George Gastard
| Age: | 13 |
| Died: | 2nd Jun 1815 |
| Accident: | 2nd Jun 1815 4:00 PM |
| Year Born: | abt. 1802 |
| Colliery: | Success Pit, Newbottle |
| Company: | Messrs Nesham and Co. |
| Occupation: | |
| Notes: | killed in the 1815 explosion |
| Buried: | 05 Jun 1815 |
| Category: | |
At five o'clock in the afternoon, a dreadful explosion took place in the Success pit, near Newbottle, in the county of Durham, belonging to Messrs Nesham and Co. At the time the accident happened, seventy-two men and boys were at work in the pit, and though the flame did not ascend the shaft, yet a large column of dust plainly indicated to the workmen above ground the sad catastrophe that had happened. Immediate exertions were made to save, if possible, the lives of those in the pit, in which they so far succeeded as to bring all the bodies to bank by the morning of the 4th. Very few of the bodies were disfigured, and in many life was still extant ; several of whom, shocking to relate, died the moment they breathed the fresh air! Of the seventy-two in the pit, fifteen survived, some of whom were severely hurt. Of nineteen horses in the pit, six were killed. It appeared the fire passed down the ways, destroying all that encountered its fury, until it was impeded and broken, as it is termed, by a large wagon, which it dashed to pieces, and mangled the driver and horse in a most shocking manner. After the torrent had passed by them, the men left the workings in hopes of effecting their escape ; but few, alas! were able to reach the shaft, and even some of those, overpowered by after-damp, at the very moment they hoped to have escaped, fell to rise no more! The first person that reached the surface was a little boy, six years of age. By this accident fifty-seven valuable lives were lost.
Pub.
Date | Article (Newspaper) |
|---|
| 10 Jun 1815 | News (Durham County Advertiser) |
| 17 Jun 1815 | Another dreadful accident (The Lancaster Gazette) |
- Durham Mining Disasters, c.1700 - 1950s by Maureen Anderson, Published by Wharncliffe Books, 2008, ISBN 1-845630-73-4
- Contributions by members of the Public
- 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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