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	Individual Details		Individual Details

Age:
Died:	30th Jul 1852
Accident:	30th Jul 1852
Born:
Colliery:	Silkstone
Company:	Messrs. Charlesworths
Occupation:
Notes:	Explosion of firedamp
Buried:	[not known]
Category:

Accident No. 13 in the List.

Explosion at Silkstone Colliery, near Barnsley.

A man lost his life in consequence of his hurrier (a boy) burning a candle in a place where safety lamps alone should have been used.

Deceased and another collier were working with lamps, but, strange to say, they allowed the boy to pass to and fro with a naked light, at which the firedamp ignited.

It appeared that the discipline in this mine was far from strict, and the work people, although they were supplied with safety lamps, were permitted to use them or not, as they pleased.

It was further proved that the underground steward had neglected his duty, by leaving three slitts or holings open for several days, which ought to have been closed, and thus the air-current escaped without going to the extremity of the bordgates, where the gas accumulated and the men worked.

If these openings had been stopped up, the air would have been forced towards the face, and the firedamp would most likely have been swept away ; on the other hand, if candles had been entirely excluded (as, under the circumstances, they ought to have been) the gas would not have been kindled.

Air-pipes and brattices should also be more extensively applied here, for the purpose of conveying air to the surface of the bordgates and headings.

The coroner's jury, after long deliberation, returned a verdict of "accidentally burnt;" but some of the jurymen were of opinion that the negligence of the underground steward amounted to "manslaughter."

• 1854 Mines Inspectors Report, by Charles Morton, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 40
• 1854 Mines Inspectors Report, by Charles Morton, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 59, Accident Number: 13

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