| Date of Accident | Mine | County | Owner or Company | Name | Age | Occupation | Category | Cause of accident & remarks | Extra Information | ||
| 1912 | January | 4 | Southrigg No 3 | Linlithgow | United Collieries Ltd | Daniel Cunningham | 21 | Miner's Drawer | Falls of roof | While taking a full hutch down a road with a gradient of 1 in 20, some timber was apparently knocked out, and a fall of 3 tons of rock occurred. Deceased was found suffocated under the fall, his hutch being some 40 yards on the outbye side. | |
| 1912 | January | 6 | Oakley No 2 | Fife | Oakley Collieries Ltd | Mary Hogg | 31 | Pithead Worker | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | Caught and fatally injured by cage when pushing a hutch into the cage at the surface. A boy who was assisting her signalled to the winding engineman before she was clear. | |
| 1912 | January | 7 | Belhaven, Overjohnstone Pit | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | John Young | 73 | Wagon Trimmer | On surface – miscellaneous | He died from injuries received when going up some steps into an engine house on December 8th last. The top step broke and caused him to stumble slightly ; as there were only three steps it was thought he was only slightly injured. | |
| 1912 | January | 16 | Udston | Lanark | Udston Colliery Co Ltd | Henry Buesebeck | 35 | Roadsman | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Whilst bringing out a rake of hutches with a horse he apparently stumbled, and was run over by the first hutch. | Newspaper Report - Hamilton pages |
| 1912 | January | 17 | Bannockburn | Stirling | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | James Hunter | 14 | Haulage-boy | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | When attempting to pull a hutch out of the cage at the Pit bottom, the shuts on the surface failed to act, the cage pressed them, and he was pulled forward and crushed against the landing plates. | |
| 1912 | January | 19 | Dunnikier No 1, Panny Pit | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | John Linton | 61 | Repairer | Falls of roof | When removing a broken bar in a closely wooded roadway, he omitted to set middle trees to support the bars on either side, with the result that they tilted out, and allowed the roof to fall upon him. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Dunnikier Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Fife Coal Co., Ltd., on January 19th, causing the death of a repairer. The deceased and another workman were repairing a main haulage road, the roof of which was bad and very closely timbered. The bars were placed close together and covered with others at right angles with rubbish on the top of them. One of the bars was being cut out, and after it had been partly cut through the deceased commenced to lever it out with a prop, and when doing so the bar sprung out and he was knocked down and fatally injured. Some loose rubbish then ran down through the hole left by the bar on to him. If he had not been hit by the bar he would probably have got clear of the falling rubbish. It would have been much safer to have set props under the middle of the bars and then to have first loosened one side by taking a support out of that side, and if this course had been followed in this ease the accident would possibly have been prevented. | |
| 1912 | January | 25 | Cobbinshaw No 3 (Oil shale) | Edinburgh | Tarbrax Oil Co Ltd | Robert McArdle | 40 | Fireman | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (10.15am) McArdle, with Scanton and another man, was engaged in stopping the mouth of a mine which was giving off gas. They were working with safety lamps, and were fully aware of its presence. When the stopping was within 2 feet of the roof it seems possible that an unbonnetted safety lamp was put into a strong current of air, which was playing on the stopping, and this forced the flame, perhaps lengthened by firedamp, through the gauze of the lamp, and ignited the gas. The lamps used at this mine were not provided with bonnets. The result of the explosion which followed the ignition of gas was to blow out the stopping with such force that the large stones in it struck and killed these two men, and injured the other one. From Main body of report: An accident of a somewhat unusual character occurred at Cobbinshaw Oil Shale Mine belonging to Messrs. The Tarbrax Oil Co., Ltd., on January 25th, causing the death of a fireman and repairer. A cross measure mine or drift had been driven a distance of 140 yards from a level through a hitch practically level. On December 3rd and 11th, 1911, gas was found in it, and the management decided to abandon the drift owing to this and the fact that no good shale had been obtained by means of it, and the vertical distance between it and a lake or reservoir on the surface was only 100 yards. Gas accumulated in the drift, and, as the seam was worked with naked lights, and the necessity of working the whole of this part of the pit with safety lamps was desired to be avoided, it was dually decided to put in a stopping, 16 feet from the mouth of it, composed of debris behind a brick and mortar stopping and thus seal it off. When the accident occurred the stopping was being built by two men in charge of a fireman, who were using unbonnetted safety lamps of the "Davy" and "Clanny " type ; there was a brisk ventilation passing in front of the stopping, but little, if any, was circulating on the inbye side of it. The fireman, who was a careful and well experienced man, had been instructed to exercise the greatest care, and to see that no naked lights were used. The manager did not, however, appear to have realised that the safety lamps with which the men were provided were of an unsatisfactory type. A probable cause of the explosion was, I think, that as the stopping was being completed a safety lamp had been placed on the top or inside of it, and the gas burning in the lamp flashed through the gauze and ignited the gas on the outside. Ordinary Scotch lamps and a broken match, pipe and tobacco were found amongst the debris, and in one of the deceased men`s pockets. I do not attach much importance to the presence of the Scotch lamps, as several men who rushed to the rescue simply put out the lamps they carried in their caps instead of leaving them at the station, and in the excitement they may have dropped one or two, but the presence of the match, pipe and tobacco is an unsatisfactory feature and shows care was not taken to see that naked lights, matches, tobacco and pipes were not in the possession of the men before they entered the section. The practice of bottling up gas to get rid of it, as was being done in this case, is not a good one, as it is liable to cause difficult situations in future. The proper course in this instance would have been to ill the mine or drift up from the face with stone or other material, and then to have put a strong stopping in front of it all. The stopping was eventually completed by firemen using electric portable lamps. If this precaution had been adopted at first, the accident probably would not have occurred. |
Newspaper report
- Lanarkshire pages NB original date in Appendix was mistakenly given as 20 January |
| John Scanton | 28 | Repairer | |||||||||
| 1912 | January | 26 | Auchengeich | Lanark | James Nimmo & Co Ltd | Harry Spence | 16 | Assistant Despatch Clerk | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | He was running alongside moving loaded train of wagons, the speed of which was about 5 miles an hour, when he stumbled and fell among the wheels, and was instantly killed. | |
| 1912 | January | 26 | Earlseat | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | Hugh Muir, Senr. | 45 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased had placed a bar to the roof in his roadway, and cut holes in the sides some 4 feet in front of it for another one when the roof fell and killed him. There had been a heavy crush over this roadway, and deceased should have set a temporary tree to support the weak roof he was working under, while preparing for the second bar. | |
| 1912 | January | 29 | Castlehill No2 | Lanark | Shotts Iron Co Ltd | Alexander Miller | 58 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was holing when a piece of stone fell, and cut his head. He continued working, but died from meningitis on February 5th. | |
| 1912 | January | 30 | Bowhill | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Dan Fraser | 45 | Miner | Falls of roof | When moving a piece of coal a small stone fell from the roof, and caught his finger ; he thought nothing of it and continued working, but septic poisoning supervened, and he died on the 10th February. | |
| 1912 | February | 4 | Newbattle | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | Dan McManus | 56 | Fireman | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (9pm) His safety lamp appears to have gone suddenly out, upon his entering the top level in which firedamp had accumulated. As gas had not previously been found there he apparently thought he had knocked it out, and struck a match to relight it, so causing an explosion, which killed him. From Main body of report: A fireman was killed by an explosion of firedamp at Newbattle Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Lothian Coal Co., Ltd., on February 4th. He was making an inspection before the commencement of work on a Sunday night of a naked light section with a safety lamp, and as he did not return to meet the men at the station, two of the workmen, one of whom had been a fireman, suspecting that an accident must have happened, went into the workings to look for him. As they approached the top level they found afterdamp, and therefore withdrew and went for the under-manager. The latter then proceeded to the workings and found the deceased dead, crouching on his knees with his hands up on his ears, 60 feet from the face of the top level, on the low side of the road. His safety lamp. with the bottom unlocked and partly unscrewed, was found 4 feet on the inbye side of his body with a burnt match near it. This match was of the same size as some he had in a tin box in his pocket. The deceased appears to have lost his light by entering an accumulation of gas, and as firedamp had not been found previously in the section he apparently thought he had knocked it out, and struck a match to relight it and thus caused the explosion. The manager had instructed the fireman when making examinations to always carry two safety lamps, but in this instance the instruction was not carried out. For a fireman to strike a light when a safety lamp has been extinguished shows a great ignorance of the object of the inspection duties and a disregard of all precautions for safety. It is difficult to contemplate that any fireman who knew his duties would be guilty of such a foolish action. I trust the result, of this accident will be a warning to others. |
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| 1912 | February | 10 | Greenhill | Ayr | J & R Howie Ltd | Robert Lindsay | 39 | Fireman | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | A water chest was being drawn up a dook at a speed of two miles per hour. Deceased should have been up some yards ahead of it; he was heard to cry, the chest was stopped at once, and he was found lying crushed on the inbye side of it at a low crown tree. He said he had been walking, and had lost his light and tripped. He was in all probability riding, and was caught. He died on February 16th. | |
| 1912 | February | 10 | Dechmont | Lanark | Archd. Russell Ltd | James Boyle | 15 | Gummer | Miscellaneous underground – sundries | Deceased was removing the holing dirt from the cut close behind a Coal Cutting Machine, which was at work on a gradient of 1 in 3, and while doing so it suddenly slipped back, and before he got clear he was caught by the disc and fatally injured. The cause of the machine slipping was due to the chain attached to the haulage rope pulley, and fixed around a prop, working itself out at the pavement at bottom of prop, thus releasing the cutter and appliances. The pavement was very soft at the place, and its condition was unknown to deceased, and his neighbour who erected it. | |
| 1912 | February | 12 | Garriongill | Lanark | Coltness Iron Co Ltd | John MacRoberts | 36 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was working close to a fault, and a piece of stone fell from the roof against the fault on to his back, causing serious injuries. Died 7th August, 1912. | |
| 1912 | February | 13 | Dalkeith | Edinburgh | A G Moore & Co | Alexander Beveridge | 25 | Drawer | Falls of roof | He was in a highly inclined seam, and shovelling coal down to the level road, when the head coal, left up to support the roof, broke, and reeling out six props, fell upon him, causing internal injuries, from which he died on the 26th March. | |
| 1912 | February | 14 | Bannockburn | Stirling | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | Charles Hamilton | 21 | Miner | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | He was trying to put some hutches on the road while being moved by the haulage, when he slipped and fell in front of the rake, sustaining a broken back, and he succumbed to his injuries on 22nd May. | |
| 1912 | February | 14 | Cadzow | Lanark | Cadzow Coal Co Ltd | Thomas McQuade | 31 | Repairer | Falls of side | A large piece of sandstone fell from the roof whilst he was engaged in repairing a road way, and. fatally injured him. He died on the 4th March. | |
| 1912 | February | 20 | Prestongrange No 2 | Haddington | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | James McPhillips | 20 | Driver | Falls of side | A fall had occurred in an unwooded part of a haulage road, which was 15 feet high. Deceased and three others were clearing it when a second fall covered him over, and firmly wedged his foot without seriously injuring him. As the other three men were endeavouring to get his leg free a third fall occurred which suffocated him and seriously injured one of the others. | |
| 1912 | February | 21 | Bog No 1 | Lanark | Hamilton McCulloch & Co Ltd | William Frew | 38 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased appears to have been in the act of taking coal off the face when the roof suddenly fell upon him and he was killed. The stone fell away by an unseen lype, and in falling threw out, at least, two props supporting it. | |
| 1912 | February | 22 | Earlseat | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | David S. Heggie | 32 | Fireman | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | When travelling up a steep endless rope haulage road, he was knocked into the full road by a runaway empty hutch, and run over by the full one coming up behind. | |
| 1912 | February | 23 | Lochgelly, Nellie | Fife | Lochgelly Iron & Coal Co Ltd | Terence McGuire | 37 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was working alone at the coal face when a stone fell out from between two lypes and killed him. | |
| 1912 | March | 1 | Gartshore No 1 | Dumbarton | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Thomas McWilliams | 31 | Repairer | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | Owing to the miners' strike material for use underground was being sent down the Pit, among other things were malleable iron tubes. On the dip cage five such tubes, 12 ft. long by 3 in. diameter, were placed, and they were not fastened in any way ; as the cage descended two left their position and leaned over towards the barring, and on reaching an old opening in the shaft fell into it unknown to the men at the Pit bottom, and the ends projecting into the cage space. Deceased was ascending in the same cage and at the old opening it struck the tubes ; they were thrown into the shaft, and at the same time he was apparently also struck, thrown off the cage, and fell to the bottom, a distance of about 9 fathoms. From the nature of the injuries, deceased appears to have been killed from the tubes striking him. | |
| 1912 | March | 1 | Glespin | Lanark | Robert Swann | Thomas Hastings | 21 | Drawer | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | The deceased was found dead, with his head jammed between the top of a loaded hutch, and the crown of the roadway. He apparently had been going in front instead of behind the hutch. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Glespin Colliery belonging to Mr. Robert Swann, on the 1st March, causing the death of a drawer. The accident took place on a self-acting roadway, the loaded hutches being lowered down one road whilst the ascending empties came up a parallel road. The deceased was found near the top of the loaded hutch road, in front of a loaded hutch, with his head jammed between the road and the timber supporting the roof of the roadway. As no one saw this occurrence the actual cause of it is difficult to state, but it is probable the lad was in a great hurry to get his work done, as his was the last shift worked, prior to the strike. He usually coupled his hutch to the chain after getting a signal that an empty was attached to the other end of it, removed the stop-block at the top of the incline, and then lowered the hutch by means of a brake on the wheel around which the chain passed. On this occasion, instead of doing this, he, in his haste, first attempted to couple on the chain, but did not do so properly, took off the brake, and then, when the hutch was in motion, ran in front of it to take out the blocks; the chain not being properly hooked came off, and the hutch, in consequence, ran away, caught and crushed him. |
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| 1912 | March | 14 | Houldsworth | Ayr | Dalmellington Iron Co Ltd | Thomas Stevenson | 36 | Night Fireman | Falls of roof | He was engaged repairing a road. The roof began to move, and he, along with his neighbour fireman stepped back into a place which they thought safe, when a stone fell from the roof, killing him instantly. | |
| 1912 | March | 19 | Bowhill | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | John Howie | 68 | Labourer | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | Deceased was engaged in shovelling small coal out of a wagon. He was told to get out and did so before it was moved, but was seen in it again when it was moving under the screens, and when climbing out he was knocked over the end of a girder which supported an endless belt. | |
| 1912 | March | 22 | Arniston, Emily | Edinburgh | Arniston Coal Co Ltd | Robert McGill | 17 | Labourer | On surface – by machinery | He got on to the cage of a hoist to push a hutch off the wrong way, and while doing so shouted to some men to move. The man at the steam lever mistook his shout for a signal to start and raised the cage. He was crushed against the landing at the top. | |
