Fife Accidents 1855 - 1870

This section contains newspaper reports on selected accidents in miscellaneous areas of Fife from 1855 to 1870 inclusive. Please check the indexes in the Accidents Section for reports by the Inspector of Mines and accidents in other areas.

8 November 1858

Dunfermline – Fatal Accident - A melancholy accident occurred on Monday forenoon at Wellwood Colliery - two boys, brothers named Sinclair, of the respective ages of ten and twelve years, were employed in filling a tub of coal at the bottom of a pit , when a large stone, supposed to be about four tons weight, fell from the roof. The eldest boy was killed on the spot, the stone falling right on his head and crushing him flat. The younger was struck by the edge of the stone and his leg fractured ; his recovery is extremely doubtful. [Scotsman 10 November 1858]

16 February 1859

Accident At Wellwood Colliery - On Wednesday, a portion of the roof of this colliery fell in upon a collier, and several of his ribs were broken by his knees being doubled up against his chest. As he was working in a remote part of the mine it was a considerable time before the accident was discovered and very little hope is entertained of his recovery, though he has slightly rallied. [Scotsman 19 February 1859]

NB This accident is not listed on the Mine Inspectors reports and we have been unable to determine the miner’s identity or if he survived.

28 December 1859

Fatal Accident - On Wednesday, about 2 o'clock, four of the workmen engaged in the Balmule Pit were ascending it, when, for some unforeseen cause, a quantity of stones or other material, fell from one of the sides of the pit upon the unfortunate men, causing instantaneous death of two, and severely injuring the other two. The names of the men who thus met their death so unexpectedly are Nisbet and Lyle. The former leaves a wife and family to mourn his loss; the other was a young man, unmarried. The names of the survivors are Bewick and Allan; although the injuries they have sustained are of a serious nature, it is hoped they will soon recover, under the skilful attention of Dr Dewar, who was promptly on the spot to render all possible assistance. [Dunfermline Journal 30 December 1859]

Jury Trial for Culpable Homicide - Francis Danks, underground manager of the Elgin coalpits, residing at Milesmark, and William Erskine Ramage, roadsman at the Balmule pit of the Elgin Colliery, and residing at Parkneuk, were placed at the bar of the Sheriff-Court here on Thursday, on a charge of "culpable homicide, as also culpable violation or neglect of duty," in connection with the late melancholy accident at the Balmule Pit, on the 28th of December last, which resulted in the death of James Nisbet, John Lyle or Lyal, and George Bewick, and the injury of John Allan, all colliers employed in the pit in question. The Court opened shortly after ten o'clock in the morning, the trial lasting until about five o'clock in the evening. Sheriff Monteith occupied the bench. Mr Alex. Moncrieff, Edinburgh, appeared as agent for the Crown; Mr A. S. Cook, and Mr C. J. Shireff, Edinburgh, as counsel, and Mr Andrew Beveridge, Dunfermline, as agent, for the prisoners. The court was densely crowded throughout the whole period of the trial. The prisoners having pled not guilty, the case went to trial. Upwards of a dozen witnesses were examined. At the close of the evidence, Mr Moncrieff briefly addressed the jury in behalf of the Crown. Mr Cook pleaded at great length in behalf of the prisoners. The Sheriff carefully went over the evidence in detail, and left the case in the hands of the jury, who, after retiring for a few minutes, returned with a unanimous verdict of "Not Guilty." The prisoners were accordingly acquitted and dismissed from the bar. [Dunfermline Press 17 May 1860]

