| Individual Details | Individual Details | |||
 |
 |
|||
George William Lawther
| Age: | 39 |
| Died: | 13th Apr 1896 |
| Accident: | 13th Apr 1896 10:00 PM |
| Year Born: | abt. 1857 |
| Colliery: | Brancepeth, A Pit |
| Company: | Strakers and Love |
| Occupation: | Stoneman |
| Notes: | an explosion occurred on a main haulage road of the mine ; killed in the 1896 explosion (ignition caused by shot firing) |
| Buried: | St. Stephen's Churchyard/Willington Cemetery |
| Category: | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust |
 |
 |
| Description | |
|
|
Only one fatal explosion, viz., that at Brancepeth Colliery on the 13th of April, occurred. A special report having been made to you on this accident I do not propose to go into the details of it again. The explosion was undoubtedly caused by the firing of a shot on a main engine plane, and the management have now prohibited shot-firing on the main roads entirely, and are introducing the use of higher explosives in the canches and drawing roads, roburite being the explosive selected.
A considerable amount of gunpowder is still, however, being used in the coal and roadways of some of the seams connected with these collieries, but I hope to see the quantity again reduced before long.
Whatever his politics may be the average working miner is very conservative in matters which affect his work, and a change from gunpowder, to which he has been accustomed for years, to an explosive, which has somewhat different characteristics and to which he is a stranger, is sure to be met with a certain amount of disfavour.
A little difficulty is experienced at first starting before the relative proportions of the different explosives to be used to do the same amount of work is thoroughly understood, the tendency being to use more of the higher explosive than is necessary, but when this has been mastered the higher explosives do their work well, and it is only reasonable that both owners and men should yield something in exchange for the greater safety there undoubtedly is in the higher compounds than with gunpowder in mines which are dusty or which give off inflammable gas.
The text of the Report into the disaster is available online here.
|
|
| Memorial: 1896 Brancepeth Colliery Disaster | |
|
|
|
|
| Tombstone | |
|
|
Willington — St. Stephen's Churchyard/Cemetery
Location: OS Map 93, Grid Ref NZ210353
|
This is a low resolution image for web display, if you would like to have a higher resolution image, then please
us quoting reference T-02225-04-0002 and we will make the image available on a temporary page for you to access.
|
| [The image has been requested twice before] |
| Names on this tombstone | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Died | Age | Born |
| Edward LAWTHER | 0 | ||
| George William LAWTHER | 13th Apr 1896 | 39 | 1857 |
| Margaret Ann LAWTHER | 0 | ||
|
|
| Related Articles | |
|
|
| Pub. Date | Article (Newspaper) |
|---|---|
| 14 Apr 1896 | Mine Disaster, Explosion At Brancepeth Colliery, Feared Loss Of 17 Lives (Northern Daily Mail) |
| 15 Apr 1896 | Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 16 Apr 1896 | The Colliery Disaster In Durham (The Times) |
| 17 Apr 1896 | The Colliery Disaster In Durham (The Times) |
| 18 Apr 1896 | The Colliery Disaster In Durham (The Times) |
| 21 Apr 1896 | The Colliery Explosion In Durham (The Times) |
| 14 May 1896 | The Colliery Explosion In Durham (The Times) |
| 15 May 1896 | The Brancepeth Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 16 May 1896 | The Brancepeth Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 14 Sep 1896 | The Brancepeth Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 26 Feb 1897 | News (Northern Daily Mail) |
|
|
| Further Reading | |
|
|
- Mines Inspectors Report into the 1896 Disaster (C. 8174)
- Durham Mining Disasters, c.1700 - 1950s by Maureen Anderson, Published by Wharncliffe Books, 2008, ISBN 1-845630-73-4
|
|
| Mines Inspectors Report Entry | |
|
|
|
|
| Sources | |
|
|
- 1896 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8450), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 23, Accident Number: 172 Where to find this report
- 1896 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8450), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 8 Where to find this report
- Church/Cemetery photograph (T-02206-04-0002) © Kev Duncan
- Headstone(s) in St. Stephen's Churchyard/Cemetery, Willington
- Tombstone photograph (T-02225-04-0002) © Kev Duncan
|
|
| Researchers | |
|
|
| Researcher | Date | Interest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Lawther | 20 Apr 2011 |
I believe George William Lawther may be my Great Great Uncle. If so I am interested in obtaining details of his Father who would be my Great Great Grandfather. Assuming I have worked out the Grear Greats correctly. I know William Lawther (Later Sir Will) was my Grandfather's cousin. Was William (Born 1889) the son of George William? |
|
| Claire Henderson | 24 May 2011 |
My mother Joyce Lawther is intrested in research of her family tree her uncle was the late Sir Will lawther.I will show her this web page. |
|
| Dr. Lewis Mates | 01 Aug 2017 |
George William Lawther was not (Sir) Will Lawther's father. Will's father was called Edward Lawther, born 1855 in Cowpen, Northumberland. Edward's father was called William and is in the 1841 census. He was born in about 1812 in Northumberland, and living in Cowpen in 1841. Much of my research includes material on Will and his brothers and I'd be happy to send it to anyone interested. I am currently writing a book on Will Lawther and would love to talk to anyone related to him about him and the Lawther family. Please email me at lewis.mates at durham.ac.uk |
|
| Bryan Andrew Lawther | 17 Jan 2022 |
George William Lawther who died in this disaster is my great grandfather. His mother was Isabella and his wife was Mary Jane. One of his children was John Lawther who's children were Ronald (my father) and Mary. I have the family bible and In Memorium card for this sad occasion. Hope this helps. |
|
If you are researching George William Lawther (e.g. for family tree purposes) and you would like to hear from others with the same interest then please complete the details in the following form. We will show the information you provide on this page so that you can be contacted.
Return
Return to Top
Contains public sector information licensed under the 