| 1912 | April | 1 | Balgonie | Fife | Balgonie Colliery Co | Alexander McGregor | 16 | Motorman | On surface – by machinery | He and six other men were raising some pipes in a shaft by means of a double-geared winch, and, when doing so, they attempted to change the gears with the load on, with the result that the winch became free, and ran away, and one of the revolving handles hit and fractured the deceased's skull. Two other men were also injured. The winch had no "pawl" to prevent it running back ; if one had been fitted the accident would not have occurred. He died the following day. From Main body of report: An accident occurred on April 1st at Balgonie Colliery belonging to Messrs. The Balgonie Colliery Co., causing the death of one man and serious injuries to two others. Seven men were at work on a winch reusing pipes from a shaft, using the lower motion of the winch. Progress on this gear was slow, and apparently they tried to change over to the lower gear with the load on, in order to raise the pipe more quickly. The attempt to change the gears was unsuccessful and the winch ran away, and one of the rapidly revolving handles striking one man on the head killed him instantly, also broke a second man’s arm and another’s leg. Some of the other men had narrow escapes from being either killed or injured. The attempt to change the gears with the load on was foolhardy in the extreme, but had the winch been fitted with a "pawl" to prevent it being reversed as it was when the gear was changed, it is probable nothing would have happened. The winch was an old one, and, unfortunately, not so fitted. The accident was due to the absence of this simple safeguard. | |
| 1912 | April | 3 | Polton | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | Andrew Murdoch | 31 | Engineer | Miscellaneous underground – sundries | He was disconnecting a steam trap from a separator, a valve, which he had closed, being between the two. He either unscrewed the valve itself, or the valve connection to the separator unscrewed as he turned the trap connection, and the steam left in the separator and pipes escaped and scalded him. | |
| 1912 | April | 10 | Dalbeath | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | David Hempseed | 30 | Miner | Falls of side | He was seriously injured by a fall of coal at the face and died on the 6th May. | |
| 1912 | April | 10 | Wilsontown No 3 | Lanark | Wm Dixon Ltd | William Sommerville | 59 | Roadsman | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | He was working on a dook with a gradient of 1 in 8, when a hutch, which had been left snibbled on the rails 60 yards above, was started by the friction of the haulage rope, and ran down the dook and struck him. He died on the 13th inst. From Main body of report: A roadsman was killed at Wilsontown Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wm. Dixon, Ltd., on April 10th by a runaway tub while walking down an endless rope haulage road dipping 1 in 8. The tub in question had been left spragged or snibbled on the road, and was to be taken into another part of the mine, and while standing there the in-going rope was raised to a higher level by additional weight being put on to it, and came in contact with the axles and thus started the tub down the road. The practice of leaving tubs standing, unless they are securely attached in such a way that they cannot be started as was done in this instance, is at very dangerous one and should not be allowed. The manager, in this case, promised to take such steps as would prevent it occurring at this colliery again. |
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| 1912 | April | 11 | Herdshill | Lanark | Coltness Iron Co Ltd | John Chalmers | 53 | Miner | Falls of side | He was lying on his side holing when the coal broke off at a lype, pushed the sprag out and fell on him. He died the same evening. | |
| 1912 | April | 11 | Home Farm | Lanark | Hamilton McCulloch & Co Ltd | Thomas Cowan | 34 | Brusher | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | He was charging a shot hole in the pavement, when it unexpectedly exploded, killing him almost instantly. Part of the charge, which consisted of ½ lb. gelignite, was probably frozen. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Home Farm Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Hamilton, McCulloch, & Co., Ltd., on April 11th, and caused the death of a contractor brusher. The main level in the Lower Drumgray Seam was dipping and the contractor brusher for the seam was instructed by the under-manager to make a sump hole near to the face so that the suction pipe of a pump could be taken into it. The contractor drilled a shot hole 24 inches deep in the pavement at the roadhead, and before he was ready to charge it the miners working at the coal face, and a fireman who had been present, went out, the former to have a meal and the latter to continue his inspection of his district. They were only 50 yards distant when the shot exploded and, as they had neither heard a warning shout of "fire" nor the sound of the contractor walking away from the shot, they knew the charge had exploded prematurely. On returning, they found the man badly injured and he died almost immediately. The explosive was Stowmarket gelignite and the charge was about 1/2 lb. From the size of the drills and the size of cartridges the charge ought to have gone into the hole easily, but it is possible that some rubbish may have got into the hole as it was dipping and under water. · The temperature aboveground on the previous night was below freezing point, and as the explosives were brought by the contractor from an outside magazine the probability is that some of the gelignite was partly frozen and exploded on being pushed home. A badly bent copper cleaner was found close by the hole after the explosion. The number of accidents which are caused by frozen explosives during cold weather is disappointing. I am surprised that both managers and workmen do not realise the danger that is run by the use of explosives containing nitro-glycerine in this condition. Great care should be taken to see that the explosive does not show any signs of hardness, as nitro-glycerine freezes at a temperature above 40 degrees Fahr. and often remains frozen, despite a rise in the temperature, for a considerable period. If the explosive is at all hard, the risk of a premature explosion occurring, as in this instance, is very great. |
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| 1912 | April | 15 | Earnock | Lanark | John Watson Ltd | Donald McKay | 34 | Machineman | Miscellaneous underground – sundries | He was slightly injured on his face, either by coming in contact with the side of the road, or with the coal face, when following the Coal Cutting Machine ; blood poisoning supervened, and he died 13 days afterwards. | |
| 1912 | April | 15 | Auchinraith | Lanark | Merry & Cunninghame Ltd | Robert Cox | 30 | Bottomer | Falls of roof | Whilst repairing a broken haulage wheel in the pit bottom, the brick arched inset collapsed burying them, and killing them instantly. The arch was under repair at the time of the occurrence. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Auchinraith Colliery belonging to Messrs. Merry & Cuninghame, Ltd., on April 15th, by which two bottomers lost their lives. A number of workmen were engaged in changing a haulage pulley situated at the bottom of the shaft, they had almost completed the work when one of the side walls at the bottom suddenly collapsed. The official in charge of the work noticed the first movement of the wall and shouted to warn the others, two, however, were unable to get clear and were buried beneath the fallen debris. The arched brick at this inset had shown signs of crush, and the previous night two repairers had set several timber supports to it, the ends of the baulks being let into holes cut in the brickwork. The cutting of these holes was probably the cause of the accident, as it weakened the already weak side walls. Practically all shaft pillars had been worked out many years previously and there was constant movement of the brickwork supporting the bottom of the shaft. In this case it would have been better when renewing the brickwork insets to have completely packed them up with timber pillars. This, probably, would have stopped the raising of coal until it was finished, but with conditions such as existed in this instance it was the only way to secure absolute safety. |
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| Lawrence Mynes | 35 | General Jobber | |||||||||
| 1912 | April | 17 | Greenhill | Lanark | Greenhill Colliery Co Ltd | James Yuill | 56 | Miner | Falls of side | He was holing coal, near the roadhead, when a large piece broke off the face, and fell on him ; he had failed to sprag the holed coal. | |
| 1912 | April | 22 | Prestongrange No 1 | Haddington | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | Thomas Simpson | 22 | Coal Miner | Falls of roof | The injured man and his brother were working in a place splitting a pillar, and it was just about holed. He fired a shot, which blew through into an old level and left a hole 2 feet by 2 feet in the face, and he, for some reason, crept through this hole into the old level, when a stone from the roof, shaken by the shot, fell upon and injured him. Died 8th May. | |
| 1912 | April | 23 | Blackrigg No 3 | Linlithgow | United Collieries Ltd | Alexander Leckie | 44 | Miner | Falls of roof | As he pulled down a piece of coal, which was holed, two tons of clay from the roof fell upon him and killed him instantaneously. Smooth lypes, previously unseen, were found on each side of the clay which fell. | |
| 1912 | April | 24 | Viewpark | Lanark | R Addie & Sons Collieries Ltd | John Jamieson | 45 | Hutch Tippler | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | The loaded coal tubs from Nos. 1 and 2 pits run by gravitation to one common weigh bridge, and, in addition, the tubs of debris from No. 1 pit have also to pass over the weigh bridge, and in order to reach the redd bing they are run into the cart screen road, which dips 1 in 12, and congregate at bottom of dip. Deceased's duties were to take the loaded tubs as they passed clear of the weigh bridge to the tipplers. For some reason unknown he left his place of work and went to the debris tubs congregated at cart screen road, and appeared to be in a stooping position behind the last stationary tub when another debris tub, sent down by his mate, came down and crushed him. He had only started the job that morning. | |
| 1912 | April | 24 | Whitrigg No 2 | Linlithgow | Robert Forrester & Co Ltd | John Hannah | 55 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was working off a stoop in a seam dipping 1 in 3 ½ when two tons of the rock roof fell without warning and killed him instantaneously. | |
| 1912 | May | 2 | Brucefield | Clackmannan | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | Robert Mitchell | 46 | Labourer | On surface – miscellaneous | He was engaged in removing machinery from an engine house when the bearer, supporting the chain blocks, became displaced, and the blocks fell on him. Another man was slightly injured. | |
| 1912 | May | 3 | Clyde No 3 | Lanark | Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Watson | 63 | Coal Miner | Falls of side | Died from injuries received on 24th November by a fall of coal which had been undercut. | |
| 1912 | May | 7 | Whitehill No1 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | William Smith | 60 | Collier | Falls of roof | Deceased and a neighbour were together in a place taking a slice up alongside a stoop, to form a new road, to get the stoop extracted. Two rows of props were set next to the old "end," and when deceased was told to stand down clear to let his neighbour cut down some coal, he went through the row of props and sat down at the edge of unprotected roof. A stone broke off behind the second row of props without warning and fell on him, causing injuries from which he died on 25th May. | |
| 1912 | May | 7 | Littlemill | Ayr | Coylton Coal Co | Benjamin Crombie | 14 | Drawer | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (12.25pm) He was employed in a "fast" place in faulted ground with his father. After a shot had been fired the father tested at the face for gas and found none. He and his boy went in to work with naked lights, and ignited gas close to the end of brattice, 30 feet from the face itself. Both were burned, the boy so severely that he died next day. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Littlemill Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Coylton Coal Co., on May 7th, and caused the death of a drawer and injury to his father, a miner. The Ell coal workings had collapsed during the Coal Strike, and preparatory to these being re-opened, new airways were being made. One of these was an entirely new road through a "want," and it had been driven and was in clean coal on the inbye side. The miner had fired a shot at the face and stated that he then took a safety lamp, which he had for examination purposes, under such circumstances, and made an examination at the face for gas but found none. He returned to the main road 150 feet outbye, took his naked light, went to the coal face and began to clear away some stone and rubbish which his shot had brought down. He then went 22 feet; out the road for some tools, and when he stood up there, where it was higher than close at the face, he ignited gas with his naked light. The drawer was 23 feet further out on the road and was in the act of pushing in an empty tub. When the gas was ignited he did not know that he should lie down, but remained standing among the burning gas and was severely injured ; the father would have escaped, but he tried to reach the boy and was burned. There was no gas at the place of ignition two hours before the accident, as the Manager and the injured man had their naked lights close to the roof at that time examining it. The gas does not appear to have been liberated from the coal by the shot as the strong ventilation blowing from behind the brattice would have mixed with it, and the explosion would have been a violent one instead of having little or no violence. Evidently the gas had been practically pure when ignited at the high part of the road, and must have accumulated rapidly, and probably was liberated from some part of the "want" due to crush. If the brattice had been closer to the face, it was 30 feet back, or if the miner had examined for gas back along the road as well as at the coal face, he would have detected the gas and prevented the accident. Safety lamps were introduced into the seam immediately after the accident. | |
| 1912 | May | 10 | Knowehead | Stirling | Banknock Colliery Co Ltd | Archibald Robertson | 23 | Drawer | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | He was taking a loaded hutch to a cuddy brae, apparently being in front of the hutch, and using no snibbles. The hutch overcame him, and his head was crushed between his hutch and the balance hutch at the bottom of the brae. | |
| 1912 | May | 11 | Lochhead | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | William Shepherd | 19 | Miner's Filler | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | Deceased tried to enter the cage after it was signalled away, and fell into the shaft. He was caught by the legs between the door and the plates on the surface; being new to mining he does not appear to have noticed the Pitheadman signal the men back when the cage was fully loaded. From Main body of report: A miner’s filler was fatally injured at Lochhead Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wemyss Coal Co., Ltd., on May 11th, by his attempting to get into a cage at the surface after it was signalled away. The shaft at which the accident occurred is a downcast, and as a forcing fan is used the top of it is closed in and is fitted with doors which are balanced and raised and lowered by the cage. As the deceased man rushed in he was caught by the door and pinned by the legs between it and the floor of the heapstead, and was also severely crushed by the top of the cage. The pitheadman was passing to the signal wire, and while signalling with it the deceased man slipped behind him and attempted to enter the cage. The deceased had only been employed at the colliery for about four weeks and evidently did not realise the danger of what he attempted to do. The provision of gates or rigid fences to the ends of the cages, as required by the Coal Mines Act, will prevent a similar accident to this occurring in future. |
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| 1912 | May | 11 | Newton No 1 | Lanark | James Dunlop & Co Ltd | James Robb | 35 | Jobber | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (1.30am) The deceased, Robb, and the fireman proceeded to the bottom lye of the Splint Coal Dook, which is a safety lamp area, with naked lights on their caps, and ignited gas which had accumulated, causing an explosion. The deceased, Duffy, and his mates, who were at work in the section, heard the explosion and all of them rushed towards the pit bottom, and in doing so had to pass through the afterdamp, and all were overcome. The explosion was not violent, and coal dust took no part in it, as the roadway was very wet. From Main body of report: An explosion occurred at No. 1 pit, Newton Colliery, belonging to Messrs. James Dunlop & Co., Ltd., on 11th May, by which two men were killed and one injured. The accident took place in the lye or siding of Donaldson’s Bench at the foot of Splint Coal Dook, 1,020 yards from the shaft. The seam worked was the Virgin coal, and the coal was obtained from three benches or sections of the Dook road, viz., No. 1, 660 yards, No. 2, 880 yards from the shaft., and Donaldson’s at the terminus. The places at Nos. 1 and 2 benches were ventilated by an air current direct from No. 1 Newton pit, and those in Donaldson’s bench by an air current from Hallside pit. Gas had not been seen in the ordinary workings of the seam, but as there was considerable area of waste, the manager thought it advisable to put in safety lamps and did so. Naked lights were permitted on the dook road only up to No. 2 bench, but not beyond the lyes or sidings, and notice-boards were placed prohibiting naked lights to be taken beyond these places. During the shift a fireman and the deceased man were engaged taking wooden rhones or air-boxes down the dock to Donaldson’s bench for the purpose of using them to ventilate some places in the section which were being re-opened ; having deposited two of the rhones at the lye, they proceeded inbye towards a stable where gas had accumulated and it was ignited by the naked lights, which they illegally carried, causing an explosion. In the section some brushers were at work, and on hearing the explosion they rushed from the faces and made for the pit bottom, but getting amongst the afterdamp they were overcome and fell. An alarm was raised and several men proceeded down the dock and found the men. Artificial respiration was resorted to, and was successful in all cases except one. If the men at the time had remained where they were at work they would have been safe, but in their anxiety to get, as they thought, into a safe place, they ran into danger. The gas, which came from the waste close by the lye, owing in some measure to the falling barometer, was ignited in the vicinity of the stable, open lamps were found close to it and the pony was burned; there was little violence as there was no coal dust, the place being wet and muddy. The accident was due to the fireman and deceased taking naked lights into a part of the mine in which safety lamps were necessary. Such conduct on the part of a fireman, whose principal duty it is to enforce the provisions of the Act and Rules established for the safety of himself and the persons employed, was most reprehensible. He must be regarded as the chief offender, as it was his duty to see that the deceased man did not go past the caution board with a naked light. |