Who Is To Blame? - On the twenty-eighth day of December last two miners are killed in the Balmule Pit of the Elgin Colliery, a third is so severely injured that in three days he follows his comrades into eternity, a fourth survives, not yet quite recovered from the effects of the terrible disaster. The parties in charge of the fatal pit have been this week put upon their trial, and acquitted by a jury of their countrymen. An all but unanimous verdict of not guilty is returned, and the case takes end. Three men are killed, and nobody is to blame! There is surely something wrong here! What is it? At whose hand shall the blood of these men be required? There is some door at which guilt must lie. We say not that either Mr Francis Danks or William Erskine Ramage are the guilty parties. What we say now is simply that guilt lies somewhere. The emphatic testimony borne by Mr Grier to the character and capacity of Mr Danks - a testimony which thirty-three years of good service corroborates - proves the underground manager of the Elgin Coal Pits a man of very superior powers. Nor after what has happened can we refrain from bearing our humble testimony to the fact that Mr Grier, when giving Mr Danks the character he did, was simply uttering a general opinion. William Erskine Ramage being yet a young man cannot point to a lifetime of faithful servitude, either as an atonement or palliation for a fault. Erskine is, however, known as worthy of his position. So far, therefore, we rejoice at the verdict of acquittal returned on Thursday. There are, however, some matters which we had expected that this trial would have expiscated, on which no light is thrown. Since the day when Lord Justice-Clerk Hope rated the Glasgow Sheriffs, with the virulence of a "scold," for the crude and unsatisfactory manner in which the precognition had been taken in Miss Smith’s trial, we have not heard a judge so severe upon the officers of the Crown as was Sheriff Monteith on Thursday. With no better evidence to obtain a conviction than the evidence led in this trial, it was impossible the Crown could have so much as the shadow of a chance of success. Nothing short of a total breakdown was inevitable. What, then, shall we say of the sagacity of the Crown? Nothing very complimentary. And yet even towards the Crown we must restrain criticism. It is the misfortune of this complex case that responsibility is ever receding from our grasp. We fancy that we have arrived at the ultimate facts upon which it rests, when, lo! beyond that deep, a lower deep discloses itself. This seems a case in which we would almost fancy Robert Owen's doctrine of non-responsibility receives a very beautiful practical illustration. The underground manager and his assistant evade responsibility for the accident; the Crown evades responsibility for the bungling prosecution, and falls back upon the Government-Inspector's report. That report is assuredly a curiosity in its way. Possibly a more rash or more illiterate document was never placed before a jury. How a man so destitute of the very moderate amount of capacity needful to frame a decent statement of facts, should have been placed in a situation worth £500 a-year, with expenses, is passing strange. Had we the history of the thing, it would no doubt reveal some very nice Government job. Though
For what kind service unexpressed,
And from its wages only to be guessed,
this snug appointment fell into the lap of Robert Williams, we are of course unable to conjecture. Was ever anything more preposterous than that an inspector acting under Government, while charging all concerned in the management of the pit in question, from Mr Thomas Grier to William Erskine, with gross neglect of duty, should yet confess that, with respect to a most important part of the pit, he had made no particular personal inspection! In some districts of the Highlands, a certain class of clergymen not overzealous in the discharge of the duties of their "office, are called "stipend-lifters," that being in the opinion of Donald the sum of their service. Robert Williams is a stipend-lifter. His vigilance on ordinary occasions may be measured by his attitude on this. Given, three men killed: if Robert Williams does not deem it necessary to make any particular inspection, what will be the worth of his inspection in ordinary? Sidney Smith used to say that railways would never take warning until a bishop was done for. Three miners might almost be considered equal to one bishop ; but although three miners are sacrificed in Balmule, Mr Williams - with that sublime indifference that forbids him to be disturbed by trifles -coolly tells the court, "I did not make any particular inspection personally." But though failing to make any very particular personal investigation, Mr Williams is forward to make a very decided personal accusation. All in the management of the pit are guilty of gross neglect, is a charge that, when fairly looked at, turns its sting not upon either Grier, Danks, or Erskine, who are known as men the very opposite of inattentive, but upon the inspector of mines himself. The principle upon which Williams appears to act, if his acting in the present case is to be considered a type of his general action, reminds us of one of Lord Cockburn's stories of old Braxfield. A litigant one lay appearing in court with rather a jaunty air, Braxfield quietly whispered to his colleagues, "Well give it against the b_____ to see how he looks!" To have said something that he could have sustained in court would have required care. To make a haphazard statement needs only effrontery, and brass is cheap. But though repudiating the right of any Government inspector to fasten a charge where he has no proof, our quarrel with that functionary goes beyond his injustice to the managers of Balmule. A "gross neglect” of the duty for which he is so remarkably well paid, left him ignorant respecting the exact condition of the pit in question. The result is that all the evidence in the case comes from those who, we shall not say stretched a point to give matter, a better colour than facts warranted, but who, to say the least of it, are in a position which renders it peculiarly difficult – we do not say peculiarly dangerous - to give every fact and circumstance its exact intrinsic worth. From some cause or other, the evidence respecting the exact amount of safety in working where the accident occurred was inordinately scanty. We have, indeed, the testimony of John Allan who recovered; but we lack the testimony of George Bewick who did not recover. The evidence of such a man as Bewick, taken in circumstances so solemn, would have been of material importance either for the Crown or the prisoners. Of course it could not have been received with that confidence a cross-examination is fitted to inspire; but as throwing light upon the condition of the pit, Bewick's testimony would have been invaluable. Nor is this all, when we contrast the very meagre list of witnesses for the Crown with the goodly number of miners that had worked at Balmule, almost involuntarily a feeling arises that the most has not been made of the case. We say nothing in disparagement of Mr A. Moncrieff when we say that such a case handed over to him at the eleventh hour, scarcely had justice done it. A more searching investigation, though we believe it would have exonerated the unfortunate men at the bar, might possibly have reached the source of the homicide in a vicious system of which these men were the victims, not the originators. Where human life trembles in the balance, the journalist must rise above that "fear of man which bringeth a snare." What is done cannot be undone ; but is the terrible lesson of the past to remain unheeded ? Was it not known that some of the very men placed on trial this week had given a very decided opinion respecting the course pursued in the working of this disastrous Balmule ? In the days of old Justice Hope, a fatal accident having occurred on the Leith Railway, which Hope thought not so much the fault of the man arraigned as of his superiors, the stern old Judge said, in his wonted brusque way, - lf this happens again it will not be a railway-guard, but the railway directors that will be put upon their trial. [Dunfermline Press 17 May 1860]

