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	Individual Details		Individual Details

Age:	55
Died:	8th Dec 1958
Accident:	8th Dec 1958
Year Born:	abt. 1903
Colliery:	Staindrop Field House Drift
Company:
Occupation:	Stoneman
Notes:	overcome by black damp and asphysciated, residenc: Toft Hill
Buried:	[not known]
Category:

At the inquest Mr. Arthur Snowball, the colliery manager, said the place where the men were found was adjacent to the old West Auckland Colliery workings. Air samples taken a reguar intervals in each shift showed that the amount of oxygen underground was well within the limits laid down by regulations.

After the accident he had investigated the possible cause and he thought it might have been due to the rise of water in the Ladysmith pumping shaft a mile and a half away. One pump was stopped on December 2nd, and it was discovered that the water level had risen to 18 feet between then and the day of the accident. The rising water level would tend to compress the air trapped in the old workings and its outlet would be through the holes in the Staindrop Field House area.

The pathologist who carried out the post mortems said that both men died from asphyxiation, their deaths were consistent with being overcome by black damp (air in which the oxygen had been used up over a length of time due to stagnation). If the oxygen content in air fell below five per cent it would cause unconciousness in a matter of seconds.

The coroner read out a message from Mr. W. Welsh, the area general manager of the N.C.B., in which he wanted to place on record his appreciation of the efforts of Ralph Stephenson, Thomas Snaith, Maurice Pinkney, Donald Allanson, and Dr. J. R. Neville of Evenwood, who had shown complete disregard for their own safety while attempting to rescue Clark and Jones.

• Text kindly provided by Jim Grainger from his research into early newspapers (primarily the Durham Advertiser and Durham Chronicle).

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