Description

It is rarely that accidents of this nature occur in this district, despite the existence of so large an extent of old workings, where natural gases of one sort or another are expected to be met with ; and had it not been for the recklessness of the deceased, who was a deputy at the colliery, this accident would not have happened.

At the same time, I am quite convinced (although direct evidence, from the nature of the case, could not be produced) that he was endeavouring to do his best to further the interests of his employers ; but in entering the place where he met with his death, his action was one of a kind which has led to many fatalities in the past, even amongst older men, and it cannot be too firmly impressed on the minds of those employed in mines, that unless it is for the purpose of saving life, the idea of a person entering a place, charged with gas, of whatever description, is preposterous.

The evidence given at the inquest, a report of which is appended, shows that there had been a considerable amount of laxity on the part of all concerned, and I therefore felt it my duty to take proceedings, with your permission, against the manager of the colliery for breaches of the General Rules, which resulted in the convictions recorded in Appendix II., for not having an adequate supply of ventilation in the district of the mine affected, and further, for not having recorded in the book kept for the purpose, the presence of gas.

The accompanying report of the inquest speaks for itself, but it should also be stated that the deceased man was responsible for the removal of the brattice cloth referred to in the report, and as a matter of fact took it away himself without authority from any of his superiors, although considering the inclination of the seam at that point, eight inches to the yard, and the probability of fire-damp accumulating there, it was essentially a place that should have had especial care and attention.

On Thursday, March 3rd, at the Whitehaven Magistrates' Court-room, Mr. Gordon Falcon held an adjourned inquest into the circumstances attending the death of Thomas Williams, the Croft Pit deputy, who was suffocated by gas last Friday afternoon. Mr. L. T. Helder appeared to watch the proceedings on behalf of the Whitehaven Colliery Company. Mr. Hedley and Mr. Leck, Government Inspectors of Mines, were present ; and Mr. A. Sharp (miners' agent) watched the proceedings on behalf of the miners and relatives of the deceased.

Thomas Smith deposed : I am an overman at Croft Pit, Whitehaven Colliery, and was on duty there last Friday. The deceased was a deputy under me, and went on at the same time, 11 a.m. The place in which this gas was standing was 26 or 27 yards up from the main road ; and it had been standing since the 16th of February, and this happened on the 25th. At the time they were working it there was bratticing to take the air in but that was taken down on the 16th or 17th, when the place was fenced off. They took off the bratticing because that helped to ventilate other places.

The Coroner: Have you no better reason than that for cutting the air off? Supposing a fall should take place the gas would be driven straight out into the other workings.

Witness : Well, it would not be taken down without orders.

Well, did you give the order to take it down? No, I didn't. I never examined the place more than five or six yards beyond the fence, after the 16th. We had an idea it would make some gas ; as we expected some. I could not say positively when I was in last before the accident, but I was in nearly every day. I had been in on the Thursday. It was fenced off right across the entrance with props and deal. When I was in I found gas, although I was only in five yards or six yards. I found gas on the Monday before this happened. I am the person who signs the report book. I have the report book with me. [Book produced.] We don't consider it necessary to make any report as to disused places. The first time this particular place was mentioned in the report book as having gas was after the accident. The morning overman who had to examine the place was Christopher Gregory ; and he had two deputies with him — William Rogan and John E. Smith. Sometimes they went together, but not always. The accident happened soon after 5 p.m. I was then coming from work, and coming past this place I heard moaning. and called for assistance. The moaning was from behind the fence. When I went through the fence I saw a lamp standing about 4 yards on the in-bye side of the fence, but it was out. It had been set down, and was not lying on its side. By the look of it deceased had been trying the gas, and then had put the lamp out and put it down; he was further in than that. The gas in the place was carburetted hydrogen.

By Mr. Hedley : I have been overman at this pit nine or ten years. The deputy goes round in the morning to see that the working places are clear from gas, and the overman generally goes down with him. I do that work. I go down every morning with a deputy. For the morning shift we have five deputies going down, and we have two overmen.

And how do the two overmen manage to travel round with the five deputies? — Well, one morning he will go with one, and another he will go with another.

Can you tell who was the overman who went round that morning? — Gregory was on the fore shift.

Can you say whether he examined this place — I can't say that. On Monday morning I was there and examined the place, along with Williamson, the deputy. There was a little gas in, but we did not consider it was necessary to report it. All other places were clear. The brattice had then been taken out. I had not given orders for the brattice to be taken out. The brattice would go for other purposes to other places. We knew that there was some gas standing, when we were going every day. Witness explained where two men were working in that district, cutting into this disused place. Any air that went on to these men would have to pass the disused place before it got to them.

