1983 - Page 7

Pleasley Closed After 108 Years And Merged With Shirebrook
- Continued -

Fatal Accidents Pleasley

• Thomas Brindley (40) (Master Sinker) and Benjamin Dixey (31) sinker, fell out of a hoppit after lighting a charge in the sump when the hoppit fouled a pipe stay 12/10/1875 (another sinker with them miraculously escaped)
• John Wilson (26) killed by explosion of firedamp 6/5/1881, explosion by naked light (4 others injured)
• William Bull (22) loader, killed by a fall of coal 7/6/1881
• Edward Green (41) shotfirer -/9/1882
• Thomas Atkin (28) killed by a fall of roof whilst building a pack, 3/7/1884
• John Blackwell (32) fall of coal 9/12/1886
• John Sims (41) stallman, killed when withdrawing a prop from the waste 30/5/1885
• John Blackwell (33) collier, fall of coals 9-16/12/1886
• William Reason (44) and Henry Drabble (40) 26/1/1887, fall of ground whilst repairing a roadway
• Vincent Whileman (15) 10/4/1887
• Edward Pike (46) 26/12/1887
• Stephen Giles (17) shunter, crushed between wagons 4/11/1890
• George Lee (29) Stallman, charged 2 shots, one fired and went back before other had fired, 8/10/1891 died 19/10/1891
• George Flory (30) stallman, strained himself lifting a full tub 3am 26/7/1892, died 5/8/1892
• William Donaldson (59) holer, fall of coal 2.30pm 25/7/1893, died 6/9/1893
• Charles Fred Graves (24) shunter, run over by wagons 8.30am 21/10/1893
• William Rourke (..?) 20/12/1893
• Horace Wilson (13) electric motor attendant, found dead in wheels of engine 24/5/1894
• George Dixon (14) horse driver, horse stumbled and knocked him under tubs 11.30am, 23/10/1894
• John Nuttall (28) stallman, fall, 8am, 27/10/1894, died 5/6/1895
• Richard Walker (44) haulage contractor, attempting to re-rail 4 tubs without stopping the rope, when another set of tubs hit him 12/1/1897
• John Ball (34) stallman, fall of roof whilst building a pack 23/6/1898
• George Jackson (55) Stallman, fall of roof in gate whilst pulling it down 11/1/1899
• George Bennett (48) Stallman, fall of roof 13/10/1899
• Samuel Hallam (29) Stallman, fall whilst loading coals, 17/2/1900, died 7/3/1900
• Ernest Short (16) Horse driver, fall in gate, knocked out by 4 full tubs 7/8/1900
• Ezra Annable (14) incline boy, several loaded tubs ran away 3/9/1900, died 5/9/1900
• James Moore (14) rope boy, run over by 3 full tubs 4/6/1902
• John Thomas Wall (49) stallman, fall in goaf 7/1/1903
• William Beardow (45) loader, 13/2/1903, died from blood poisoning after trapping finger between tub and prop 24/2/1903
• Reg William Seale (32) 20/3/1903
• John William Smith (16) horse driver, found under a set of 5 full tubs 21/1/1905
• James Kirkham (51) loader, died 19/6/1905 after slight accident to toe on 5/6/1905
• John Lea , died 29/6/1905 (35) stallman, fall of roof at gate end 27/7/1905
• James Peters (..?) 9/11/1905
• Ernest Everley (13) Tub coupler, trapped his head whilst undogging tubs 15/6/1906
• John Cutts (31) stallman, died whilst leaving work 19/6/1906
• Ernest Hackett (17) rope boy, coupling 4 full tubs to rope and slipped under 4/10/1906
• Joe Smith (15) screen boy, fell into fly wheel of engine 20/10/1906
• Henry Butterworth Coupe (20) screen man, stumbled and fell under moving wagon 20/11/1906
• Sam Brown (15) horse driver, crushed between shafts and side of road 27/2/1907-6/3/1907
• Henry Slater (16) 20/7/1907
• John Jas Murfin (13) door boy, crushed by tubs 7-12/10/1907
• William Henry Wardell (14) rope boy, knocked down by full tubs 27/3/1908-1/4/1908
• Jasper Cooke (41) 6/8/1908
• William Hewitt (43) 6/8/1908
• Thomas Brooks (40) dayman, fall of coals 6/11/1908- 12/11/1908
• Harry Green (20) 20/9/1909
• John William Davis (44) stallman, fall of coal 5/8/1909
• George Blake (18) 1/1/1910
• Jarvis Moore (15) 1/5/1910
• Austin Allsop (17) 16/12/1910
• Ben Charlton Glazebrook (19) loader, coals rolled over 5/1/1911, died 7/1/1911