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| John Duffy | 42 | Brusher | |||||||||
| 1912 | May | 11 | Blairhall | Fife | Coltness Iron Co Ltd | Andrew Scotland | 45 | Pithead Worker | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | In the absence of the Pitheadman, who was in the Winding Engine House, the deceased was pushing an empty hutch into the cage, when the Winding Engineman, in response to a signal from the bottom, lowered the cage, and caused Scotland to fall to the ground level, a distance of more than 20 ft. The Winding Engineman believed the Pithead to be deserted, and the men at their meals. The Pitheadman should not have been in the Engine House when the cage was moved, but either on the Pithead or with the men. | |
| 1912 | May | 13 | Gilmilnscroft No 6 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | John Johnstone | 45 | Stone Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | Deceased and a neighbour were working in a stone drift, and after shots had been fired in a thin coal holing bed, they were clearing the small coal and squaring the holing back. Deceased was working with a pick, and struck part of an undetonated Samsonite cartridge. An explosion "like the shot of a gun" followed, and both men had their eyes filled with dust. Deceased, who had been lying stretched out when the explosion occurred, received a small wound in his right side. He died on the 19th May. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Gilmilnscroft Colliery, No. 6 Pit, belonging to Messrs. Wm. Baird & Co., Ltd., on May 13th, and caused the death of a stone miner (six days later) and injury to another. Two stone mines or drifts were being driven level course to a new part of the coalfield, and the men were employed in the smaller, which was 6 feet high by 6 feet wide. At the time of the accident the ground being passed through was sandstone, with a layer of coal 9 inches thick, and 1 foot 6 inches from the floor, which was used to hole in. Shots had been fired, but a small bridge of solid coal was left in the centre and one man was lying on his side cutting this out with a pick and the other man was behind him and slightly to one side, when a sudden explosion occurred in the back of the holing, and the eyes of both men were filled with dust, while the man who had been lying holing was also wounded in his side. As all the shots had been fired successfully the only thing to account for this accident is that part of a Samsonite cartridge from a previous charge had not been detonated, and had been struck by the point of the deceased man’s pick. The detonators used were No. 6, and the charges in the previous shot holes were each 9.5 ozs. As the charges were not excessive the failure of the explosive in the hole when fired was due to one of three causes- (1) The detonator being defective or not of sufficient strength ; (2) The explosive being detective, or (3) Some space had been allowed to occur between the cartridges forming the charge, or some stone or dirt had fallen between them. A similar accident occurred in the-same mine on May 22nd, 1911, while a machine hole was being drilled: three men being slightly injured by an explosion of part of a formerly unexploded charge of Samsonite. | |
| 1912 | May | 14 | Hamilton Palace | Lanark | Bent Colliery Co Ltd | Alexander Rankin | 34 | Oncostman | Falls of roof | Deceased was buried beneath a fall of roof from between two faults, whilst passing along roadway with a loaded hutch. | Newspaper report - Bothwellhaugh pages |
| 1912 | May | 14 | Highhouse No 1 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Robert Hazlett | 18 | Drawer | Falls of roof | He, and his father, had brought a tub to the face, which was a new lift just breaking off the side of a dook. The boy went round to the front of the tub via the opposite side of road from that on which they were at work, and, when getting there, a sudden fall of stone and coal from the stoop side killed him. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Highhouse Colliery, belonging to Messrs. William Baird & Co., Ltd., on May 14th, and caused the death of a drawer. The Main Coal Seam, 4ft. thick, with 11 thickness of 1 ft. 4 ins. of blaes on the top of it under the good roof was formed into stoops about ten years ago, and these were being extracted by retreating longwall, the line of face travelling back to the rise of the seam. At the Main Dook side short lifts or slices were taken to right and left, and packed with stone brushed from the Main Dook roof. A miner and his boy, the deceased drawer, had been working off a short lift to the left, and as the face was close to they filled their tubs on the Dook rails. On the night before the accident, preparations had been made to start the lift to the right of the Dook, and the place was cleared up. The day fireman and a roadsman set up some timber in it two and a-half hours before the occurrence, but did not anticipate any danger from the stoop side. A miner passing shortly before the accident told the father of the drawer that it would be necessary for them to keep a look out when they began to work at that side, as the top stone was separated from the roof above, but as there were practically no overhanging blaes, he did not suspect any immediate danger. When the next empty tub had been taken up to the place to be filled, the lad passed behind it next to the cleaned up stoop side, when a large mass of stone and coal suddenly fell on him and killed him, and a roadsman close behind him narrowly escaped being caught by it. The longwall workings had thrown the roof weight ahead, crushed the coal, and caused the stoop side to fall over. As all old stoops are more or less crushed, this should be a warning to officials and others to be specially careful when a second movement of the ground is set up by the removal of the stoops or pillars. |
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| 1912 | May | 18 | Douglas Park | Lanark | Wilson's & Clyde Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Pettigrew | 65 | Wheel Oiler | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | He attempted to cross from one side of the shaft to the other by the cage seat, and just as he made to step across the descending cage came down upon him, and crushed him fatally. There was a good road at the end of the shaft for the purpose of getting to both sides of the shaft, and he should have taken advantage of it. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at the shaft bottom of No. 2 Pit, Douglas Park Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wilsons’ and Clyde Coal Co., Ltd., on the 16th May, causing the death of a wheel oiler. Deceased’s duties were to attend to the pulleys connected with the haulage ropes and the haulage road. At the time of the accident he was sitting on the north side of the shaft waiting until the winding ceased for the day so that he could ascend the shaft; his shift was completed when he suddenly rose and attempted to cross to the other side of the shaft, just as the cage came down, and he was crushed under it. The bottomer was engaged bringing forward a loaded tub to be in readiness for the cage and did not observe · deceased walking towards the shaft. There was a good road at one end of the shaft which deceased should have used if he wished to cross to the opposite side of the shaft. I cannot understand a man being so foolhardy as to run the risk this man did. The accident would have been prevented if the bottom of the shaft had been fenced, as is now required by the Coal Mines Act, 1911, but at the date on which it occurred it was unnecessary to provide one. | [NB date is incorrect in main body of report - should be 18 May] |
| 1912 | May | 20 | Motherwell No 2 | Lanark | John Watson Ltd | Joseph McGinnes | 51 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was filling coal on a machine face when a heavy fall took place, killing him on the spot. | |
| 1912 | May | 22 | Dunnikier, Panny | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | William McCormack | 14 | Stone Picker | On surface – by machinery | He had left his work at the screens, and, for some unknown reason, climbed the railings of a gangway, and on to the end of an endless chain coal conveyer. He was found pinned under the drum of the conveyor, having evidently been caught and drawn in by it. | |
| 1912 | May | 25 | Blair No 5 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | John Eaglesham | 64 | Engineman | On surface – by machinery | He was on a platform 7 ft. 6 ins. from the ground level oiling the bell cranks of a Pumping Engine, a duty he had performed daily for twenty years, when he slipped from the unfenced side of the platform, next to the crank, and fell on to the crank soleplate at the ground level, fracturing his breast bone. He died on 5th June. | |
| 1912 | May | 27 | Duddingston No 1 (Oil shale) | Linlithgow | Oakbank Oil Co Ltd | Harry Feeny | 33 | Roadsman | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | They were caught and killed by a runaway tub, when travelling down the main dook, on their way to work. The gradient varies from 1 in 4.7 to 1 in 8. The shale is brought to the surface by an overhead endless rope, the tubs being attached singly by means of chains twisted three times round the rope, and then hooked. The endless rope had not moved since the day before, and the chain, attached to the tub in question, had apparently loosened slightly during the night, causing it to slip. There was a good travelling dook close to this one, and these men were disobeying orders by walking on the main dook. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Duddingston Oil Shale Mines, belonging to Messrs. Oakbank Oil Co., Ltd., on May 27th, and caused the death of two roadsmen and injury to another. The shale is brought up a dook with an average gradient of about 1 in 4, but where the accident occurred it is 1 in 8. The tubs are clipped to an overhead endless rope by chains, the full ones weighing about 12 cwts. each, by four, and the empty weighing about 6 cwts., by three wrappings of chain round the rope. The speed of the rope is about two miles an hour. These men were walking down the dock when an empty tub, about 440 yards from the surface, became detached, and ran down the road a distance of 470 yards and caught them. A parallel dock is driven alongside the haulage road, and all the men were supposed to travel on it, and there is a notice at the bottom of haulage dook prohibiting anyone travelling on it. Except at one place for a length of about 15 feet, where the height was 3 feet 6 inches, the travelling road was quite good and there was no reason why anyone, except the person to make an inspection of it, should walk down the haulage at all. The desirability of providing some device to prevent tubs running away in the direction in which they are travelling is brought prominently forward by this occurrence and resulted in two, at least, of such devices being, to my knowledge, designed to prevent similar occurrences - one by Mr. Sneddon, the agent of this mine, and the other by Mr. Martin, of Messrs. Mavor & Coulson, of Glasgow, and the former has been installed on the road on which the accident occurred. There is a wide field for the useful operation of such a device, and I strongly urge owners of mines with similar conditions to the one at this mine to adopt one or other of them : they will, I am sure, be amply repaid by the saving in the breakage of tubs and other plant, which usually results from runaway tubs, and, at the same time, very materially increase the safety of the persons working or travelling in such roads. |
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| George Stirrut | 27 | Roadsman | |||||||||
| 1912 | May | 30 | Springhill | Ayr | Arch. Finnie & Son | John McEwan | 52 | Miner | Falls of side | These men, with two others, were descending to their work on a single decked cage, and when near the bottom some debris, from an old opening in the shaft about 50 fathoms above fell, consisting of fakes, fireclay, wood and props. The roof in falling carried away the timber and swept the fence, consisting of two doors, into the shaft. The "vees" of a lype were to be seen after the fall. The examinations in terms of the Special Rules appeared to have been complied with. McEwan was killed instantly, and Gumming died on 1st June. From Main body of report: An accident occurred in the shaft of No. 3 Pit, Springhill Colliery, belonging to Messrs. A. Finnie & Son, on the 30th May, by which two men were killed and one injured. The shaft is 96 fathoms deep to the Ell Seam Level, and there are six old openings from which coal has been worked at one time or another. The men were descending to their work in the morning, four were on one of the cages, and when the cage was about 12 ft. from the bottom it was struck by some debris which had fallen from the side of the shaft. The fall came from the old opening at the Major coal level, 50 fathoms from the bottom, and, in falling, the debris had carried away two sets of timbers, and swept the doors, fencing the opening, into the shaft. An examination showed that it came from the vees of a small lype or slip, which was not visible before the fall took place. There is always a danger of debris falling from old openings in shafts, and such openings should have special attention, and, where possible, timbered the whole width and height. In this case an opening was in use, as there was a syphon pipe which had to be seen regularly by some of the officials. |
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| William Gumming | 47 | Miner | |||||||||
| 1912 | June | 3 | Houldsworth | Ayr | Dalmellington Iron Co Ltd | James Travers | 50 | Collier | Falls of roof | A fall of roof stone caught the deceased whilst he was passing along his working face ; the fall came away from between two lypes. | |
| 1912 | June | 6 | Largobeath | Fife | East of Fife Coal Co Ltd | John Donnachie | 33 | Brusher | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | When looking over a gate in the shaft at a mid landing, his head was caught between the ascending cage, and a balk, some 16 in. above the gate. | |
| 1912 | June | 10 | Coursington | Lanark | Wishaw Coal Co Ltd | James Wallace | 21 | Bottomer | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | He was pushing a hutch of timber through the cage when the cage was raised, without a signal being given, and crushed him against the head covering. The Winding Engineman had been looking through the door at some pumps, and the Pithead signal rang as he was closing the door. He thought both signals had rung together, and started his Engine. Not hearing the bottom signal, he should have rung down before starting. From Main body of report: An assistant bottomer lost his life on June 10th through an accident at Coursington Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Wishaw Coal Co., Ltd. The cage had come down with an empty hutch in it and when this was removed the deceased attempted to run a hutch of timber through the cage. The cage was raised, although no signal had been given, and the man was crushed between the cage and the roof. The engineman had gone to the door of the engine house to see if the boiler feed pump was working properly, and as he closed the door the signal from the pithead that all was clear was rung. The wire from the pit bottom was shaking, and he thought the two bells had rung together, and started the engines, thus causing the accident. Under the circumstances he ought to have signalled down the pit for another signal. It is a better practice to have a road past the pit and so avoid taking material through the cages, but the real cause of the accident was the fact that the engineman had things to attend to apart from his winding engines, and his attention was thereby taken away from the signals. An indicating device to register the number of strokes given by the bell, which is in use with perfect success at many collieries, would prevent this class of accident, and I would draw the attention of managers to the necessity of the adoption of such a device, and express the hope that they will have one installed at every working shaft. |
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| 1912 | June | 12 | Bannockburn | Stirling | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | James Hepburn | 46 | Labourer | On surface – miscellaneous | He was sitting outside a hut on the spoil bank, when a pony, which had been startled by an engine, while drawing a rake of hutches, turned off the track in front of him. The rake ran on, and the draw chain crushed his leg against the hutch. Died 21st June. | |
| 1912 | June | 13 | Roman Camp No 2 (Oil shale) | Linlithgow | Broxburn Oil Co Ltd | David Smith | 37 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was timbering his working face when 20 tons of blaes fell from the roof between the wastes and the stoop, crushing him to death. | |
| 1912 | June | 13 | Bridgeness No 6 | Linlithgow | Bridgeness Coal Co | James Robertson | 17 | Drawer | Falls of roof | A fall of roof took place in the siding at which deceased worked ; he, and two other lads, at once started to clear it, without first having examined the roof ; another fall occurred and caught all three of them. They ought to have sent for an Official and waited until he arrived before doing anything. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at the No. 6 Pit of Bridgeness Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Bridgeness Coal Co., Ltd., on June 13th, causing the death of a drawer and injury to a bencher and drawer, in a siding or lye in the Red Seam. A fall of 5 cwts. from the roof, which is composed of sandstone, occurred, and the drawer, who was afterwards injured, ran down and told a bencher of it, and after stopping the endless rope by which the tubs were hauled to the shalt they both returned to the fall. The drawer who was killed came from the Bench above, and another bencher went to get a tub to fill the fallen stone in, and while they were bringing it down another fall occurred and caught the three youths killing one and severely injuring the other two. They had taken no means to test the roof after the first fall to see if it was safe, but intended to start at once to clear the stone which had fallen. A few weeks prior to this accident a small fall occurred a little lower down the same siding, which was known to the fireman but was not reported to the manager. This is to be regretted because the workings on the right-hand side, which had been standing for some time and were being restarted, were approaching the haulage road. and this had caused a general weight over the haulage road, and gave indications of its presence by the first fall, and that on the date of the accident, the root where the fatal accident occurred, required supporting. If the provisions of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, requiring the roof and sidings to be systematically supported whether the roof appears to be sound or not had been in force and complied with this accident would probably have been prevented, The youths acted wrongly in not at once sending for the roadman or fireman and should not have attempted to clear the fallen stone away until they arrived and ascertained the condition of the roof. The removal of falls by inexperienced youths or men is likely to be the cause of accidents of this kind, and should never be attempted until an official has carefully examined the stone above and surrounding it in order to ascertain whether supports are required to protect the persons working at the removal of the fallen stone. |
