1967 - Page 5

Bestwood Colliery (Nottinghamshire) Closed After 95 Years
And Merged With Linby

Seams worked were

• Top Hard 5’ 6” (1.67m) 1878-1891, 1893-1922, 1922-1948
• High Main 4’ 3½” (1.3m) at 208 yards (190m) deep, trial heads abandoned 13th Feb 1913 and 1919–Jan 1967
• High Hazles 1962-1967
• Main Bright 1915 - 23rd Nov 1918, 1928 -1937, 1956 -1967.

Originally Calverton No1 shaft was sunk as a satellite shaft for the Top Hard workings. A surface drift called the Lancaster drift after J Lancaster the first Director was driven in 1950 and operational by 1951. 1946: High Main 589,605 tons and Top Hard 155,072 tons, total 744,677 tons.

Tonnage and Manpower NCB: No6 Area EMD

• 1947: 826,022 tons, High Main, Top Hard 2,208 men
• 1948: HM and Top Hard finished July 825,853 tons, 2,294 men
• 1949: High Main 848,401 tons, 2,198 men
• 1950: High Main 939,443 tons, 1,739 u/g TH and HH, 650 s/f, 2,123 men
• 1951: 978,030 tons, 2,056 men
• 1952: 1,047,831 tons, 2,043 men
• 1953: 1,083,276 tons, 2,063 men
• 1954: 1,126,850 tons, 2,036 men
• 1955: 1,127,424 tons max, 2,128 men
• 1956: 1,112,991 tons, 2,194 men
• 1957: 1,123,454 tons, 2,223 men
• 1958: 1,029,716 tons, 2,257 men
• 1959: 1,004,553 tons, 2,212 men
• 1960: 1,034,691 tons, 2,126 men
• 1961: 1,081,341 tons, 2,075 men
• 1962: 1,005,635 tons, 2,068 men
• 1963: 803,594 tons, 2,024 men
• 1963/64: 750,977 tons, 2,011 men
• 1964/65: 843,302 tons, 1,937 men
• 1965/66: 686,664 tons, 1,794 men
• 1966/67: 484,990 tons, 1,566 men
• South Nottinghamshire Area 1967/68: 75,800 tons, 558 men.
• Colliery closed 1967.

Agents:

• M Wolstenholme Agent 1885-1887 to Manager and Agent –1896 (for Bestwood Coal and Iron Co)
• RHF Hepplewhite (1438) Agent 1916-1926
• Major FMT Bunney (2760) Agent (for BA Collieries Ltd) 1936-1937 and Agent and Manager 1937-1938, Agent 1938-1940
• David M Rees (2780) Agent 1940-1946 (appointed Area General Manager No4 Area NCB
• Alan Hill was joint General Manager and Chief Agent for BA Collieries. Appointed Area General Manager No.6 Area 1947
• Arden A Bowker (2736) Agent 1947-1950 (later No5 then No3 Area General Manager)
• Norman Siddall (3655) Agent 1950-1952, then Sub-Area Manager.

Sub-Area Managers / Group Managers:

• Norman Siddall (3655) Sub-Area Manager 1952-1953 and later No1 Area General Manager, lastly NCB Chairman)
• William Sharpe (2223) Sub-Area Manager 1953-1957
• Eric P Lawrence (3181) Group Manager 1957-1967

Managers for Bestwood:

• William Read -1887 (for Bestwood Coal Co) transferred to Undermanager
• M Wolstenholme, Manager only, 1887-1896
• Jos Cunliffe (2170) 1896-1910
• RHF Hepplewhite (1438) 1911-1916 to Agent
• HJ Mein (4016) 1916-1926
• S Atherton (916) 1927-1933
• AE Booth (1623) 1933-1937
• Major FMT Bunney (2760) Manager 1937-1938
• David M Rees (2780) 1938-1940 (to Agent, later General Manager No4 Area, then Chairman SW Division)
• C Knowles (2503) 1940-1945
• Frank Bishop (3258) 1945-1946 (promoted from Undermanager Creswell, joined HMI South Derbyshire and Leicestershire 1947)
• Norman Siddall (3655) Manager 1947-1950 (promoted to Agent)
• Les R Boyfield (3201) 1950-1953 (transferred from Hucknall, promoted to Production Manager)
• Len C Hogg (3275) 1953-1956 (transferred from Clifton, later Deputy Area Production Manager)
• Frank Dunn (5647) 1956-?
• Agent Manager Colin Daykin (7382) 1964-1967 (transferred to Area Tunnelling Team (ATT).

Deputy Managers:

• Barry Carlisle (6058) 1964
• Harry Brown (2nd).

Assistant Managers: GMT Seaward (2nd).

