Accidents and Disasters

The lists of names on these pages were compiled by the authors from a combination of the following sources - reports of the Inspectors of Mines, contemporary newspaper articles, FAI indexes and death certificates. Between 1852 and 1914, these are primarily sourced from the Annual Reports of the Inspector of Mines, with addition details from our own research. Pre-1852 and post-1914, the lists of accidents have been compiled primarily from newspaper articles. The lists on this site are far from complete, particularly for the years before 1852 and after 1914 but we are continually working to update these through our own research. Please check the lists carefully as many accidents are given under the date of accident, not death.

If you are looking for information on a Fife miner, we would highly recommend you also visit the excellent Fife Pits and Memorial Book.

Fatal Accidents

Pre-1840	1860	1870	1880	1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940
1840-1851	1861	1871	1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941
1852	1862	1872	1882	1892	1902	1912	1922	1932	1942 -1944
1853	1863	1873	1883	1893	1903	1913	1923	1933	1945 -1949
1854	1864	1874	1884	1894	1904	1914	1924	1934	1950 - 1954
1855	1865	1875	1885	1895	1905	1915	1925	1935	1955 - 1959
1856	1866	1876	1886	1896	1906	1916	1926	1936	1960 onwards
1857	1867	1877	1887	1897	1907	1917	1927	1937
1858	1868	1878	1888	1898	1908	1918	1928	1938
1859	1869	1879	1889	1899	1909	1919	1929	1939

Notes on Sources for Fatal Accident Lists

Pre-1852

Before 1852 there are no official lists of accidents or deaths. Statutory registration of deaths did not start until 1855, so locating deaths during this period is difficult. Main sources used here are newspaper articles and Old Parish Records. For Fife, the Fife Family History Society pre-1855 death CD was used. This CD uses a number of parish record and newspaper sources and is highly recommended for those researching in Fife

1852-1914

The Reports of the Inspectors of Mines were published annually from 1852 and form the basis for our indices for these years. The reports contain appendices which list names of those killed in accidents. Additional details for some accidents are found in the main body of the reports. A typical page from the appendix of a report is shown below:

Click on image to view larger image.

These lists also contain names of deaths not listed in the Inspectors reports, identified from newspapers and other sources.

Post-1914

After 1914 the Inspectors reports do not gives names of those killed or injured in accidents. We have compiled the information from a limited number of these reports (currently 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929 and 1932) and included with the index for the relevant year. The information for all other years is compiled from newspaper reports, indexes of FAI, death certificates and other sources. Please note that from 1941 onwards we do not routinely put newspaper articles or other detailed information on the site.

Non-Fatal Accidents

View A to Z indexes here.

Non-Fatal Accidents & Prosecutions- Inspector's Reports

For some years, the Inspector's reports published names of miners involved in non-fatal accident, or prosecutions. These are gradually being transcribed and added to the site. Please note the lists are transcribed in the original format used by the inspectors but will be added to the general alphabetical indexes to aid searching.

1889 Eastern District - Non-Fatal Accidents
1889 Western District - Non-Fatal Accidents
1890 & 1891 Eastern District - Prosecutions

Disasters and Major Accidents

NB The above is not a comprehensive list of major accidents and disasters in Scottish pits - just the ones covered on this site.