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| 1912 | June | 13 | Woodilee | Dumbarton | Woodilee Coal & Coke Co Ltd | Daniel McDermid | 17 | Bottorner | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased was coming outbye with a loaded rake, consisting of 5 tubs, and, by some means, he fell in front of the first tub, which ran against, and crushed his head, causing instant death. It was no part of deceased's duty to drive the horse, but he did so voluntarily for the driver, while the latter was getting a meal. | |
| 1912 | June | 14 | Dykehead | Lanark | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | David Phillips | 52 | Miner | Falls of side | Knocked down by a fall of a piece of coal he was trying to take down. In his fall his head struck a piece of coal lying on the pavement and his skull was fractured. | |
| 1912 | June | 14 | Parkneuk | Lanark | Glasgow Iron & Steel Co Ltd | Alexander Burt | 17 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was filling a hutch at the face of a stoop when a fall of roof took place, due to four invisible "lypes" which surrounded the stone on all sides and caused it to break over the timber, killing him instantly, and injuring another man. | |
| 1912 | June | 17 | Poneil | Lanark | Arden Coal Co Ltd | John Stirling | 38 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was about to take out the last prop to allow the head coal to fall when the whole roof of head coal collapsed, and a piece of it caught and fatally injured him. | |
| 1912 | June | 18 | Craig No 2 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | James Wilson | 30 | Stone Worker | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | Fell down a blind pit when throwing debris down it. | |
| 1912 | June | 19 | Holytown | Lanark | James Nimmo & Co Ltd | James Queen | 29 | Bogieman | Falls of roof | When taking a loaded rake outbye a fall of roof from the " vees " of a hitch occurred, which displaced some timber, caught and killed him. | |
| 1912 | June | 21 | Fairlie No 4 | Ayr | Caprington & Auchlochan Collieries | John Martin | 33 | Oncostman | Falls of roof | Deceased had fired a shot, and on returning shortly after with his neighbours to examine the face, the roof suddenly fell, displacing several props, and part of it caught and fatally crushed him. | |
| 1912 | June | 22 | Cobbinshaw No 1 | Edinburgh | Tarbrax Oil Co Ltd | Thomas Herbert | 33 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | He apparently remained kneeling on part of a shot after lighting the fuse, and received the full force of the explosion in his face. | |
| 1912 | June | 22 | Rosehall No13 | Lanark | Robert Addie & Sons Collieries Ltd | William Jeffrey | 35 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – sundries | He had fired two shots in a narrow place. He went back after an interval of 30 minutes, and was later discovered lying unconscious, apparently suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning ; artificial respiration was tried, but without effect. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Rosehall, No. 13 Pit, belonging to Messrs. Robert Addie & Sons, Ltd., on the 22nd June, causing the death of a miner. An airway was being driven from the face of some workings through a series of small faults, to connect up to another line of faces. It was almost through, and was expected that when a shot fired it would "blow through." Two shots were fired by the miner at 1.15 p.m., and after an interval of 30 minutes to allow the smoke to clear he returned to see if his brattice screens were secure before leaving the place for the day. Another miner working close to, on finishing work and passing the end of the air road, noticed the man’s clothing still hanging near the end of the airway. He shouted up the airway, but getting no reply, proceeded up it in the dark, and when about half way along felt the deceased lying on the pavement. He dragged him out to the roadend and commenced artificial respiration but he never showed symptoms of regaining consciousness. An investigation of the accident showed that both the shots had blown out and as they were charged with a large quantity of gelignite its incomplete combustion gave off a large volume of carbon monoxide, and it was also found that the screens were partially knocked down by a fall of roof. The hill was about half way up the airway, and near to where the deceased was found; it appears probable that the fall struck and stunned the man, and that the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere caused his death. | |
| 1912 | June | 24 | Arniston, Emily | Edinburgh | Arniston Coal Co Ltd | John Kirk | 22 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | As the working place of deceased and that of another miner were close together, they arranged to fire at the same time, each having two shots. They lighted both their shots, and the lights of both men were blown out by the fuse ; they then decided to hide behind the timbers in the heading which dips 1 in 2 instead of trying to get down to the place below. Both men were hit by the coal from the last shot. From Main body of report: A miner was killed at Arniston Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Arniston Coal Co., Ltd., on June 24th. Deceased and another miner had lighted five shots each in a heading dipping 1 in 2 and a level near the heading face respectively, and in doing so both their lights were extinguished, probably by the “spit” of the fuses. Being in the dark and the inclination of the seam so steep they dared not run, and, therefore, decided to take shelter in the timber near the face of the heading and hoped they would have props between them and the shots. Deceased was killed instantly by a piece of the coal projected by the second shot in the heading. There is always a danger of a man’s light being extinguished when the fuse is being lighted if great care is not taken. The use of igniters or electric batteries for firing the shots would have prevented this accident. The latter, in my opinion, would be the much safer method to adopt in all cases, as before the shot can be fired all the persons can be in a place of safety, whereas, with the others, the persons who light the shots have to travel some distance. This in a highly inclined seam such as this was, is not an easy matter, and, I think, a rope to assist travelling is absolutely essential in such circumstances and conditions. It is probable that if this had been provided the men might have reached it, and been enabled to reach a place of safety. | |
| 1912 | June | 25 | Newbattle | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | Robert McIntosh | 78 | Gatekeeper | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | Run over on railway by a locomotive as he was closing the gates. The engine driver had told him on going past not to shut them. | |
| 1912 | July | 4 | Afton No 1 | Ayr | New Cumnock Collieries Ltd | William Ritchie | 28 | Wagon Shifter | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | Deceased, in the course of his duties, was separating, by pinching the upper one uphill by a crowbar, two wagons standing on a gradient of 1 in 28. Apparently after they were a foot or two apart, he placed his shoulder against the buffer in contravention of Siding Rule 22. The wagon overpowered him and ran back. His chest was crushed between the two, and he was suffocated. | |
| 1912 | July | 4 | Glencraig | Fife | Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co Ltd | Patrick Sherridan, Junr. | 15 | Drawer | Falls of roof | Deceased, and two other men, were proceeding to work in a level road when a heavy fall of rock from the roof occurred in the waste, and, sliding down, it displaced the pillars on the rise side of the road, and caught deceased. The gradient is about 1 in 2 ½. Owing to the road above having closed, the level road in which the accident occurred was being driven double width. Nothing had been left in the waste to prevent the roof falling, or, if a fall occurred, to prevent the stone sliding down against the pillars. | |
| 1912 | July | 6 | Bredisholm | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | John Scobbie | 32 | Repairer | Falls of side | Deceased and another man were on the top of a cage taking out old barring to replace it with a new when a fall occurred from the side of the shaft 73 fathoms above them and it caught and killed him. From Main body of report: An accident occurred in the shaft of No. 4 pit, Bredisholm Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The United Collieries, Ltd., on the 6th July, causing the death of a repairer. The shaft is 156 fathoms deep to the lower Drumgray seam, several seams were passed through and some of them are at work at the present time. The upper part of the shaft was sunk many years ago, and for a considerable time had been giving trouble. Repairs had been going on constantly to make everything secure. At the time of the accident deceased and another repairer were doing some repairs at the virgin seam, 100 fathoms from the surface, on the cage, when a fall came away from the dip end, 76 fathoms above, and 24 fathoms from the surface, and striking deceased, killed him instantaneously. The place from which the fall came was barred or lined with timber, and this barring gave way and some debris fell with it ; near to the place the barring had been renewed, and the inspection made by deceased and his neighbour showed that, as far as could be seen, everything was safe. The barring was put in when the shaft was first sunk and was 1.5 in. white pine; it showed signs of decay. Where shafts are old the barring should be tested by means of drilling a hole to ascertain if it is fresh. In this case the barring was too light to begin with. |
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| 1912 | July | 8 | Braehead No 1 | Linlithgow | Hirst Coal Co Ltd | Matthew Struthers | 45 | Bottomer | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | The cage was lowered to the mid-landing with the Manager. Deceased then put on a full tub, the weight of which apparently caused the cage to descend, and deceased to fall into the Pit. The Engineman was altering the position of the cage when the weight of the full hutch came on without deceased having first signalled that he was going to put it on the cage. | |
| 1912 | July | 8 | East Parkhead No 2 | Lanark | Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co Ltd | Frank Bootscavage | 24 | Miner | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (7.20am) The deceased appears to have opened his safety lamp and struck a match in his working place, and ignited an accumulation of gas. He died on the 9th as a result of injuries received in the explosion. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at East Parkhead Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wilsons’ and Clyde Coal Co., Ltd., on July 8th, causing the death of a Polish miner on the following day. The explosion occurred in the Dook Section of the Virgin Seam, and was caused by deceased opening his safety lamp at the coal face where gas had accumulated. The fireman made his morning inspection between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., and visited the place where the accident afterwards occurred at about 5.20 a.m. He found all clear and allowed the miners to go to their work as usual. Whilst he was filling up his report at the lamp station, a drawer came to him and said "Something is wrong in a Pole’s place." He went at once to the place indicated and found the roadway full of smoke, and when the smoke cleared slightly saw a man staggering towards him. He conveyed this man to the surface and then returned to the place of the accident. At the roadhead he found a safety lamp with the bottom unlocked, and near to it some pieces of stick lying, the ends of which bore the impression of the screw of the lamp lock ; further inbye, at the right-hand side of the roadhead, several matches and a broken matchbox were lying on the coal. No gas was found after the occurrence, but on closer examination a break in the roof, above where the matches were lying, was found to be giving off gas. There appears to be little doubt that the deceased lost his light in some manner, probably by the gas extinguishing it, and instead of taking his lamp to the lamp station to be re-lighted, he attempted to re-light it at the face by unscrewing the bottom and striking a match. | |
| 1912 | July | 10 | Auchengeich | Lanark | James Nimmo & Co Ltd | James Cummings | 42 | Fireman | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | The deceased was making his morning inspection, when he came out, by travelling through old workings, at a roadhead, just as a brushing shot was being fired ; he was fatally injured by the falling debris from the shot. | |
| 1912 | July | 24 | Benarty | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Martin Haney | 19 | Filler | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | He and three other men were illegally riding down it dook in the hutches. At a point where the inclination was 1 in 1 ½, the hutch that Haney was in became detached, and ran away, and killed him on the spot. From Main body of report: A fatal accident occurred at the Benarty Colliery: belonging to Messrs. The Fife Coal Co., Ltd., on July 24th, whereby a miner lost his life whilst illegally riding to his work underground. Deceased and three others attempted to proceed to their work by riding on a rake of two empty hutches down a steep dook, about 450 yards long, the average inclination of which was about 1 in 2. Deceased was seated in the first hutch, and when they were on a part of the road having an inclination of 1 in 1.5 this hutch stopped, the second one ran into it, the coupling came out, and it ran away down the incline with deceased inside. It ran about 50 yards knocking out two bars and bringing down a fall 10 yards in length. Deceased was thrown out of the hutch, and was found some 6 yards above it. This accident was caused by a direct contravention of the provisions of the Coal Mines Act and Special Rules, the manager having on several occasions refused permission to the men to ride on the road. It was stated during the inquiry at the Sheriff Court, Dunfermline, that, notwithstanding this, riding on the dook was very prevalent, and I would specially urge on managers the duty of dealing severely with cases of illegal riding that come to their notice. Unfortunately there is reason to believe that it is a common practice, and one that is very often difficult to detect. A case was recently brought to my notice where it had been the custom for boys to walk the lower portion of a travelling road, which runs parallel to the haulage road, cross over through a short communication to the haulage road on which they rode almost to the top, and then cross back to the travelling road and walk to the top. The practice was only discovered after an accident had happened to one of the boys on the haulage road. | |
| 1912 | July | 24 | Newbattle | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | Alexander Archibald | 69 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | He was engaged with another man brushing a drawing road when a piece of the roof, which he thought he had wedged so as to make it secure, fell behind and struck him. | |
| 1912 | July | 25 | Ingliston (Oil shale) | Edinburgh | Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co Ltd | George Gaffney | 21 | Drawer | Falls of side | Filling shale at the face of a stoop when a piece measuring 4 feet by 1 foot 6 inches by 1 foot 3 inches fell from the face and fatally injured him. | |
| 1912 | July | 26 | Redding | Stirling | James Nimmo & Co Ltd | John Muirhead | 25 | Strapper | Falls of roof | He was setting timber behind a coal cutting machine when a stone swung over the tree on to him causing instant death. The place appeared to be well timbered. | |
| 1912 | July | 29 | Killochan | Ayr | Killochan Coal Co Ltd | Robert Shearer | 15 | Miner's Drawer | Falls of roof | He was shovelling coals at the working face when, without warning, a large area of roof collapsed, throwing out props and destroying wooden pillars and buildings. In trying to escape along with other men he was caught and killed instantly. The accident was due to the faulty method in which the seam to be worked was laid off. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Killochan Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Killochan Coal Co., Ltd., on July 29th, and caused the death of a miner‘s drawer. A district in the Rotten coal seam had been opened longwall, the line of face advancing uphill on an incline 1 in 3. The seam had previously been worked stoop and room. The thickness of the coal was 4 ft. 2 ins., and there was a 4 in. holing bed ; the roads were 10 ft. wide and placed 50 ft. apart. Above the coal there was 2 ft. 6 ins. of fireclay and blaes, and this was blasted down as brushing material in the roads, in addition to which soft wood pillars ·4 ft. square, were built 4 ft. apart along the roadsides, the brushing filling the space between these and partly filling the centres of the pillars. On the morning of the accident the fireman reported all safe, and the miners went to work. An hour later the whole of the roof collapsed, with very little warning, between two roads and back into the waste and over one of the roadheads. Three men escaped, but the drawer who had been close at the coal face ran into instead of away from the falling mass and was killed instantly. His body was not recovered until nine hours later. · The accident was the result of a serious error of judgment on the part of the manager in laying off the workings. The soft wood pillars and soft brushing were not sufficient to pack the places well enough to allow the roof to settle down on them. The large amount of timber left in the waste (the almost universal custom in Scotland), also contributed to the accident as it did not allow a top sandstone to fall, and in consequence threw the weight forward on the face. The longwall was started as an experiment, and there is little doubt that it would have been successful if there had been a shorter distance between the roads, proper buildings inserted, and the back timber drawn. |
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| 1912 | August | 5 | Fordell | Fife | Countess of Buckinghamshire | John Pollock | 39 | Fireman | Falls of side |
He and two other men were in the cage waiting to be raised to the
surface when some bricks, loosened by a heavy rainfall, fell from the
side of the shaft 30 feet from the surface on to the roof of the cage.