Did it not occur to you that you should have given orders to have the brattice put up again? — Well, the gas never went to the men ; the air did not go round the disused place, but passed it and I did not think it was necessary to have the brattice up. It was doing no harm to the men — not any. [Mr. Hedley Well. that's a very funny way of carrying on the business.] This place was stopped because it was far enough up. It would not be required any more after the road had been cut through. Smith, Rogan, and Williamson would all sign the report book. There never was an report made of gas in that particular place before the accident. They examined disused places in the vicinity of working places, to see that there was no gas coming off upon the men, but did not report unless the men were affected thereby. Any gas made in this place would not pass on to the men.

By the Coroner : This place was not only temporarily stopped — it would never be used any more.

By Mr. Sharp : Are you not supposed to report these things? — Well, if there is anything to tell we have to tell them, you know.

By Mr. Helder : All the coal had been taken out of this working, and it was fenced on the 16th of February. The place was permanently stopped. Nobody would work in it again.

By Mr. Hedley : The place would not have been stowed up? — No.

You would not have used it for ventilating purposes? — Oh, yes, for ventilating purposes.

But not for working coal? — Not for working coal ; no.

George Thomas, a coal hewer, was working in the new working that was to meet the old one. Witness last saw Williams in his place at a little turned five. Williams was one of the deputies for this district. He asked them how they were doing, and his "marrow" Walker replied that they thought the other place was not far enough up. "Oh, yes," he said, "it's far enough up — get a hole put in" — meaning a hole through it. That was all that passed. Witness did not hear anything said about Williams giving them a knock. It would scarcely be five minutes after Williams left that a lad came and shouted for them out of the working, and witness and his marrow went and found Smith had gone up the disused working to get Williams. Witness was there when they were brought out, and Williams was dead.

By Mr. Hedley : Witness had no idea at the time that deceased had gone round to give them a knock.

By Mr. Sharp : Witness went up for Smith, with the reins round him, and got him at about twenty yards beyond the fence so that the gas had overpowered Smith at that distance.

Henry Walker corroborated the evidence given by the last witness.

Can you imagine what Williams went in there for? — Well, I should think he went in there to knock.

But you did not understand from his conversation that he was going to do that? — No, we did not but I don't know anything else he could go there for. He may or may not have gone for that purpose.

Wm. Rogan deposed that he was a deputy at Croft Pit. He went down in the morning with Christopher Gregory and John E. Smith an hour and a quarter before the beginning of the morning shift, he examined the working place of Thomas and Walker. He was not in the place that was stopped. He believed Gregory was in but he did not know whether he was or not. Witness was in the place when it was railed off, about the 17th. That was the last time he was in it. Witness knew there was gas in it. When witness was in on the 17th the brattice had then some of it gone — it was broken down so as to be useless. Witness could not think of any other reason for which deceased would go into the place except to give the men a knock. The place was marked with chalk on the fence, "No road." That was to keep the working men out, but did not apply to the officials.

By Mr. Hedley : When witness left the place on the 17th he did not think there was anything left in the place that might require to be brought out. Witness did not know whether deceased might have gone in to get any of the brattice that was left there ; he did not think there would be any that was any use. Witness was a little before Gregory, and could not say whether Gregory was in the disused place — they were about 15 yards apart. Although witness heard them saying there was gas in the place witness did not examine it, because it was fenced off, and they only examined the working places.

By Mr. Sharp : He thought it was Williams who fenced the place off. Reports as to places fenced off were delivered to the manager.

The Coroner said it seemed perfectly clear that the man was killed with gas. In his construction of the Act — he might be wrong — it would certainly seem that this was a place that should have been examined, because although it was not a working part, it should have been ventilated to keep the gas from accumulating there. Of course that might have been a very serious question had an explosion occurred. Gas was lighter than air, and would naturally rise to the top of the working, which rose at a steep inclination ; but the time would come when it must leak out into the workings ; or supposing a fall had taken place it would be driven out with the same danger to those employed in the adjoining workings. However, fortunately nothing of that kind did happen. One could not see for what reason the deceased went there, unless as suggested it was to give them a knock through and he thought if deceased had used due caution, knowing the place was standing full of gas, as he must have done, he would probably not have been overcome in the way he was. He would appear to have put his lamp down and went further in, and the further in he went the denser would be the gas. But the question the jury had to consider was not one of compensation, or anything of that kind, but simply how the man came by his death, and whether anyone was criminally liable for the cause thereof. So far as criminality was concerned, there was a duty upon the deceased as much as upon anyone else to examine the place before he went in.

The jury returned a verdict that the deceased was by misadventure suffocated by gas.

Extracts from the Inquest into this death.

Related Articles

Mines Inspectors Report Entry

Sources

• 1898 Mines Inspectors Report (C 9264), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 18 Where to find this report
• 1898 Mines Inspectors Report (C 9264), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 30, Accident Number: 76 Where to find this report

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