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John Wilson
| Age: | |
| Died: | 18th Jun 1840 |
| Accident: | 18th Jun 1840 |
| Born: | |
| Colliery: | Hartley |
| Company: | |
| Occupation: | |
| Notes: | boiler explosion |
| Buried: | [not known] |
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| Description | |
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Thursday, melancholy and fatal accident occurred at Hartley colliery, one of the boilers exploding at the Mill pit, whereby two lives were lost, and one of the workmen slightly scalded. The boiler had been "off" for two or three days, for the customary cleansing and inspection and on Thursday, the usual hands pumped the water into her, and the furnace-man fired her. A strong southerly wind had been blowing all the morning, and caused the fire to burn more briskly than common. The consequence was, the steam "balled off" sooner than the engine-man anticipated. He ascended the ladder for the purpose of opening the steam valve, but ere he reached it, the boiler (weighing from six to seven tons) was forced into the air to a height of from forty to fifty feet, and alighted in an easterly direction, about twenty yards from its former position, completely rent asunder at the bottom. The boiler being thrown to this height and distance, proved satisfactorily the strength of the plate; for had it been weak in any place, the force of the steam would have burst it at once, without moving the boiler from its situation. Showers of bricks, broken pipes, metal, and scalding water fell in all directions; and the furnace-man, John Wilson, was so severely scalded and bruised, that he died in a few hours afterwards. James Taylor, the engine-man, from being so close to the boiler, was thrown amongst the ruins with great violence, and was invisible to the anxious spectators for a few minutes, and when the steam had cleared away, he was seen crawling out from amongst the hot bricks, completely disfigured. It is a matter of surprise that he was not killed on the spot, but, as it was, he was carried home, nearly insensible, by his brother, and lingered in great agony until the Monday following, when he died. Verdict, accidental death.
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| Sources | |
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- Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences Connected with the Counties of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham by M.A. Richardson. Published in five volumes in 1844.
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