Undermanagers for Bestwood:

• William Read 1887-1896
• Isaac Marper (2nd) 1896-1907
• W Halliwell (2nd) 1907-1910
• RE Coupe (2nd) 1911-1926
• GR Barker (2nd) 1916-1917
• George Drury (2nd) 1927-1929
• AE Booth (1623) 1928-1933 (promoted to Manager, he had been a deputy at Bestwood, previously starting at New London as a pony driver, worked at Watnall, Hucknall, Mansfield and Warwickshire Charity before going to India)
• FW Cooke 1929-1936
• Arden A Bowker (2736) 1936-1937 (later Area General Manager No5 then No3 Area)
• C Knowles (2503) 1937-1940
• C Hunt (2nd) 1937-1945
• W Jackson 1938-1941
• Jim W Crossland (3610) 1941-1946 (later Area Production Manager)
• Harry Brown (2nd) 1944-1947 (transferred to Calverton)
• AJ Wilkinson (2nd) 1947-1949
• GMT Seaward (2nd) 1947-1952
• Harry Brown (2nd) 1953-1956
• John E Hancock (6205) 1956- (later Manager Langwith)
• Ben H Beevers (5551) 1956-1957 (transferred to Calverton, later Deputy Manager Pleasley)
• Harry Fisher (5894) 1957-1964
• AJ Baker (7471) 1964-1967
• Tom A Rainford (8679) 1964-1967

Surveyors included:

• HJ Mein around 1913
• John C Tyler (289) around 1919
• John Wrigley 1937 - 1947 from Digby
• Peter Kay (1237) 1947 - 1949
• Arnott Ashley 1949-57 (promoted from Babbington to Planner)
• Jack Wadsworth for Lancaster drift
• Lewis H Spencer (517) (later Area Chief Surveyor)
• Stan Dixon (2…) 1957 (transferred from Radford, transferred back again
• Philip H Smith (3…) 1957- (promoted to Group Surveyor)
• Roy Wheatcroft (3120) -1967.

Fatal Accidents Bestwood:

• Joseph Foster (38) fell down the shaft whilst sinking 8/7/1874
• Robert Oliver (22) fell down shaft whilst sinking 30/1/1875
• Obadiah Rogers (30) bricks fell down the shaft onto him 1/5/1875
• Isaac Jones (30) fall of roof 7/8/1877
• Joseph Elliot (31) crushed by the cage 31/9/1877
• John Smith (17) run over by tubs 27/9/1878
• Joseph Fox Scraton (37) boiler exploded on the surface 12/11/1879
• William Coates (33) fall of roof 30/1//1880
• Thomas Knowles (16) run over by tubs 6/5/1882
• James Straw (20) fall of coal 16/5/1884
• John Sharratt (25) fall of coal 19/3/1885
• Frank Oscroft (15) run over by tubs 2/6/1886
• Henry Ball (36) crushed in a tippler on the surface 14/1/1888
• James Vickers (20) hit by the cage then fell down the shaft 6/3/1890
• John Cordon (50) fall of roof 10/6/1890
• John Butler (66) crushed by wagons on the surface 15/4/1891
• William Annibal (70) injured finger on 23/4/1892 and died from erysipelas on 19/5/1892
• Alfred Robinson (29) fall of coal 20/8/1894
• John Pendleton (21) crushed by tubs 1/5/1895
• James Dodsley (14) run over by tubs 4/3/1896
• Denis Rohun (36) fall of roof 17/6/1898
• Sam Carter (55) fall of roof 6/12/1898
• Thomas Varley (39) fall of roof 3/7/1900, died 5/7/1900
• Tom Smith (30) fall of roof 30/6/1905, died 20/9/1905
• Isaac Lacey (31) injured his arm on the surface on 19/2/1907 and died from erysipelas on 7/3/1907 (red skin; also known as "Ignis sacer", "holy fire", and "St. Anthony's fire":260 in some countries) is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection of the upper dermis and superficial lymphatics –Information from Wikipedia)
• William Pike (17) fall in a roadway 12/4/1907
• Joseph Miles (55) run over by tubs 22/8/1907
• Sam Clamp (36) fall of coal 10/12/1907
• George Leonard Poyser (16) run over by tubs 21/12/1908
• Richard Butters (67) fell on the surface and received internal injuries 21/3/1910 and died on 23/3/1910
• Robert Denison (56) run over by wagons on the surface 3/6/1910
• James Cyril Fletcher (18) run over by tubs 11/5/1911, died 3/11/1911
• John Leatherland (56) fall of roof 12/9/1913
• William Brown (58) fall of roof forced a pick blade through his throat 10/12/1913
• Sam Wheat (56) fall of roof 31/3/1914
• Alfred Woodward (46) fall of coal 12/5/1915
• John Boyard (61) fall of roof 20/6/1915
• George Bailey (49) fall of roof 19/7/1916
• Ernest William Terry (30) fall of roof and died from Pneumonia 23/5/1917
• William Wildgust (15) died from burns on 21/12/1917 following a fire in the lamp room on 18/12/1917
• Arthur Moore (25) fall of roof 12/1/1923
• George Henry Ball (45) fall of roof 8/5/1923
• Richard Pearson (18) crushed by tubs 2/5/1924
• Robert Waddilove (23) kicked by a pony and died from head injuries 14/9/1925
• Clarence Norman Theaker (23) fall of roof 14/4/1926
• Henry Croxall (29) injured elbow and died from septicaemia 27/11/1926
• Edwin Thompson (63) caught in machinery on the surface 26/3/1927
• John William Harrison (48) run over by tubs 23/4/1928
• Sam Knighton (48) crushed by wagons on the surface 18/8/1928
• Alan Arthur Askey (22) injured elbow on 2/11/1928 and died from toxaemia 7/11/1928
• Percy Loomb Davey (42) hit by bricks and ice falling down the shaft 19/2/1929
• Alfred Archer (30) injured head in a conveyor 12/12/1928, died 17/4/1929
• Arthur Samuel Clarke (30) fall of roof 8/8/1929
• John Bradley (25) fall of roof 6/12/1929
• Richard Williams (48) fall of roof 10/12/1929
• Harry David Lewis (55) injured knee on 9/4/1930, died from toxaemia 16/4/1930
• William Evans Mattison (36) crushed by tubs 9/8/1930
• John Baker (49) fall of roof 17/12/1930
• William Edward Smith (55) fall of roof 30/8/1930, died from pneumonia 24/1/1931
• Joseph Beckwith (23) caught in machinery 4/3/1931, died 6/3/1931
• Thomas Redmile (20) fall of roof 4/10/1931
• Arthur Thompson (39) fell from a scaffold on the surface 23/3/1933
• William Bell (28) electrocuted 25/4/1933
• William E Butterworth (25) electrocuted 13/7/1933
• Harold Charles Knott (35) fall of roof 31/7/1934, died 2/8/1934
• William Ernest Macintosh (32) bursitis of the knee, died from septicaemia 19/12/1935
• John Henry Hollingsworth (27) crushed by a tub 16/4/1935
• Harry Blagg (43) fall of roof 21/2/1936, died 25/2/1936
• Thomas Owen Williams (28) run over by tubs 25/9/1936
• Jack Redmile (23) fell from a scaffold on the surface 23/1/1938
• Ernest Frank Cresswell (49) fall of roof 6/11/1931, died from pneumonia / heart condition 12/5/1938
• Sydney Parker (24) run over by a tub on the surface 1/11/1938
• John Bannister (53) fall of roof 29/8/1939
• Albert Bishop (56) crushed by the cage at the surface 11/2/1940
• John Gaskell (48) caught in a conveyor on the surface 19/9/1940.  
• John Parr (51) fall of roof 26/4/1941
• Alfred Cotterill (32) fall of roof 3/11/1941
• Wilfred Naylor (25) fall of roof 17/11/1942
• Walter Hill (21) crushed by tubs 18/3/1943, died 2/4/1943
• Nelson McGowan (36) fall of roof 18/4/1944
• John Arthur Wadsworth (60) shotfiring accident 18/3/1911/4/1944, died from tetanus 18/8/1944
• harles Cook (47) explosion on the surface 5/12/1944
• Edmund Collins (21) crushed by the cage 10/9/1945
• Wilfred Dawson (40) fall of roof 10/7/1946
• Sam Stapleton (36) fall of roof 19/1/1948
• John Leonard Guyler (40) fall of roof 12/3/1945, died 5/4/1948
• Thomas Beeson (56) caught in rollers on the surface 21/7/1949
• John Arthur Pick (62) run over by tubs 11/10/1951
• William Cardwick Holmes (33) run over by tubs 11/10/1951
• George Wilkinson (44) fall of roof 20/2/1952
• Fred Wheatley (50) fall of roof 11/9/1952
• Percival Cyril Prewitt (29) fall of roof 14/10/1949, died 22/4/1953
• Joseph Alfred Deverill (49) caught in machinery on the surface 17/5/1953
• Harry Tomlinson (58) crushed on the surface 1938, died 7/1/1954
• Charles Herbert Catton (43) hit by a girder 2/2/1955
• George Ridgeway (47) run over by wagons on the surface 16/7/1956
• Samuel Cresswell (53) fall of roof 17/7/1956
• Peter Alexander (23) fall of roof 7/3/1960
• Harold Carter (53) fall of roof 13/6/1961
• William H Denham (46) fall of roof 10/5/1962
• Cyril Arthur Barkes (34) crushed in an armoured face conveyor 6/2/1965
• Walter W Hazzledine (49) crushed by tubs 11/7/1967