28 & 30 December 1860

Accidents - Since the publication of our last, we regret much having to record more than one accident of a serious nature, which have occurred in the surrounding districts. That at the Balmule pit of the Elgin Colliery, noticed in our last, since when another of the sufferers has died from his injuries, named George Bewick. In connection with this sad catastrophe, the name of William Erskine deserves to be remembered, for the courageous conduct and praiseworthy manner in which he instantly attempted to clear the bodies from the fallen debris. At the Dundonald Colliery, Lochgelly, John Fleming, one of the workers, had his leg so severely injured as to cause amputation necessary - - the engineman causing him to be raised to the pulley-wheels instead of letting him down the pit. It is evident in this case, that the loss of the limb, however serious, saved that of his life. – At Netherbeath a young woman, named Wilson, met her death while engaged at work, by being crushed between an ascending hutch and one of the beams [Dunfermline Journal 27 January 1860]

20 April 1861

Fatal Accident - On Saturday morning an accident attended with a fatal result occurred at Townhill Colliery. A cage containing rails to be laid in the working s underground had been let down the shaft, which it was the duty of a man named Brookes to remove. He appears to have been attending to this duty but had neglected to make the necessary signal to the officials at the pit head. While partly in the cage, engaged in removing the rails, the engineman, ignorant of the state of matters, started the engine, and the cage began to ascend. Not being able to get out of the machine in time, the poor fellow was jammed between the side of the pit and the cage could not be got to move in the shaft. Communication having thus been cut off between the bottom and the pit head, the engineman remained for a considerable time ignorant of the poor fellow's; condition, and , if was not until a man had been let down by means of a rope, that his position was ascertained. He was found to be quite dead, .with his body fearfully mangled. [Scotsman 24 April 1861]

22 April 1861

Fatal Accident - The Dunfermline Press reports the following:- "On Monday forenoon, a young man, named Condie Chalmers Leitch, met his death near No. 18 Comrie Pit, the property of the Forth Iron Company. Shortly after breakfast, Condie had gone upon a locomotive, in charge of a brother, and that, when nearing the pit in question , it is supposed that he had gone down to uncouple the waggons when he fell and the waggons passed over his body before there was time to stop them. The unfortunate man was brought up as an engine driver, but during the last ten years he has been a sailor, only returning from sea a few months ago. After escaping the perils of the deep in India, Australia, and China , he has thus suddenly perished almost within hail of his father s house . Condie was about thirty years of age , and unmarried. [Scotsman 24 April 1861]

25 May 1861

Dunfermline – Fatal Accident At Townhill – A fatal accident occurred yesterday at No 6 pit, Townhill. A man named William Dow, a blacksmith, had been working about some point of the machinery while in motion, and had gone below the crank of the engine, which descended upon him, killing him on the spot. Dow has left a wife and two children to mourn his loss. [Scotsman 27 May 1861]

7 September 1861

Dunfermline – Fatal Colliery Accident – On Saturday, in one of the Fordel pits, a stone fell from the roof of the workings on two men, one of whom was killed, and the other seriously injured. [Scotsman 10 September 1861]

NB Deceased was Joseph Snaddon

2 November 1861

Dysart – Fatal Coal Pit Accident - On Saturday morning James Paton, banksman, employed at Orrsmills Colliery, was in the act of pushing in an empty hutch to the pit-mouth, when he inadvertently guided it on to the empty shaft, instead of putting it on the opposite one, where the cage was ready to receive it. Consequently the hutch went down the shaft, Paton following. Death was instantaneous. Deceased was unmarred, and had been employed in the same capacity for a number of years. [Dundee Courier and Daily Argus 5 November 1861]

