Ynisdavid Colliery Explosion – Cwmavon – 1856

YNISDAVID. Cwmavon, Glamorganshire. 24th. May, 1856.

The colliery belonged to the Governor and Company of Copper Miners of England who were the proprietors of the whole of the extensive works at Cwmavon and there were five collieries.

About 3 a.m. when there were about seventy men in the mine, the people at the pit mouth heard an explosion from the depths below. Some men immediately went down and discovered that there had been an explosion of gas in the Big Vein mine.

Mr. David Thomas, the manager of the colliery, and W. Gilbertson, the General Manager were soon on the scene to supervise the rescue work of the many volunteers. Mr. Gilbertson provided brandy for the men who were rescued and pillows and bedclothes for the injured that were brought to the surface. The operations to secure the pit and retrieve the men were carried out speedily. Some were alive when brought to the surface but later died. Henry Griffiths lived for about three hours, Jason Evans for about four. David Thomas lingered for a day but John George died soon after being brought out. The disaster killed nine men and three boys.

Eight of the victims were burnt and mutilated and four died from the effects of gas and their injuries. There was no difficulty in finding them as they were lying within a short distance of each other.

Those who lost their lives were:

• Jason Evans aged 21 years.
• John George aged 13 years.
• Henry Griffiths aged 35 years.
• Hopkin Hill aged 50 years.
• David King aged 25 years.
• John Lewis aged 30 years.
• Walter Morgan aged 26 years.
• David Morgan aged 19 years.
• Thomas aged 45 years.
• David Thomas aged 16 years.
• David Williams aged 19 years.
• Hopkin Williams aged 27 years.

The victims were buried at Cwnavon, Aberavon, Taibach and some at Neath.

It had been known for some time that area in which explosion occurred was dangerous but every precaution had been taken to prevent an accident. There were regulations that only safety lamps were to be used and two StruvŽs Patent Mine Ventilators had been erected, each 18 feet in diameter and capable of delivering 1000,000 cubic feet of air per minute but the work had not been completed.

After the disaster, workings were inspected by Mr. W.P. StruvŽ, who was the consulting mining engineer to the colliery company, accompanied by Thomas Evans, the Government Inspector of Mines.

The inquest was held at the Mechanic’s Hall, Cwnavon and David Thomas, the agent of the mine, told the court of the increased ventilation and gave a detailed account of rescue work. He said:

I went late to pit on Saturday at about half-past ten o’clock in the morning after the accident had occurred. I descended downcast and on arriving at the bottom, proceeded along the Upper Four Feet Seam until I came to the second drift of Big Seam. I then proceeded on same drift about forty yards and there saw the bodies of Walter Morgan, David Morgan and David King. Proceeding on as far as the heading on a lower leaf of the Big Seam, I was prevented from going further as gas was too strong. I then thought it desirable that the workings in the Lower Four Seam should be examined. John Williams and Griffith Jones were sent direct to that heading and after stopping there for about a quarter of an hour, I came to the conclusion that the men who were at work in that part must have been killed, the heading being full of gas.

 I gave orders for the men to remove the three bodies I have named and when I left that part and came back along the Upper Four Feet Seam and along the first drift from the pit. About one hundred yards in the same drift, I met Ebenezer Morris coming out with his son. I again proceeded along the Lower Four Feet Seam to within ten yards of the outermost door, where I saw a great number of bodies. I did not know whether they were dead or alive. We looked over them all, the first I found being John Lewis who was found midway between the two air doors on the Upper Four Feet Seam. I went on to the end of the drift and found the bodies of Hopkin Williams, David Williams and John George, the door-boy, lying close to the door which he attended. Within two yards of the body of Hopkin Williams, I found Henry Griffiths who was taken up alive but expired in a few minutes. On the opposite side of the pit, Jason Evans was found alive. I had him raised and placed in a tram.

 I then went back along the same heading for about one hundred yards to see whether more were killed. I found that the men to render assistance at the time had increased and were in the course of putting the bodies in the tram. Afterwards, I returned to the drift and endeavoured to get along the drift to the Big Seam where we thought the explosion had taken place. The gas was rather strong and we thought it better to stop for about ten minutes to see if it would be reduced. During that interval, the men reported that all the bodies in the district had been found, some dead some alive.

 We next endeavoured to proceed in the east heading of the lower leaf of the Big Seam where Hopkin Hill and Thomas Thomas were working. The gas at this time was as strong as when we first endeavoured to enter. By placing men at different distances from each other we succeeded in getting to the body of Thomas Thomas who was found about sixty yards from the drift in a sitting posture, quite uninjured and must have been suffocated. The next body missing was Hopkin Hill who was employed in driving that same heading. We thought that he might, at the time of the explosion, have been at work at the end of the heading. Knowing the distance of the heading we measured as far as we were able and fond that the heading had been filled for a distance of six to eight yards.

 The next operation, I thought requisite was to clear the whole distance already filled in so as to arrive at the body of Hill. Several trams were filled until the men were nearly exhausted through the strength of the gas. Observing several falls on the heading, and having been informed afterwards that Hill might have been at the time of the explosion about thirty yards from the drift fixing several timbers which he was requested to by the foreman in the morning. I gave orders to examine the falls and in the first fall, which was partially cleared, we found the body of Hill. We were then sure that all the bodies had been found and then proceeded back to the top of the pit. Hill was very much burnt. His lamp was found eight or ten yards from his body. The lamp was uninjured and the top was on.

 It was also stated that there was always a large quantity of gas in the Big seam but it was not thought unusual. The fireman had made a full inspection in the morning but had not found large quantities of gas. There was evidence that the mine was worked with lamps but they were not locked and some men were known to raise the gauze to light their pipes.

The Coroner, Mr. Cuthbertson summed up and the jury retired to consider their verdict. After some time they returned with the verdict that:

The deaths were accidental from firedamp but there was no evidence to show how it occurred.

REFERENCES
”And they worked us to death” Vol.1. Ben Fieldhouse and Jackie Dunn. Gwent Family History Society.
The Cambrian.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.