The roof was badly bent above where deceased was and his head was
severely injured. Died same day From Main body of report: A fatal accident occurred at the bottom of the Lady Ann Shaft of the Fordell Colliery, belonging to the Countess of Buckingham, on August 5th, whereby a fireman lost his life under very peculiar circumstances. Deceased, with two other men, was standing on the cage, and had just given the signal to be raised to the surface having completed the shift, when some brickwork fell out of the shaft lining on to the cage cover bending it severely. One man was crouching down and escaped injury, another received slight injuries, while deceased, who must have had his head in contact, or almost in contact with the cage cover, received such injuries to his head that he died the same day. The shaft was 76 yards deep and 14 ft. diameter, and the upper part was sunk through moss. The bricks fell from the point where the shaft leaves the moss, about 10 yards from the surface, and were probably loosened by the exceptionally heavy rains of the previous day. The shaft was lined partly by brick and partly by stone, but it was not lined throughout. The cage cover was sheet iron only one sixteenth of an inch thick. The accident points to the necessity of the exercise of the greatest care in the examination of the sides of the shaft, a duty which fell to the deceased in this case. It also raises the question as to whether a cover of such thin material is sufficient protection for men riding in the shaft. A point worth noting, too, by all whose work takes them in a pit shaft is the danger that may arise by allowing the head to come in contact with the cage cover. It is a danger which I venture to think is not generally recognised. | |
| 1912 | August | 6 | Lightshaw No 1 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | James Clark | 24 | Enginekeeper | On surface – by machinery | Deceased attended to a Pumping Engine, placed alongside the Winding Engine, during his shift, both being in same room. He appears to have noticed that a binding bolt required screwing up, so without stopping the Pumping Engine he opened the fence rail and went inside to do this. No one witnessed the accident, but apparently while tightening the bolt he slipped, and was caught both by the flywheel and pump crank, and was killed. He was disobeying instructions in repairing machinery in motion. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Lightshaw Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wm. Baird & Co., Ltd., on August 6th, and caused the death of a winding engineman. In the same house as the winding engine there was a 24 in. diameter by 4 ft. stroke beam engine, geared through toothed wheels and a tumbling crank to the shaft pumps. The pit had finished drawing coals for the day and the pumps were required at intervals only. The boiler firemen, when at his boilers, heard the pumping engine being started ; five minutes later he heard a strange crash and went to the engine room to ascertain the cause. On entering he did not see the engineman, and on the same noise being repeated from the pumping end of the engine room he went there and saw his body lying partly underneath the pump tumbling crank. A fresh binding bolt had been put in the sole-plate some weeks before this, end, it is probable that the deceased man wished to tighten it while the machinery was in motion, in order to get the advantage of any movement on the plate. There is only a space of 18 in. between an 18 ft. flywheel and the tumbling crank, but it was necessary that he should be in this space to tighten the bolt, and if he were tightening it and slipped he would fall towards it. A screw key 3 ft, 6 in. long was found after· the accident, and there were key marks on the nut of the binding bolt; it appears that he slipped and fell against the flywheel and was carried round so far; then thrown under the tumbling crank. He had gone inside the fencing to this work, and was disobeying the personal warning of the manager in so doing, as, he, along with the other engineman, had been told they were not to go inside fences on any account while the machinery was in motion. Since the accident notices have been posted in the engine rooms forbidding the oiling or repair of machinery while in motion. | |
| 1912 | August | 7 | Craighead No 1 | Lanark | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | John McGinty | 26 | Fireman | Falls of roof | Deceased went back to examine the place after a shot had been fired, and while doing so a stone fell from the side and killed him instantly. The stone had apparently been loosened by the shot. | |
| 1912 | August | 8 | Skellyton | Lanark | Darngavil Coal Co Ltd | Patrick Johnstone | 30 | Assistant Coal Cutting Machineman | Falls of roof | Deceased was crushed by a heavy stone, which fell from the roof, his face being held down in a small accumulation of water on the pavement, and he was suffocated before he could be extricated. | Newspaper report - Dalserf pages |
| 1912 | August | 8 | Greenrigg | Linlithgow | United Collieries Ltd | Richard Jackson | 19 | Clipper | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | A rake of four full hutches he had attached to an endless rope by means of a "Smallman" clip became detached, and ran back, caught and killed him. He had only started as a clipper on the day of the accident, and had not been properly instructed how to attach the clip to the rope. From Main body of report: A roadsman was killed at Greenrigg Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The United Collieries, Ltd., on 8th August, while attaching tubs to an endless rope by means of a "Smallman" clip on a haulage road dipping 1 in 20. Although he had only begun this work a few hours before the accident, he was left alone to do this responsible work, with the result that one of the hutches through not being securely attached to the rope ran back and killed him. Instruction to beginners is too frequently neglected by those whose duty it is to give it, and accidents such as this are the result. |
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| 1912 | August | 12 | Hamilton Palace | Lanark | Bent Colliery Co Ltd | John Bell | 58 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | Deceased was redding a road through an old gob road, when a large piece of rock, 3 feet by 6 feet long by 4 feet thick fell from the roof on to him. From the appearance of the place after the accident it seemed that more timber should have been set under the stone. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Hamilton Palace Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Bent Colliery Co., Ltd., on August 12th, and caused the death of a roadsman. This man was sent to "redd" a road through an old road ; whilst he was doing this work he liberated a large piece of rock roof which fell on him and buried him. The day fireman, when he visited this man’s place, told him to set plenty of timber as it was a dangerous place, but, on investigation, it was afterwards found that the deceased had not set any timber to the insecure roof and side. The place was one which required great caution to be exercised in its working, and an adequate amount of timber set to support the roof and sides. He, however, failed to obey the orders given to him by the fireman, and paid the penalty of his life. | |
| 1912 | August | 12 | Newbattle | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Thomson | 14 | Filler | Falls of roof | He was allowed to fill coal from a head coal shot into a conveyor while his brother pulled down the coal remaining up. He got under the head coal and was struck by a large piece as it fell. | |
| 1912 | August | 13 | Hamilton Palace | Lanark | Bent Colliery Co Ltd | William Aird | 51 | Miner | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | He was proceeding along the haulage way to shaft after finishing his work for the day, and just as he was about to open a trap door to pass through, an empty tub on the rope came upon him, and he fell under it, and was fatally crushed. | |
| 1912 | August | 17 | Killochan No2 | Ayr | Killochan Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Smith | 40 | Pit Sinker | Shaft accidents – overwinding | Deceased and others were working in the bottom of the shaft, which was being deepened. The winding engineman, on taking a kettle of debris to the surface, mistook his mark on his drum, which mark was additional to that on the indicator dial, and took the kettle to the pulleys. The rope hose, which proved to be of bad design, gave way, and the kettle with debris fell to the bottom. Smith was struck by a falling stone, and so badly injured that he died three hours later. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Killochan Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Killochan Coal Co., Ltd., on August 17th, and caused the death of a sinker a few hours later. Nos. 1 and 2 shafts were, at the time, 132 yards deep, and were to be sunk 100 yards further. This work had just been begun in No. 2 shaft, and 12 ft. of ground had been taken out. As this shaft is the upcast shaft for the present seams it is closed in to the pithead level, 21 ft. above the ground surface, and is connected to the Ventilating fan. The engineman always stopped his full kettles below the folding doors at the top till the latter were opened and he was signalled to raise the kettle through them. On this occasion he had a full kettle waiting, and after he received the signal to raise it instead of stopping at the proper place for the emptying of the kettle he went about 5 ft. too far and pulled the wooden rider and kettle against the beams carrying the pulley. The winding rope had only been in use a month, but, owing to its being inefficiently hosed, it was pulled through the cap or socket and the kettle, rider, chain, and hose fell down the shaft. With the exception of deceased the men at work in the bottom fortunately were not injured - they sheltered under the beams or buntons and were thus protected. The engineman admitted that he had made a mistake and said it arose through there being similar marks at different points on the edge of the drum and that, as he had only been two weeks on this engine, he mistook his mark and overran the place at which he should have stopped. If there had been a safety hook or controller in use the accident would have been prevented. Even without a hook or· controller, if the rope hose had been a satisfactory one, it is probable that the engine would have been brought to rest without damage, as it was almost stopped at the time. The method of hosing the rope was unsatisfactory and inefficient, and, as a warning to others, I give a full description of it. The rope was of improved steel, and non- rotating, it was 1 in. in diameter and was made up on six strands of nine wires each with an iron core. The hose was of the solid type, and the length of the hole through it was 10 in., tapering from 2 in. to 1 1/8 in. ; with the hose there was supplied a pin 8 in. long, tapering from 1 1/4in. to 1/8 in. The procedure in putting the hose on the rope was as follows :- (1) The hose was threaded on the rope and slipped a few feet along its length. (2) The rope was bound with marlin cord at the part to be inside the hose. (ii) The strands were untwisted and two wires from each strand turned back, one the full length of the hose, the other half length, these were bound down, after hammering, with marlin again and the others cut off. (4) The hose was brought back on to the prepared part. (5) The iron pin described above was driven down into the centre of the hose. As must be apparent to anyone with knowledge of winding ropes and attachments, this method of hosing was bound sooner or later to give way and produce a serious accident. The instruction from the makers was to do as set out above with the important addition that molten white metal was then to be run into the hose and allowed to cool in it. If this had been done the rope would ·not have been drawn out, and the accident would have been prevented. Those responsible for the hose being used in the condition it was in were very much to blame, and I hope that I shall not again have to draw attention to a hose of such an unsatisfactory type. |
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| 1912 | August | 19 | Kinglassie | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Patrick McCaulay | 27 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | The rope of a cousie had got out of the wheel; five men were trying to ease up the full hutches to take the weight off the rope when a fall occurred, killing the two men. Two others were slightly injured. From Main body of report: A fatal accident occurred at the Kinglassie Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Fife Coal Co., Ltd., on August 19th, whereby two men were killed and two others slightly injured. The accident occurred on a self-acting incline. Two hutches were being lowered, but there was too much slack rope, and they ran very quickly, with the result that the rope left the wheel and fell on to the axle where it quickly tightened. The deceased men and others went to the hutches, and were endeavouring to push them back a. little when a large fall occurred without any warning. It was 12 ft. long, 9 ft. broad, 1 ft. 6 ins. thick on one side of the road, and 6 ins. thick on the other. The roof which fell was sandstone, without any slips, and it brought down three bars with it, the centre one being broken. The mishap on the incline does not appear to have been the cause of the accident in any way. The road was being back brushed, and the fall commenced at the face of the brushing. The accident shows the necessity of seeing that the ends of bars set to the roof are well supported. |
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| William Whitton | 17 | Hanger-on | |||||||||
| 1912 | August | 20 | Ross | Lanark | Thomas Barr's Trust | William White | 37 | Repairer | Falls of roof | Whilst repairing in a fallen roadway a piece of stone, 15 inches by 12 inches by 9 inches, fell from the roof and struck him on the head. The work was under the charge of an oversman, who had examined the roof and thought it was safe, and therefore relied on its not falling. It would have been better to have started from one end of the fall, and protected the workers overhead with temporary timber as they advanced. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at the Ross Colliery belonging to Messrs. Thomas Barr’s Trustees, on August 20th, causing the death of a repairer. A large fall of roof took place on the 19th on one of the main roads. It was the intention of the oversman to completely clear away the debris in order to set up some specially cut long carrying baulks or· crowns to support the roof above where the fall had come from. Two shifts of men had practically cleared the roadway, and the third shift had not been at work long when the accident occurred. The deceased was working out the debris underneath the hole from which it had fallen when a stone fell from the top of the hole in the roof and struck him on the head. He died the following day from concussion of the brain. The oversman was greatly at fault in connection with this occurrence; he should not have allowed the men to work under an unprotected roof, but, on the other hand, should have seen that temporary timber was set and advanced as the fallen debris was removed. |
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| 1912 | August | 24 | Cowdenbeath No 7 | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | John Bisset | 42 | Miner | Falls of roof | They were engaged in driving through some old stoop and room workings. The face had approached a point where four roads met when a fall of roof occurred, which buried them both. The cavity left by the fall was 22 feet high and 20 feet long. From Main body of report: A miner and drawer were killed at No. 7, Cowdenbeath Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Fife Coal Co., Ltd., on the 24th August, by a fall of roof. They were driving through old workings in the Lochgelly Splint Seam, where stoops of various sizes were interspersed with wastes and roads of varying areas. Whilst doing so, a large fall of stone from the roof and sides occurred, which broke and swung out the timbering and buried both men. This accident emphasises, in driving through broken and unknown ground, the importance of tying timbers together by “dogs " or notches, and also the sets together by nailed straps or stringers of wood or long iron dogs. The timber, although the cavity from which stone fell was 27 ft. by 22 ft. by 12 ft., was not broken but reeled out by the roof suddenly weighting on to it. In addition to the obligation on firemen to see one another when changing shifts in such places as these, it is important that the men working in them should also meet and inform each other of the condition of the place and explain any difficulties that have arisen during the shift. In this case the deceased were working their first shift in the place. |
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| Lenus Muirhead | 19 | Drawer | |||||||||
| 1912 | August | 26 | Lassodie | Fife | Thos Spowart & Co Ltd | Thomas Drummond | 61 | Washer Attendant | On surface – by machinery | He was attempting to tighten a bolt close to a revolving shaft, when a set screw, fastening a collar to the shaft, caught his sleeve. He was drawn round the shafting, and so severely injured that he died two days later. He should have stopped the machinery before attempting to work so close to it. rom Main body of report: An accident occurred at Lassodie Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Thomas Spowart & Co., Ltd., on the 26th August, and caused the death of a washer foreman. Deceased climbed on to the washing tanks to adjust a nut in one of the bearings of the cam-shaft in connection with the plungers when his sleeve was caught by a projecting stud in the shaft, and he was dragged round by the shaft and killed. Although oiling and adjusting, while the machinery is in motion, are, as a rule, prohibited, and a printed notice is posted to that effect, there are so many bearings about mines which it is necessary should be frequently lubricated, and other parts which require to be frequently adjusted that it appears to me the only way to prevent this kind of accident, which has in the past been so prolific in causing loss of life, is to so enclose them with sheet iron or other means that they can be safely attended to while the machinery is in motion. |
Newspaper report - Beath pages |
| 1912 | August | 27 | Lochgelly, Nellie | Fife | Lochgelly Iron & Coal Co Ltd | Robert Stewart | 25 | Wheeler | Haulage – ropes or chains breaking | He had just attached an empty tub to the chain at the foot of a cut chain brae when a "D" link or muzzle in the chain caught in a rail and broke. The empty tub ran back and struck deceased. No jocks were used. From Main body of report: A wheeler was killed at Lochgelly Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Lochgelly Iron and Coal Co., Ltd., on the 27th August. The deceased had attached an empty tub to the chain of a cut chain brae dipping 1 in 2 when a “D” muzzle joining-link in the chain was pulled open, and the empty tub, in consequence, ran back and killed him. It is probable that if a backstay had been in use he would have had time to get clear of the tub, if the tub had run back at all. Backstays are, in my opinion, absolutely necessary at the back of all ascending tubs if accidents from runaway tubs are to be prevented. Some of the owners and managers object strongly to them, but on what grounds I fail to see ; they undoubtedly prevent accidents, and, in use, do not cause any inconvenience to anyone. Since the accident Mr. Adamson, M.P. for West Fife, has shown me an ingenious "SS" link invented by a miner in Fife, and its use for joining lengths of chain on out chain braes would, I think, do away with some of the risks experienced in using some of those at present in use, and I would recommend managers of collieries at which cut chain braes are at work to see and test it, and, if they are satisfied with their investigation, adopt it. |
