Pit, belonging to the Britannic Merthyr Coal Company Limited, Gilfach Goch, Glamorganshire. Seven men were working on a stage suspended by ropes, about 10 yards from the bottom of the shaft, when a heavy fall occurred, smashing the stage and precipitating the seven men to the bottom of the shaft. As the winding rope had become entangled in the debris it was impossible to descend the shaft direct from the surface. Thomas, a mechanic employed at the colliery, and others accordingly descended another shaft to a seam where there was an inset from the Llewelyn shaft, about 70 yards from the bottom. Thomas volunteered to go down the shaft, and was let down by a rope with a loop at the end, although small falls were occurring at intervals and there was a risk of a larger fall at any moment. Successfully reaching the bottom, he found three men alive and tied them to the rope and they were drawn up separately, after which he himself was drawn up. He ran considerable risk to his own life by his plucky conduct in descending to the rescue of his comrades.

Source: London Gazette (11 Nov 1913)

Email	Researcher	Date	Interest
	Alan Powell	06 Jan 2018	I am Tom Thomas's great grandson and have undertaken extensive research on Tom's family but am keen to find out more.

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