• Wilf Smith (14) 20/4/1912
• George William Hind (38) 12/6/1912
• Harry Clement (24) 14/6/1912
• Frank Livingstone Clay (14) coupler on, head trapped between tubs 1- 4/7/1912
• Jos Bradbury (24) 6/7/1912
• William Henry Whattan (45) and Walter Alsop (40) 100 tons fall whilst widening road, 19/12/1912
• William Walker (50) 18/7/1913
• William Teece (57) stallman, run over by tubs 5-6/10/1913
• William Henry Scrimshaw (37) Onsetter, 21/10/1913
• Henry Haywood (14) 24/1/1914
• Henry John Shone (22) labourer, crushed between buffers of wagons 19-20/4/1914
• Thomas Smith (22) 24/6/1914
• Harold Smith (22) fall of roof 15/7/1915
• Francis William Tyler (17) 15/7/1915
• Alf Deller (..?) 9/9/1915
• Francis Walker (15) crushed by tubs 7/9/1916
• John Blount (51) 18/10/1916
• Henry Haywood (14) crushed by tubs 24/1/1917
• Thomas Smith (17) 17/3/1917
• Jos Wombwell (34) 20/6/1917
• William Hallam (56) fall of roof at face, 20/9/1918, off work, resumed work on 30/9/1918 then off work again with back pain, died 4/11/1918. It was decreed that he had died as a result of the accident.
• George William Ward (14) 14/3/1919
• William Henry Hallam (54) fall, died of toxaemia 31/3/1919, died 9/4/1919
• Arthur Bamford (16) ganger, tried to close door whilst still in tub, bumped head on frame 28/12/1921, died 22/1/1922
• Thomas John Fretwell (17) run over by tubs 24/8/1922
• William Henry Chilton (56) labourer, crushed between truck and pillar 16/8/1922
• Thomas John Fretwell (17) Pony driver, fell under tubs 24/8/1922
• Harry Foster (18) clipper on, struck by runaway water barrel 14/12/1922, died 18/12/1922
• George Wilfred Powers (20) ganger, after reporting a fall at a junction, returned to site and was buried by a further fall 30/5/1923
• Alfred Boot (27 or 28) Dayman, stone fell 12.30pm, 1/8/1924
• Lawrence Edwards (15) 16/10/1925
• On the surface one (..?) cleaning slurry pond out by crane when the hoppit clearing snow, hit him
• Harry Smith (43) fell off a platform on the surface 16/3/1930
• Herbert Alfred Smith (30) run over by tubs 28/12/1930
• Jesse Judge (47) 16/7/1931
• Arthur Cox (62) fall of roof 18/1/1932
• William Quimby (42) fall of roof 22/1/1933
• James Lawson (37) fall of roof 2/2/1933
• Harry Holden (31) fall of coal 14/3/1933
• Stephen Whiten (15) fall in a roadway 14/7/1934
• Robert Toon (30) fall of roof 12/1/1935 died 13/1/1935
• William Hunt (52) fall of roof 24/1/1935
• Jack Jones (27) fall of roof 16/11/1935 died 27/11/1935
• Arthur Beresford (..) fall of roof 6/1/1937, died 15/1/1937
• James Lawson (47) 2/2/1937
• Vincent Whileman (15) pony driver, mutilated body, run over by fulls, on haulage road, riding ? The pony made its way back to the stables Sat 10/4/1937, TE Pickering HMI
• Ernest Harris (38 ) fall of coal 11/1/1938
• John Green (24) fall of roof 22/6/1939
• Walter Cooper (20) fall of roof 20/1/1940
• Frank Hill (45) fall of roof 1/1/1940, died 2/2/1940
• Harold Morris (33) fall of roof 24/10/1940
• William Hall (50) crushed by a cable in the shaft 11/11/1940
• Fred Coupe (46) fall of roof 24/11/1940
• John Roebuck (31) fall of roof 19/10/1941
• Wilfred Brace (24) 13/11/1942
• Ernest Sampson Harris (16) run over by loco on the surface, 23/12/1942: George William Randle (60) 5/4/1943
• Horace Brown (34) fall of roof, 29/11/1945
• Ken Farnsworth (14) caught in creeper on pit top, 15/2/1946
• John William Gaynor (57) fall of roof 24/1/1948 died 19/2/1949
• Harry Hill (42) caught his head as cage moved, Thurs 27/6/1949
• Arthur Holmes (34) fall of roof 15/10/1951
• William Marc Owen (38) fall of roof 1/1/1953
• Richard Edwin Roebuck (49) was killed in the pit bottom whilst using a whitewashing machine with unguarded electric motor and leaned across to switch it off and his scarf became entangled in the drive shaft -/1/1961
• Harry Elliott (34) crushed by roof support 24/3/1966
• Peter Evans (57) crushed by roof support 30/5/1967.