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| 1912 | August | 28 | Hattonrigg | Lanark | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | Thomas Nelson | 58 | Hand Pumper | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased was run over by runaway hutches whilst walking up a haulage road. These hutches formed part of a rake of nine, one of which had become derailed, the bogieman and two benchers were after uncoupling the five near hutches to lift it on, when those behind ran down the road and caused the accident. There was a "jock" behind the hutches, but it is probable as it had two prongs it slid down the rope. The men replacing the hutch on the rails were much to blame for not seeing those behind were secured, so that they could not possibly run down the road. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Hattonrigg Colliery belonging to the Summerlee Iron Co., Ltd., on August 28th. A pump attendant was walking up a haulage dook when a set of runaway hutches caught and fatally injured him. The men were allowed to travel up this haulage road when the last rake had gone up. This man, after waiting some minutes, and thinking the rake would have reached the top of the road, started, but it appears the rake became derailed when near the top, and two benchers who had followed it up began to lift the hutch on to the rails. They uncoupled several of them and allowed them to run back on to the jock or backstay; the latter failed to hold them and they ran away. Before uncoupling the hutches, adequate precautions should have been taken to see that they would be secure, and either sprags put in the wheels or a prop set behind the hutches to prevent their running away. If this had been done, or if it had been necessary, as I think it should be, for a signal to be given from the top of the road after the rake of tubs had arrived at its destination, before the men were allowed to walk on the road, this accident would have been prevented. The necessity of such precautions is obvious if accidents are to be prevented, and I hope they will be taken, in future, at this and all other mines where similar conditions exist. |
Newspaper report - Bothwell pages |
| 1912 | August | 29 | Carnock | Stirling | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | Andrew Burns | 17 | Brakesman | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | He apparently stepped in front of a moving train which was being moved under his direction, and was knocked down, the whole train passing over his leg. Died the same evening. | |
| 1912 | August | 29 | Neilsland No 1 | Lanark | John Watson Ltd | Anthony Bronski | 50 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was walking on the main road out to the shaft, at the end of his shift, when a large stone suddenly fell on him and killed him. | |
| 1912 | August | 30 | Blantyreferme | Lanark | A G Moore & Co | John Bowles | 45 | Miner | Falls of roof | The deceased was holing when a piece of roof stone, measuring 6 feet long by 3 feet broad by 6 inches thick, fell from between two hidden lypes on to him and killed him. | |
| 1912 | September | 4 | Kenmuir No 3 | Lanark | J Dunn & Stephen Ltd | James Phillips | 27 | Machineman | Miscellaneous underground - electricity | After finishing work for the day the deceased was sitting near the Coal Cutter, his feet being on the bridle. Owing to the machine working under drops of water from the roof, and water falling on the plug connection, a breakdown of the insulation of the leads occurred, the earth wire was either severed or too small to carry the current to earth, and the frame of the machine became electrically charged, and he received a fatal shock. From Main body of report: The fatal accident occurred at Kenmuir No. 3 Colliery, belonging to Messrs. J. Dunn & Stephen, Ltd., on September 4th, and caused the death of a coal-cutting machineman. Electricity is used as a 3-phase current at 440 volts supplied from a sub-station belonging to the Clyde Valley Electric Power Co. The deceased received an electric shock from the coal-cutting machine owing to the plug connection between the trailing cable and the machine being wet, due to water falling on it from the roof of the seam, thus allowing leakage to the machine frame. The frame of the machine was connected by a length of 7/20 cable to the gate-end box, and then by a length of 19/18 cable to an earth-plate at the surface, a distance of about 600 yards, and there was also an intermediate earth-place in the sump at the shaft bottom. Mr. Nelson, H.M. Electrical Inspector of Mines, visited the colliery and investigated the accident, and was of opinion that the probable cause of the frame becoming electrically charged was that the end of the earth wire at the surface was fastened to a short length of old rail, in a very rusty condition, buried about 3 feet in the ground, so that it was rust rather than metal which was making contact with earth, and the connection with the earth-cable being poorly made. This latter was so slack that some earth had forced itself between the head of the bolt and the web of the rail. The plate in the sump it was not possible to examine in position, but it was explained that it merely dipped into the water, and, in these circumstances, its failure is not difficult to account for. It is explained in the Memorandum issued with the Electricity Special Rules that earth-plates should be sunk in the ground and not simply immersed in water. As the wet conditions at the colliery were such as to require strict compliance with the Electricity Special Rules, Mr. Nelson, at my request, inspected the remainder of the electrical plant at this colliery, and reported that to provide adequately for safety much remained to be done in improving the standard of insulation, and I informed the owners that if they did not voluntarily bring all the plant up to the required standard I would be compelled to give them formal notice to do so. They then decided to stop the working of the seam, as the quantity of coal remaining to work, in their opinion, did not justify the very moderate outlay which would have been necessary. | Newspaper report |
| 1912 | September | 6 | Craig | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Francis Brannan | 39 | Collier | Falls of roof | He was taking out a rib of coal from alongside a heading road, when part of the brushing above him fell from the roadside on to him, causing injuries from which he died seven days later. | |
| 1912 | September | 9 | Lassodie Mill | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Donald McDonald, junr. | 41 | Pithead Worker | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | A wagon was stuck under the screens. Deceased climbed into wagon without authority and attempted to liberate it. Another wagon was meanwhile used to move the fixed wagon, and deceased, climbing out as the bump occurred, was fatally crushed between end of wagon and a cross beam of the screen house. | |
| 1912 | September | 10 | Lindsay | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Joseph Neilson | Listed in 1913 report -see details listed under date of death January 12 1913 | ||||
| 1912 | September | 10 | Lochore, Mary | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | William Marley | 48 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was filling a hutch, when, without any warning, a piece of stone fell on his head, killing him instantly | |
| 1912 | September | 10 | Dunnikier No 1, Panny | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | James Hay | 38 | Machineman | Falls of roof | He was crushed by a large fall of fireclay from the roof while preparing the face in front of a coal cutting machine. He had noticed that the roof was jointy, but did not stop the machine and make the place safe by setting timber under the defective stone. | |
| 1912 | September | 12 | Bedlay | Lanark | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | John Docherty | 69 | Wagon Greaser | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | He attempted to take a train, consisting of 17 empty wagons, down to the washery, and while doing so he stumbled and fell among the wheels. It was no part of his duty to interfere with the wagons except to grease them while they were stationary. From Main body of report: An accident occurred on September 12th, to a wagon greaser, at Bedlay Colliery, belonging to Messrs. William Baird & Co., Ltd. A train of 17 empty wagons was left on the line of rails from the Coal Washery properly spragged and the brakes pinned hard down on the wheels. Deceased attempted to take the train to the Washery, and in doing so he appeared to have taken out the sprags and lifted the brakes with the result that the train ran away, and in his endeavour to stop the train he stumbled and fell among the wheels, and was run over. Deceased’s sole duty was to grease the wheels of the wagons, and in attempting to move them he was doing as he should not have done. |
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| 1912 | September | 13 | Berryhill No 3 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | James McCreadie | 16 | Driver | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased was taking a rake of eight loaded tubs along a level road, when, in some way unexplained, he was caught and run over by the first tub of the rake ; he was killed instantly. | |
| 1912 | September | 20 | Auchinraith | Lanark | Merry & Cunninghame Ltd | Robert Farquhar | 47 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was buried by a fall of roof whilst taking off his clothes in the roadway near the face preparatory to beginning work. The fall was due to sudden roof pressure, and two settings of timber were displaced by it. | |
| 1912 | September | 20 | Polmaise | Stirling | Archd. Russell Ltd | Alexander Allardice | 40 | Fireman | Falls of roof | He was in the act of charging a hole for some miners when a smooth flat stone, 10 feet by 4 feet by 9 inches, with feather edges, swung out three props and fell on him. | |
| 1912 | September | 21 | Niddrie | Edinburgh | Niddrie & Benhar Coal Co Ltd | Alexander Walker | 64 | Miner | Falls of side | Holing his working place when a piece of coal 9 feet in length fell away and hit him on the head, causing fatal injuries. | Newspaper report |
| 1912 | September | 23 | Dunsyston | Lanark | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | James Spence | 20 | Dook Chain Runner | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | In running a rake on a self-acting incline, the deceased appears to have lost control and failed to apply the brake in time, with the result that the upcoming tubs ran against a post supporting the wheel, and he was fatally crushed. Deceased was the chainer on a dook haulage, and he, and the person in charge of the incline, agreed to change jobs without the consent of the officials. From Main body of report: An accident occurred on a self-acting incline at Dunsyston Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Summerlee Iron Co., Ltd., on the 23rd September, causing the death of a chainer. The incline was 100 yards long with a gradient of 1 in 12 and the rake usually consisted of five tubs. The wheel to regulate the speed, and round which the rope passed was fixed between the full and empty roads at the top of the incline. Deceased was a chainer for a dook haulage, and he and the wheeler, or brakesman of the incline, agreed to change work for a time, and when he ran the first rake he allowed it to run too fast, with the result that the empty tubs came up at a high speed and the front one crashed against the upright beam supporting the wheel, and he was fatally crushed while he attempted to stop the rake by means of the brake. The brake was worked by a wheel and screw and was powerful, but deceased had allowed the rake to get too much way on and was unable to stop it. If the persons employed change work without the permission of the officials accidents are bound to occur, and officials cannot too strictly enforce discipline in this respect and let it be known that any breach of the rules forbidding its being done will be severely dealt with. |
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| 1912 | September | 23 | Lumphinnans No 11 | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Henry Aitchison | 14 | Picker | On surface – by machinery | Whilst engaged in picking stone from coal in a railway truck he became caught between a revolving spur wheel and a girder, and was instantly crushed to death. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at the Lumphinnans No. 11 Colliery, of Messrs. The Fife Coal Co., Ltd., on September 23rd, whereby a stone picker, a boy of 14 years of age, lost his life. A railway truck was being loaded with coal from a conveyor belt, and deceased’s duty was to stand in the truck and pick out stones. Above the truck was some spur gearing driving the belt, the lowest point of which was 4 ft. 10 ins. above the bottom of the truck when it was empty. As the truck was loaded, of course, the boy could get correspondingly nearer to the gearing. It is not quite clear how the accident happened, but the boy was found with his body resting on a girder, and in contact with the revolving gearing. When the machinery was stopped and the boy taken down it was found that he was already dead, having received shocking injuries. He had only been at work at that particular place for a few hours, and although he was working quite alone, he had received no warning of possible danger. The accident shows the necessity of securely fencing any machinery which it is conceived may be dangerous in any possible circumstances, and also of giving definite instructions regarding possible danger to all persons commencing new work, especially young persons. |
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| 1912 | September | 24 | Dechmont | Lanark | Archd. Russell Ltd | John Donachie | 57 | Assistant Coal Cutter Machineman | Falls of roof | Deceased was buried by a fall of roof whilst timbering the face after a coal cutter had passed. Several settings of timber were knocked out by the fall, which fell away from between two lypes. | |
| 1912 | September | 26 | Aitken | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | George Fernie | 48 | Brusher | Falls of roof | Whilst filling dirt in a road passing through old workings, a large stone fell on him, from between two joints, killing him instantly. | |
| 1912 | September | 28 | Neilsland No 1 | Lanark | J Watson Ltd | William Forrest | 33 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | The deceased was buried by a fall of roof, caused by a hutch drawn by a pony getting off the road and knocking out a prop from under the timber supporting the roof at this point. | |
| 1912 | September | 30 | Glenyards | Stirling | Glenyards Fireclay Co Ltd | John McNiven | 56 | Miner | Falls of roof | He, along with another man, was just going to wedge a piece of stone down that a shot had failed to dislodge. He was carrying the necessary gear to the face when the stone came away and killed him. | |
| 1912 | October | 1 | Crofthead | Linlithgow | P Thornton | William Brown | 21 | Machineman | Falls of roof | He was behind a coal cutting machine driving it under a roof where clay filled the hollows of a rolling rock. The coal fell close to the disc, allowing the roof supports set or needled in to fall away from the clay roof, two tons of which descended and suffocated him. | |
| 1912 | October | 1 | Kinneil | Linlithgow | Kinneil Coal & Coke Co Ltd | David Millar | 65 | Hoistman | On surface – by machinery | Deceased was engaged in lifting hutches of ashes from ground level to the Pithead level with a steam hoist. He put an extra heavy hutch on to hoist, and it failed to lift it. He then attempted to push hutch off cage without shutting steam off first. He was carried up to Pithead and had both legs broken between cages and some timbers at Pithead. He died on 16th October. | |
| 1912 | October | 2 | Gilbertfield | Lanark | John Watson Ltd | Samuel Cockburn | 33 | Contractor Brusher | Haulage – ropes or chains breaking | He was taking a full tub down a steep "cuddy" or back balanced road when the rope broke. He somehow got in the way of the balance tub, which was on the adjoining set of rails, and was caught and jammed by it against a prop. He was so severely injured that he died an hour after the accident occurred. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Gilbertfield Colliery, belonging to Messrs. John Watson, Ltd., on October 2nd, and caused the death of a contractor brusher. The Upper Ell Seam is worked longwall and the inclination is 1 in 3. There are cuddy braes, with the back balances travelling half the distance of the tubs, in use for taking coals from the faces down to the levels, and, as part of the brushing requires to be taken to the surface, the cuddies are also used for lowering tubs of stone. The cuddies are all loaded to back balance coal tubs and are consequently light for stone work. To assist the back balancing, brake sticks to be pressed against the running rope on the wheel are provided, but are of very little use. The brushing contractor and another man had been brushing a heading road 26 yards up from a level road and the contractor had taken five tubs safely to the level, some of them, the man who assisted him at the face admitted, travelled too quickly, although he was using the brake stick. He was taking down the sixth when the rope broke, probably owing to the cuddy catching on the side of the road, and the loaded tub ran away. The contractor was on the upper side of the runaway tub, but was further down- hill than the cuddy, which also ran away. As the tub and cuddy ran on separate sets of rails he ought to have been clear, but, in some way, he got partly in front of it, and was knocked down and killed. The rope had a breaking strain of five tons and was not more than six months old ; it had been running on good dry roads all the time, and, to outward appearance, was little worn. It must have been overstrained, and the most likely manner in which this could occur would be by the cuddy suddenly catching the roadside when running at a comparatively speaking, high speed. If there had been a proper screw brake attachment to the cuddy wheel at the coal face to control the speed of the loaded tubs, in all probability the accident would have been prevented. | |
| 1912 | October | 3 | Coursington | Lanark | Wishaw Coal Co Ltd | John McKenna | 18 | Pithead Runner | On surface – by machinery | He was assisting to lower some pump rods by means of a hand winch, and when turning the handle of the winch the gear was improperly changed by one of the men with the result that control of the winch was lost, and the weight being lowered, caused the handle to revolve rapidly and strike him on the head. From Main body of report: A surface clipper was killed at Coursington Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Wishaw Coal Co., Ltd., on the 3rd October, by a blow from the handle of a winch. The pump rods in the shaft were being lowered and the deceased and three other workmen were holding the weight with the winch when it was suggested that the gears should be changed from the lower to the higher. This was unfortunately done, and, as a result the weight of the rods with the higher gear being too much for the men to hold, they lost their grip of the handles of the winch and the rods at once began to descend and the handles of the winch to revolve rapidly. One of the latter struck the deceased on the head and killed him. The winch was not provided either with a brake or "pawl”. An efficient brake would have prevented the accident, and it is to be regretted that one was not provided. No winch, which is not provided with a brake and pawl, should be allowed to be used, as they are both essential to the safety of the persons employed at the winch, the former when lowering and the latter when raising weights. | Newspaper report |
