Thomas Wrightson
| Age: | 52 |
| Died: | 11th Oct 1961 |
| Accident: | 11th Oct 1961 |
| Year Born: | abt. 1909 |
| Colliery: | Dean and Chapter |
| Company: | National Coal Board |
| Occupation: | |
| Notes: | caught by chain, address: 72 Faraday Street, Dean Bank, Ferryhill |
| Buried: | [not known] |
| Category: | |
Following an accident involving a coal cutting machine, Thomas Wrightson, aged 52, a development worker at Dean & Chapter Colliery, died a few hours after being admitted to Durham County Hospital on 11 October 1961. Eye-witness Fred Pennington said he was controlling the cutter and Wrightson had to move the "anchor prop", from which a rope was attached to the cutter so that when it was tightened it enabled the machine to be moved forward. "It was necessary to alter the position of the prop because the cutter was going to hit it and the safest position from which to do this was to lie or reach over the machine", he said. "I heard him say 'tighten up' and I turned on the power for the cutter and began tightening up the rope. I was using the slowest speed, and ratchet. I got to the point where I could increase the speed and as I increased the cutter went a bit faster. I heard him shout, I glanced up and saw him still lying more or less over the machine. I stopped the cutter and went to see what had happened and I found him doubled over the front of the machine, facing the controls. He was wedged between the cutter and the coal face, but he did not seem tightly wedged. Wrightson was in pain, but still conscious and said something like "I can hardly breathe..." He had sustained severe crush injuries to his abdomen. Wrightson had been employed at the pit for 30 years; he lived at 72 Faraday Street, Dean Bank, Ferryhill.
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Dean & Chapter Colliery Memorial
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- Contributions by members of the Public
- Memorial photograph (T-04173-05-0002) © Kev Duncan
- Text kindly provided by Jim Grainger from his research into early newspapers (primarily the Durham Advertiser and Durham Chronicle).
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