Incidents

• In 1877 there were 3 non-fatal serious incidents, July, October and December. On 11th July 1879 there was an explosion at the coal face and one man was injured when he stuck a candle near to an old missed shot and fired the powder.
• 13th May 1881 an explosion injured one man when a candle fell onto powder on the floor.
• There were 3 more serious accidents 2 in May and one in June 1881.
• In 1883 an explosion at the site of a fall injured one man.
• A collier was injured by an explosion on 6th September 1884 when a lighted candle fell upon a cartridge.
• Two injured in explosion, fall in goaf ignited gas at a candle 3/3/1894.
• A stoker burned raking out steam boiler 13/5/1895.
• Another stoker burned by back draught of boiler 1/9/1895.
• On 23/1/1900 a collier injured by a stone which struck him from a shot 20 yards (18m) away.
• 25th June 1906, 12.30pm, large weight came on in stall where several men were working, causing fall, one man injured as he tried to escape, candle ignited gas.
• 17th August 1910, fire in underground pump room, cable fused, set fire to timber.
• 9th May 1911, fall, gas fired at candle, one burned.
• 1921 the detaching hook on DC shaft broke and the cage went down the shaft causing considerable damage, however no one was injured. There were 2 breakages of the modern shaft guides whilst riding men and they were held in the shaft for 2 hours on the first occasion and 7 hours on the second occasion. Regular riding at this shaft was discontinued.
• 1942 there was a serious underground fire leading to the loss of £7,000 worth of equipment.
• 1956 on 20th October an explosion on 200s Deep Hard face caused by shotfiring seriously burned 5 men.
• 1960s there were 2 more shaft incidents causing considerable damage once again, but no one injured. The one in 1965 during the pit holidays when changing a balance rope at No1 shaft. The old rope had been lowered and cut off in lengths in the pit bottom. When the new rope was attached to the bottom of the cage it was then raised up the shaft. However some weeks previously some pieces of rigid guides were replaced. It is possible that whilst the cage was being wound slowly through the shaft it got fast at this point. As the winder was still lowering the cage slack rope from the drum built up on top of the cage. Suddenly after some time the cage slipped and hurtled down the shaft until reaching the end of the slack rope. The breaking strain of the rope was about 186 tons, however with the speed and depth without any rope holding it the cage careered smashing shaft furnishings, water pipes etc and knocking out bricking with such a force that the rope broke. The cage ended up in the pit bottom catey cornered. The damage caused was considerable and work progressed for some 10 days on all shifts to repair everything and fit new furnishings etc to get the pit ready for production again. A small cage was used to allow rail guides to be refixed. Skilled shaftsmen from other pits were drafted in to help. One new cage was fitted and the other repaired.
• John Herring (60) died underground 27/6/1956.
• On another sombre note Jan Schmidt, a Pole, 53 years old, who had fled from Poland during the Second World War to come to England to help fight against the Nazis had gone down the mine later and trained to be a coal face worker. Sadly he died from a heart attack whilst driving a face machine on 59s panel in the Piper seam.

Stocking Coal

More major pits were producing over 1 million tons a year, but alas the NCB was in the insidious position of having to stock coal once more as markets shrank.

By 1983 the NCB had overall invested £3bn on developing new collieries, to replace the old mines that were antiquated and inefficient. It was proved to be a mistake in the long term as most of the new pits did not perform as planned and many were closed prematurely. In my opinion it may had been better to have invested in the existing mines to improve efficiency as they were in established areas with a local workforce and guaranteed sales. Some of the new mines were remote and new housing was needed and miners and their families had to move away from other family members and from everything they knew. It was basically like the early 1900s when many new sinkings were made, but then the attraction was a brand new home, virtually like a 'palace' compared with the homes they were living in.