| 1912 | October | 9 | Skellyton | Lanark | Darngavil Coal Co Ltd | Frank Beattie | 40 | Roadsman | Miscellaneous underground – by machinery | Deceased was assisting to release the bar of a "Hurd" Coal Cutter, which had become fast in the holing, and while the bar was in motion it suddenly sprung out from under the holing and caught him. From Main body of report: It occurred at Skellyton Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Darngavil Coal Co., Ltd., on October 9th, and caused the death of a roadsman, who was assisting to release the bar of a coal cutting machine which had become fast in the holing, and while the bar was in motion it suddenly sprang out from under the coal and caught him. |
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| 1912 | October | 12 | Longrigg | Lanark | James Nimmo & Co Ltd | John McGowan | 32 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased had just taken coal off the face, and was in the act of filling it into a "slipe" when the roof suddenly fell upon him. The roof was composed of hard sandstone and had come away from an unseen lype on one side and a " dry " on the other. | |
| 1912 | October | 14 | Orbiston No 1 | Lanark | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | Thomas Bryce McGregor | 15 | Miner's Boy | Falls of side | The deceased was filling a hutch when a fall of side coal caught and fatally crushed him against the hutch. | |
| 1912 | October | 15 | Bardykes | Lanark | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | John Keiff | 31 | Brusher | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (11.30pm) These three men died from injuries received by an explosion of firedamp. From Main body of report: Three brushers were fatally and another seriously injured in the main coal seam at Bardykes Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Summerlee Iron Co., Ltd., on October 15th, by an explosion of firedamp. The seam is worked by means of safety lamps, and there was no defect in any of the lamps in the vicinity of the explosion. The deceased men were putting on their coats preparatory to taking a meal in the level road, while a shot, charged with 1.5 lbs. of Stowite, was being tired by the shot-firer in the brushing of No. 1 road off the level. In this road gas had been found on several occasions, especially at a break in the roof about 45 feet from the face, and at the break and a small depression in the roof further outbye hurdle screens had been erected and a current of air allowed to pass along the road for the purpose of preventing any accumulations ; the quantity passing on the day of the investigation was 2,100 cubic feet per minute. There was very little violence, as, with the exception of a canvas screen being slightly damaged, there were no signs of force. There were, however, signs of flame and burning on the timber where the men were when the explosion occurred. The shot-firer stated that prior to firing the shot he examined the road and adjacent places and found no gas in them, and the road was also examined by the fireman about three hours previously, and he reported that he found it clear at that time. Gas was found at the break in the roof after the explosion. The shot-firer had gone along the face with his cable and battery and fired the shot from there. It has been suggested that the cause of this explosion was some illegal use of an open light, but, although it is difficult to state definitely what the cause was, my opinion is that the gas was probably ignited by the shot, owing to the shot-firer failing to detect a small quantity of gas in the roof between the break in the roof where it was found after the explosion occurred. It is, of course, possible for an open light to have been used for some illegal purpose, but it appears to me to be unlikely that the men would attempt to smoke, which is the only purpose it is likely they would use a naked light for, when the shot-firer was so near to them. The shot which was being fired at the time the gas was ignited is, in my opinion, the most probable cause of the occurrence. | |
| Thomas Joyce | 35 | Brusher | |||||||||
| Peter Boyle | 26 | Brusher | |||||||||
| 1912 | October | 16 | Southrigg No 3 | Linlithgow | United Collieries Ltd | Patrick Campbell | 42 | Stone Worker | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | Two stone workers appear to have been stemming a shot hole when it exploded, killing Campbell, and injuring the other on chest, arms and chin. There is very little evidence to show how the accident was caused, but it appears probable one of the shots had missed fire, and the stemming was being bored out. | |
| 1912 | October | 18 | Calderbank No 2 | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | Joseph Farrell | 25 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was on his way to his work with two other workmen and while passing under a strong sandstone post the roof suddenly gave way and he was killed. The roof appeared to have taken a sudden burst. Repairs had just been made to a part of the roof in the immediate vicinity. | |
| 1912 | October | 23 | Aitken | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | James Halkett | 20 | Driver | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Whilst dismounting from a rake of six full trams in motion he slipped and fell. His head was squeezed between the moving trams and a stationary rake in front. | |
| 1912 | November | 1 | Carberry | Edinburgh | Edinburgh Collieries Co Ltd | Alexander Campbell | 14 | Creeper Attendant | On surface – by machinery | He was pushing a full hutch to the foot of a creeper, and fell into the hole where the drum is fixed round which the creeper chain works. The left leg was held in the hole, and the right leg was carried for a distance up the creeper. The right leg was taken off, and abdominal injuries received to which he succumbed in a couple of hours. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at the Carberry Colliery of Messrs. The Edinburgh Collieries, Ltd., on November 1st, whereby a creeper attendant, a boy of 14 years, lost his life. The accident occurred at the foot of a creeper near the top of the winding shaft. Deceased’s duty was to feed the full tubs on to the creeper. The morning was frosty and the tubs ran badly. Deceased went to the back of one of them to push it on to the creeper when he fell into the uncovered space at the foot of the creeper. One leg was held tight, and the other was taken up by an arm of the creeper, inflicting terrible injuries from which the unfortunate boy died about two hours later. |
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| 1912 | November | 5 | Dunnikier No 1, Panny | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | James Forrest | 29 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was at work in a heading when the roof fell for a length of 23 feet, thickness of 1 foot, and breadth of 10 feet, without any warning, killing him instantly. | Newspaper report |
| 1912 | November | 5 | Holytown | Lanark | Jas Nimmo & Co Ltd | Patrick Meachan | 38 | Miner | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased, with another workman, was turning his loaded tub from his road to the lye of cousie brae when a loaded runaway tub came down the heading and ran against a tub on the same line of rails, causing it to move forward against his tub. He attempted to clear himself by springing to the side of the roadway of the lye, but was too late, the tub striking him and causing fatal injury. The runaway tub was loaded with debris, and two men in charge of it lost control while re-railing it 230 feet above. | |
| 1912 | November | 7 | East Parkhead No 2 | Lanark | Wilson's & Clyde Coal Co Ltd | John McNeil | 35 | Repairer | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased was struck by a runaway hutch whilst repairing in a dook. The repairers working above him in the dook failed to erect a barrier below where they were working, to hold the hutches. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at East Parkhead Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wilson’s & Clyde Coal Co., Ltd., on November 7th, causing the death of a repairer. Two sets of repairers were at work on an endless haulage inclined road, one being 30 yards above the other. After filling a hutch with debris the men on the high side attempted to lower it down the roadway to a point clear of their operations, but not so far as the place where the other men were working. The weight was, however, too much for them to control, and the hutch ran away and caught one of the men below who failed to get clear of it and killed him. This accident would have been prevented if the upper set of repairers had fixed a prop either across the roadway or to the roof against which to lower their loaded hutches, and it is to be regretted that they did not adopt this precaution. A hutch should always be controlled either by using sprags or snibbles or other means when being lowered on a road with an inclination, and steps taken to prevent it causing injury to any person if it should inadvertently get loose from the person or persons lowering it. |
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| 1912 | November | 8 | Gauchalland No 7 | Ayr | Gauchalland Coal Co | Robert Kane | 35 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was taking down top coal alone in his working place when a piece apparently struck and knocked out one of the props, which allowed part of the roof to fall away from a break and a lype. The falling roof caught him before he could get clear and injured him so severely that he died early next morning. | |
| 1912 | November | 12 | Whitrigg No 5 | Linlithgow | R Forrester & Co Ltd | William Easton | 39 | Shaftsman | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | He was engaged removing some pipes in the shaft when he fell off the scaffold, consisting of a single 9 in. by 3 in. plank, into the sump, a distance of 32 fathoms, and was killed instantly. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Whitrigg Colliery, belonging to Messrs. R. Forrester & Co., Ltd., on November 12th, by which a sinker lost his life. A new shaft 21 ft. by 10 ft. 6 in. had recently been sunk to the Main Coal Seam, a distance of 175 fathoms. At the time of the accident the actual sinking was completed, and roads were being driven in the coal to connect with the neighbouring colliery. The shaft was divided by 6-inch buntons placed 4 ft. apart into three spaces, one for steam and water pipes 2 ft. 10 in. wide, another for a cage 7 ft. 10 in. wide, while the third, which is ultimately intended to be divided into another cage space 7 ft. 10 in. wide and a cable space 12 in. wide, was in the process of being fitted with guides, buntons, &c. The deceased man, Wm. Easton, and John Reddington, the leading sinker, were engaged in taking these out of the shaft, while the cage space next to the pipe space was equipped with guides and a cage installed in it; at the far side of this space a temporary line of steel water pipes each being 15 ft. long, 2.5 in. diameter, weighing 70 lbs. was installed, Their method was to run a. 7 in. by 2.5 in. plank 10 ft. 6 in. long across the shaft, and fasten by brackets to the walls in lieu of buntons, which were not yet installed, and to rest another plank 9 in. by 2.5 in. by 10 ft. 6 in. on this and on one of the buntons forming the cage partitions. The cage was lowered to the level of the top of the pipe it was desired to lift, and access to it from the cage was by means of the above planks; a sling chain weighing about 6 lbs. was placed round the top of the pipe, the bottom bolts were slackened and the pipe was hauled up, taken on to the cage top, and so to the surface. Four pipes had been safely removed, and preparations were being made to remove the fifth ; Reddington had returned on to the cage top for the sling chain, and handed it to Easton, who came half-way to meet him, and on turning to go back he must have slipped and fallen, as Reddington says the next thing he saw was a light disappearing down the shaft, He fell 132 feet, and was instantly killed. The shaft was wet and the planks were slippery, and both men were wearing heavy boots with nails in the soles. The practice of having a scaffold only 9 in. wide is a very foolhardy one, for removing pipes or doing any work in a shaft, and should not be allowed under any circumstances. A proper scaffold, where it is possible, at least 3 ft. wide, should be provided and used, and the men equipped with safety belts. If this had been done on the date of the accident at this colliery, this unfortunate accident would not have been to record. |
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| 1912 | November | 18 | Canderrigg No 5 | Lanark | James Nimmo & Co Ltd | Andrew Haggerty | 36 | Miner | Falls of roof | Whilst working at the road head, a fall of brushing stone struck the deceased, breaking his neck. The fall came away from a lype on one side of the roadway and displaced the timber. | |
| 1912 | November | 23 | Lochgelly, Nellie | Fife | Lochgelly Iron & Coal Co Ltd | James Robertson | 45 | Pitwright | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | Deceased was at work on a temporary scaffold over the shaft, near Pithead level, with two other men, the cage being about 18 ft. below him, when the cage, which had been suspended in the shaft 2 ½ hours previously, began to rise slowly, and he was pinned between the top of the scaffold, which was carried up on top of cage, and a girder, and the Winding Engineman, in attempting to release him, took the cage the wrong way, and deceased was precipitated to the bottom of the shaft. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at the Lochgelly Colliery (Nellie Pit), belonging to Messrs. The Lochgelly Iron and Coal Co., Ltd., on November 23rd, by which a pitwright lost his life. The accident occurred on a Saturday evening. Deceased and two other men were engaged in fixing a girder for the new keps. A scaffold had been erected for them to stand on over one side of the shaft about 18.5 ft. above low scaffold or surface level. Simultaneously four joiners were at work in the winding engine house removing the casing round the drum in order to make room for the new overwinding gear. As one of the electric incandescent lamps in the engine house did not appear to be burning satisfactorily the engine driver procured a new one, which he gave to one of the joiners to change. The joiner did not take the precaution to cut off the current before changing the lamp, and owing probably to some defect in the lamp a heavy short was produced which blew the fuses and extinguished all the lamps in the engine house. The winding engineman went to the power house, about 50 yards away, for fresh fuses, and the joiners scrambled out of the engine house in the dark. At this moment those at the pithead noticed with alarm that the cage, the top of which was about 18 ft. below the temporary scaffold just mentioned, began to creep slowly upwards. The cages had been standing in the shaft for upwards of 2 1/2 hours. They signalled and shouted to the engineman, but unfortunately he was out of his house. The cage continued to rise and took up the scaffold with it until a girder was reached which arrested its further progress. Two of the men managed to scramble on to the roof of an adjoining pump house, but deceased had his leg jammed between the scaffold and the girder. By this time a state of considerable excitement prevailed, although comparatively little damage had been done. The engineman having returned to the engine house was made acquainted with the state of affairs. The surface foreman with commendable presence of mind seeing that if the cage were lowered suddenly the unfortunate man might be precipitated down the shaft, went round to the engine house and told the engineman only to lower a distance of a foot, holding a lamp against the drum for him, the electric lamps being still extinguished. The engineman alleged that he quite understood what to do, but that the engines would not respond. Instead the cage under the scaffold shot upwards, the deceased being thrown over the girder on to the roof of the house mentioned, from whence he fell down the shaft, a distance of 350 yards, being instantly killed. It is impossible to say with absolute certainty what made the engine start away after it had been standing for more than 2.5 hours, experiments made some days after the accident failed to throw further light on the subject, probably because it was impossible to again reproduce the exact conditions prevailing at the time of the accident. I am of opinion, however, that the joiners in leaving the engine house threw over the reversing lever. It was proved that it was quite easy for them to do this in stepping down from the places where they were at work. The engineman alleged that it was altered during his absence, and that whilst it was acting as a brake before he left if there was any steam leaking past the throttle valve, it was acting against the brake when he returned. It should be said that the brake was a new all-round band brake which had been put on a fortnight before. It was suggested that the brake had not had time to get properly bedded, that the friction had set up so much heat as to expand the rim, and that it had sufficiently cooled in the 2.5 hours to lose its bite. I hardly think this likely, although the experiments mentioned proved that the cage, when the brake was released, would immediately move away when in the position occupied at the time of the accident, owing to the unbalanced weight of the rope which was practically 1.25 tons. The inquiry into the reason of the cage starting away in the wrong direction elicited a point of general interest, which I think is worthy of the attention of those having charge of winding engine construction. The engine is fitted with trip valves, which close automatically when the reversing lever passes a point about 9 in. from the end of its maximum travel. To open them again the engineman has to bring the lever practically to the horizontal. If he takes it past the horizontal, however, the engine starts away in the opposite direction, unless the brake is on, and is sufficiently powerful. I have drawn the attention of the management to this point. The accident also draws attention to the danger of changing electric lamps with the current on, a danger which, I think, although to do so is a direct breach of the Electrical Special Rules, is not always appreciated. The engineman in leaving his engine house was guilty of a breach of the Special Rules. His sole duty on the afternoon of the accident was to stand by and attend to his engines. The inquiry elicited the fact that there was no other light than the electric light provided in the engine house. I am of opinion that this is a place to which the spirit if not the letter of Electrical Special Rule 5 (a) applies. This rule requires that where failure of the electric light would be likely to cause danger, one or more safety lamps or other proper lights should be kept continuously burning. The probability is that if such a light had been provided the accident would never have occurred. I would strongly urge on all managers the necessity of attention to this rule. The jury at the fatal accident inquiry held at the Sheriff Court, Dunfermline, on 19th December, added a rider to their verdict that the provision of such a light was advisable. | |
| 1912 | November | 28 | Afton No 2 | Ayr | New Cumnock Collieries Ltd | James McClue | 50 | Shunter | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | Deceased was passing between a locomotive and some wagons when the locomotive suddenly moved towards instead of away from him, and caught him, causing injuries from which he died five days later. | |