15 February 1862

Dunfermline – Fatal Accident at Elgin Colliery - On Saturday, a man named Robert Thomson, a bottomer in Balmule Pit, Elgin colliery, was killed by falling down the shaft. The deceased wrought in the middle seam of the pit, and part of his duty was to keep a large lamp lighted at the mouth of the seam to enable himself to transfer the contents of the small hutches, used in the seam, into the hutch which carries them up the shaft. On this occasion he had neglected to light the lamp, and having rolled a hutch to the mouth of the seam when the larger hutch or cage, which should have been there to receive the contents, was ascending or had ascended the pit occupied by one of Thomson' s companions who had left him a minute before, the hutch fell down the pit , carrying the deceased along with it to the pit bottom, a distance of about forty fathoms. He was taken up shortly after quite dead. [Scotsman 18 February 1862]

30 September 1862

Fatal Coal-Pit Accident Near Kinglassie – On Tuesday morning, as a collier, named Crambie, was conversing with a workman at the bottom of Campledren [sic] coal pit, he was instantaneously killed by a large stone, weighing nearly two tons, falling on him. He has left a family. [The Dundee Courier & Argus 2 October 1862]

29 November 1862

Fatal Coal-Pit Accident - A fatal accident happened in the Albert Pit, Wellwood Colliery, on Friday. While a miner, named John Rupel, was employed in one of the workings, a large stone fell from the roof, so severely injuring him about the head and shoulders, as, notwithstanding careful medical attendance, to cause death on the following day. Deceased has left a wife and one child. [The Dundee Courier & Argus 3 December 1862]

7 February 1863

Horrible Accident At Fordell Colliery – A dreadful accident occurred on Saturday at Fordell Colliery near Dunfermline. A young woman was looking down one of the pits, when she lost her balance and fell in. From the depth of the pit shaft she must have been killed before she reached the bottom. Shortly after the accident a search was made and the body found literally smashed to fragments. On the remains being gathered together, it was found that part of one of the legs was amissing. It has not yet been recovered. [Hamilton Advertiser 14 February 1863]

11 April 1864

Markinch – Fatal Pit Accident - On Monday forenoon, George Hutchison and one of his sons, both belonging to Coaltown of Balgonie, were working in Lochtyside coal pit, on the Balgonie estate, when a portion of the roof suddenly fell in upon them. The elder Hutchison was seriously hurt; and his son, who is unmarried, sustained injuries so severe that he died shortly after being conveyed home. [The Dundee Courier & Argus 13 April 1864]

29 August 1864

Fatal Coal Pit Accident - On Monday morning, a collier named Richard Scott, was engaged at his usual work in the Lady Pit at Wemyss Colliery, and while engaged taking down a huge mass of coal – the seam of coal being 5 feet 6 in. thick, and wrought on the long wall principal - it came over with great force, striking an upright tree or prop, which he unfortunately was in the direction off and too near to. The tree struck him in the region of the heart, causing severe internal injuries. He suffered excruciating pain the short time he lived after the accident, and expired on Tuesday evening. [Dunfermline Saturday Press 3 September 1864]

1 December 1866

Fatal Coal Pit Accident.-On Saturday last, Walter Muir Brand, a miner, aged 16, residing with his father, Andrew Brand, at Church Row, Crossgates, met with his death at the Netherbeath Coal Pit, belonging to Henderson, Wallace, & Co. It appears that the poor lad had been ascending the shaft of the pit, while another man, named Archibald Adams, was descending at the same time. Adams was carrying a bunch of colliers' picks in his arms, and one of them unfortunately slipped out of his grasp and fell down the side of the shaft that Brand was ascending. The pick struck Brand on the head and knocked him to the bottom of the pit, a depth of about 20 yards, whereby he was fractured in the skull and sustained other injuries. Dr Bartholomew, of Inverkeithing, was immediately in attendance, and did all he could for the sufferer, but he died in a few hours afterwards. [Dunfermline Saturday Press 8 December 1866]

25 November 1867

Dunfermline - Fatal Pit Accident - Serious accidents have occurred recently at some of the mines in this colliery district. This week another has happened which, unfortunately, has been attended with fatal results. On Monday, a lad named Archibald Cook, a miner, residing with his father at Crossgates, was working in the Netherbeath coal-pit, occupied by Henderson, Wallace, and Company, coal masters, and was engaged hewing a piece of coal at the face, when a stone, in weight about half a ton, fell on him from the roof of the pit. His head was crushed severely, and he sustained severe hurts in other parts of his body. He was conveyed home, where he was attended by Dr Bartholomew of Aberdour, but he died shortly after the occurrence. [Scotsman 28 November 1867]

17 March 1869

Coal Pit Accident – Yesterday, a miner named Peter Webster was severely injured in a coal pit at Lochfittie, near Dunfermline. He was working in the bottom of the pit when some heavy pieces of coal fell from the roof upon him, inflicting several dangerous wounds on the lower part of his body. He was also injured internally. He was conveyed to the Royal Infirmary. [Edinburgh Evening Courant 18 March 1869]

16 November 1869