| 1912 | November | 30 | Dalbeath No 1 | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | James Meldrum | 22 | Hanger-on on Haulage Incline | Haulage – ropes or chains breaking | Whilst assisting to liberate a full hutch, which had stuck on a self-acting incline, the chain broke at a cut link. Deceased fell into the empty road, and was caught by the empty tub, which, owing to there being no backstay, ran back and he was carried to the foot of incline by it. From Main body of report: A fatal accident occurred at the Dalbeath Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Fife Coal Co., Ltd., on November 30th, whereby the hanger-on at the foot of a wheel brae lost his life. A fall occurred in a stone mine having an inclination of 1 in 3, and, to clear it away, it was decided to fix up a temporary self-acting incline. During one of the runs the down-going full hutch stuck just after it had passed the up-going empty. A man came down from the top of the incline, and the deceased came up from the bottom, to liberate it. As they succeeded in doing this the chain broke, and the deceased, overbalancing into the empty road, was caught by the empty hutch, which came downhill at a great speed and carried him to the foot of the incline, a distance of 14 yards, where he was found dead immediately afterwards. I am of opinion that the use of a backstay behind the ascending hutch would, in all probability, have prevented this accident, and I am further of opinion that the use of a backstay is required by Section 46 (4) (b) of the Coal Mines Act. The management take the opposite view, and permission has been granted for proceedings to be taken against the owner, agent, and manager of the mine. The case is arousing wide-spread interest, as self-acting inclines are very largely used in the Scottish Mines, and the use of backstays on self-acting inclines is not universal. The Inspectors are constantly coming across cases where the utility of backstays on self-acting inclines is proved in mines where they are used, and frequently accidents occur which, in their opinion, would have been prevented by their use. It is, therefore, a matter of regret that there should have been any necessity to resort to legal proceedings to obtain what appears to me to be a very necessary safeguard against accidents. |
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| 1912 | December | 4 | Ingliston No 36 (Oil shale) | Edinburgh | Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co Ltd | Robert Gifford | 37 | Miner's Drawer | Falls of roof | He had returned with the miner for whom he worked to see him examine their working place after a shot had been fired. He was standing behind the miner when a large piece of shale, which fell from the face, about 7 feet from where the shot had been fired, caught and killed him instantly. | |
| 1912 | December | 6 | Sundrum No 3 | Ayr | Dalmellington Iron Co Ltd | James Clark | 56 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | Deceased had an oil bottle lying beside his explosive canister. He went from his place to replenish the supply in his small lamp, and ignited the 3 lbs. gunpowder his canister contained. He was badly burned about the arms and face and died 4 days later. His canister must have been left open from the time he fired a shot earlier in the day. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Sundrum Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Dalmellington Iron Co., Ltd., on December 6th, and caused the death of a miner four days later. A miner in a "fast" place in the main coal went near to his open gunpowder canister with his naked light in his cap and a spark fell amongst the powder, which exploded and burned him. The canister was open, as he had omitted, possibly through forgetfulness to close it after taking some gunpowder from it earlier in the day. He stated to some of the men, after the accident occurred, that he was going for some oil for his lamp from a bottle, which he kept close to his canister, when the accident occurred. This appears to have been so, as his empty lamp attached to his cap was found after the explosion lying near the canister ; there was no reason for him to be getting gunpowder at the time as he had no shot hole ready, and there were plenty of loose coals in his working place. He contravened the Explosives Order, Part 1 (1) (b) as he failed to keep the explosives in a secure canister. This kind of accident is far too frequent; it may be that constant use of explosives makes the workmen take less care than is necessary to prevent them, but I should have thought that a man’s common sense would make him realise the foolishness of having a naked light anywhere near explosives. This does not, however, appear to be the case, for the Inspectors find innumerable cases of miners not removing their lights from their caps when opening a canister containing explosives. I desire to urge upon both officials and miners the necessity of great care in this respect. | |
| 1912 | December | 11 | Lumphinnans No 11 | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Hector McPherson Ewan | 15 | Drawer | Falls of roof | A sudden weight came on causing a large fall of roof coal in the roadhead, which fell on deceased, killing him instantly. | |
| 1912 | December | 12 | Bowhill | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Walter Lauder | 29 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was at work at the coal face when a piece of roof coal 3 feet by 3 feet by 9 inches fell out between two lypes on to the upper part of his back and neck. He died two days later. | |
| 1912 | December | 12 | Jenny Gray | Fife | David Clark | Death not listed in Inspectors report | Newspaper report - Auchterderran pages | ||||
| 1912 | December | 13 | Bardykes | Lanark | Summerlee Iron Co Ltd | Roderick Watson | 32 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was attempting to push down a bad stone from the roof when a large area of roof suddenly gave way and fell on him. | Newspaper report |
| 1912 | December | 14 | Rosshill (Oil shale) | Linlithgow | Dalmeny Oil Co Ltd | William Pollock | 45 | Fireman | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | (8am) He went to make an inspection of a place that had not been working for eight days. It was 60 feet up a very steep gradient. Instead of going up with a safety lamp, he illegally used a naked light, and ignited some gas in the face. No gas had been previously seen in the place. He died on 17th. From Main body of report: An explosion of gas occurred in the Barracks Shale Seam of Rosshill Mine, belonging to Messrs. Dalmeny Oil Co., Ltd., on December 14th, causing fatal injuries to a fireman. The scene of the accident was No. 7 upset off No. 6 Bench on No. 1 east side Chain Brae ; the place was 60 feet up from the level and rising 1 in 0.75. The deceased was fireman of the east side section of this mine and his duty was to make all inspections with a locked safety lamp. On the morning of the accident he made his first inspection and reported all the places in his section free from gas. As no date was afterwards found on the face of the place in which the accident occurred it appears that he had not inspected it, and the report was, therefore, inaccurate. About 5 a.m. he began his second inspection, and, I think, owing to the steepness of the upset, and the fact that gas had not been seen in it previously, left his safety lamp behind (it was afterwards found in the face of the level), and lighting a naked light climbed up the upset by the rope placed by the side of it for the purpose. On reaching the top he ignited some gas, and, probably losing his foothold, rolled down the upset, and was severely injured as well as burned. The deceased was thought to be a thoroughly experienced, competent, and careful fireman. He had, previous to coming to this mine, been employed at a fiery mine. This accident was entirely due to the use of naked lights, and emphasises the fact that where a fireman makes his initial inspection with a safety lamp, he should not be allowed to use or have in his possession a naked light, and I hope the officials, from the manager downwards, will enforce this where there are conditions such as existed in this instance. There is a great temptation for firemen to use naked lights with, as is shown by this occurrence, the risk of serious explosions occurring. Since this accident occurred safety lamps have been installed throughout the mine. |
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| 1912 | December | 14 | Bank | Ayr | New Cumnock Collieries Ltd | James Parker | 26 | Washery Foreman | On surface – by machinery | Deceased, who had charge of a large washery, was on the third floor about two hours after starting time. A new bearing had been put in at a gear wheel during the previous night, and he wished to find out whether it was heating. He got on to the top of a washery tank, and from there he stepped on to two shutes, and, by reaching up, got his arm past the smaller wheel. His sleeve caught, and he had his arm crushed. He died from his injuries six days later. | |
| 1912 | December | 16 | Hillrigg | Lanark | Hillrigg Coal Co Ltd | James McKay | 57 | Fireman | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | Deceased and another workman were engaged in lowering beams down the shaft. They were too long to be placed on the cage, and had to be slung under, by means of a chain ; one end of the chain was fastened to the end of the beam and the other was wound round the crossbar of the cage, and hitched. One beam had been safely lowered and in getting the second one into position deceased failed to hitch the chain as he did in the first, and when the beam went into the shaft it fell away, and the loose end of the chain unwound off the crossbar, and, striking his head, killed him. | |
| 1912 | December | 17 | Neilsland No 2 | Lanark | J Watson Ltd | James Macfadyon | 68 | Repairer | Falls of roof | He was engaged repairing the roof of the horse road, and while removing some timber the strata above appears to have been disturbed, and it fell away crushing him inside a tub in which he stood. | Newspaper report - Dalserf pages |
| 1912 | December | 17 | Rosehall No14 | Lanark | Robert Addie & Sons (Collieries) Ltd | Edward Brady | 28 | Miner | Falls of side | Deceased was working at the coal face when a fall of coal struck and crushed his head. It is probable he was holing, and had not set any gibs or sprags under the coal. | Newspaper report - Old Monkland pages |
| 1912 | December | 18 | Southrigg No 2 | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | James Murphy | 21 | Bogieman | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | He was improperly riding on another man's bogie when leaving his work. His head was caught between a crown and the top of the first tub of the rake,and his vertibrae dislocated. He died three days later. From Main body of report: A bogieman was killed at Southrigg, No. 2, Colliery, belonging to Messrs. United Collieries, Ltd., on the 18th December. He was illegally riding from his work on another man’s bogie, and his head was crushed between the front tub and a bar fixed at a height of 3 feet from the rails. The deceased it appears had previously been guilty of riding out in the same way, and when doing so, had been seen by others, but the fact had not been reported to the manager. It is to be regretted that the deceased lost his life in such a way, and also that the illegal riding was not reported, as it should have been, by those who knew of it. I have informed the manager that three feet is not a sufficient height for the safe working of a main haulage road under any circumstances, as it causes a great temptation to the workmen to ride surreptitiously in the tubs. | |
| 1912 | December | 18 | Bothwell Park | Lanark | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Robert Young | 33 | Locomotive Fireman | On surface – miscellaneous | Deceased was picking up pieces of coal, which had fallen from the screens, as the coal passed into the wagons, with which to fire the locomotive boiler, when a piece, weighing about 14 lbs., fell upon his head, inflicting a wound. He died 18 days later from erysipelas. | |
| 1912 | December | 20 | Craig No 1 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | James Burgess, Junr. | 18 | Pony Driver | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased was driving a rake of tubs along a level road, and when opposite a cuddy brae, which joins the level, a runaway tub crashed into the tub alongside of which he was walking. He was caught between them and so severely injured that he died in a few minutes. This accident was due to failure to use apparatus provided for preventing a runaway. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Craig Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Wm. Baird & Co., Ltd., on December 20th, and caused the death of a pony driver. A hand drawing road for a small section of major coal branched off Level Horse Road to the Major Coal Seam, midway between its ends. The road was almost at right angles and rises 1 in 8 for the first 180 feet. There is a cuddy or back balance to assist the drawers in controlling their tubs on the steep part. There were only a few drawers in this road and they attached their loaded tubs to and detached their empties from the rakes passing on the Horse Road. A drawer on his way out with a loaded tub failed to attach the cuddy rope to his tub, with the result that it overpowered him, and ran away just as the pony driver with a rake of tubs was approaching the bottom of the road. The driver apparently thought the tub would be controlled by a drawer, as, although he had plenty of room and sufficient time to get out of the way, he was caught and killed. Two stop blocks had been provided at the top of this cuddy road, but the most important of the two was not in use; it had been broken at least two days before the accident, and had not been used for some time previous to that, because of its being difficult, owing to the want of room at the side of the road, to work. There was no runaway switch or other contrivance next to the Horse Road to prevent danger in the event of tubs running away ; if such had been provided the accident would not have happened. This accident was contributed to directly and indirectly by quite a number of persons. The drawers all contravened Section 46 (3) of the Coal Mines Act in failing to use the stop block at the top of the short incline, though it must be said they had some excuse as it was so difficult to operate. The manager and under-manager contravened Section 46 (a) (b) of the Coal Mines Act in failing to provide a runaway switch or other contrivance above the Horse Road. Since the accident the road has been widened at the top of the short incline, so that the stop blocks can be used with freedom ; and a stop block to stop any runaway has been provided near the bottom, so that a similar accident is unlikely to happen again. |
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| 1912 | December | 24 | Bellfield | Lanark | Wm Barr & Sons (Coalmasters) Ltd | John Kelly | 47 | Miner | Falls of roof | He was engaged stooping coal, and while in the act of taking some off the face, which had been loosened by a shot, it fell, and before he could clear himself struck him, causing instant death. Close behind him was a prop, and this prop was in his way to get clear. | |
| 1912 | December | 25 | Camp | Lanark | Camp Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Ferguson | 49 | Contractor | Falls of roof | He was sitting at the road end, near working face, when a large stone fell from the roof, without any warning, killing him instantly. | |
| 1912 | December | 27 | Bent | Lanark | Bent Colliery Co Ltd | George Paton | 47 | Assistant Coal Cutter Machineman | Falls of roof | The deceased was buried by a large fall of roof stone whilst attending the machine. The fall came from between two lypes, but neither were visible before it occurred. | |
| 1912 | December | 27 | Garriongill No12 | Lanark | Coltness Iron Co Ltd | Wm. Jones | 68 | Pit Bottomer | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | He was engaged pulling two full hutches on to the cage when it was lifted away without warning, and he was crushed between the cage and the side of the shaft. From Main body of report: An accident occurred at Garriongill No. 2 Pit, belonging to Messrs. The Coltness Iron Co., Ltd., on December 27th, by which an assistant bottomer was so severely injured that he succumbed to his injuries the same day. The coal at this pit is drawn from two levels by different cages, the Mid Drumgray and the Kiltongue, two drums of different diameters being used, but the greatest part of the output is raised from the Kiltongue seam level. At the time of the accident the deceased, at the Kiltongue Seam level, was helping the bottomer to put two loaded hutches on to the cage by pulling at the front of them, when the cage was suddenly lifted away and the deceased fell on to his back in the cage with his legs hanging out. The bottomer immediately signalled "one" to stop the cage, but no notice was taken until the pithead boy, hearing shouts coming from the bottom of the shaft also signalled to stop the cage ; the cage in response to the latter signal stopped, but at that time it was within 12 ft. of the surface. The deceased man was seriously injured, although up to within 10 fathoms of the surface there was a clearance of 6 in. ; but after passing that point it was reduced for a distance of 5 ft. to 2 in. The bottomer and the pithead boy who can hear the signals both say that no signal was given to raise the cage, but the engineman was positive that he received a signal ; in any case he should have stopped the cage when the bottomer signalled him to do so. His excuse for not complying with the signal was that he thought the bottomer meant to give another signal to lift the cage away, and gave the second signal for the same purpose. This is not a legitimate excuse; he should have acted on the signal as the cage was in motion by stopping it. The engineman appears to me to have been entirely to blame for the accident. |
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| 1912 | December | 29 | Wellesley | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | John Rankine | 31 | Pitwright | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | He had been cleaning out a syphon in the shaft, and was stepping from a narrow batten on to the cage when he took a false step, and fell 20 fathoms to the bottom of the shaft. From Main body of report: A fatal accident occurred at the Wellesley Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Wemyss Coal Co., Ltd., on December 29th, and resulted in the death of a pitwright. Deceased was one of a small gang of men who had been cleaning out a syphon at a point in the shaft 120 ft. from the bottom. To reach it from the cage they passed along a batten 11 in. wide and 10 ft. long, the ends of which were supported by buntons only 3 in. broad. The end of the batten was 3 ft. from the cage, and the men had either to step that distance or walk along the bunton which passed within 1 ft. of the cage. The shaft was very wet. The work had been completed and the men were returning to the cage with their tools. Deceased was standing on the edge of the batten and had just handed a piece of light iron pipe 14 ft. long to a man on the cage, when he either overbalanced or took a false step, and fell to the bottom of the shaft and was instantly killed. This accident forcibly draws attention to the risks which some men are willing to take, and allow those working under them to take apparently as a matter of course, rather than undertake the slight extra work which the provision of means for safely carrying out their work entails. I would strongly urge on those having the oversight of shaft work the necessity of providing wider planking, with hand and- foot rails, in a situation like the present one. In this case it is difficult to see why such were not provided, since the portion of the shaft in which the batten was placed was not used for winding. | Newspaper report - Fife pages |
| 1912 | December | 30 | Meadowhead | Lanark | P Cairns | Michael Costello | 28 | Brusher | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | A brusher was pushing in a primer and detonator into a shot hole by means of a pick shaft when the charge of fire cartridges of gelignite exploded, and he was severely injured on the face. He died on 1st January, 1913. | New Monkland pages |
| 1912 | December | 30 | Blantyreferme | Lanark | A G Moore & Co | John Gilmour | 60 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | He was sitting by the roadside, near the main haulage dip, when a loaded hutch coming up the dip was derailed by a bencher running another hutch into it at the bench where the deceased was sitting. The derailed hutch ran into, and knocked out a tree, allowing the roof to fall on to him where he was sitting. He died the next day from injuries received. | |