Walton Colliery
North Wakefield, Yorkshire. 22nd April 1959
- The Explosion -

On the day of the explosion, the morning shift filled loose coal left by the afternoon shift and from the shots fired in each corner of the face. Three men spent the whole of their shift transporting stone in a small tub from the new connection to the intake roadhead where it was put into the roadside pack. At about 10 a.m., the coal cutting machine operators of the supplementary shift, W. Hudson and W. Wardle, arrived and began to turn the machine round at the corner of the face. During this operation the machine stuck and displaced the tension end of the Ribside conveyor so that it had to be stopped. The driving head of the face conveyor was advanced into it’s new track and the tension end of the Ribside conveyor moved, but the coal cutting machine still could not be worked because it’s jib had then become fast in the undercut. A shot was fired over the jib between 11 and 11.30 a.m., to try to release it. This was successful and the machine was turned, jibbed in and made to cut for about 10 feet to a stump of coal which required to be filled off. The tension end of the Ribside conveyor was placed in it’s proper position, both conveyors were re-started and the coal cutting machine trailing cable was disconnected and re-threaded into the new cutter track. No electrical trouble was experienced with the face equipment during the day shift.

By 12.30 p.m. the day shift had left the face with the exception of two conveyor men J. Rothery and C.E. Ray who remained to assist the men on the supplementary shift.
On his way out, the day shift deputy, F. Canham saw J. Williams, a drifter employed on 2’s Drift, eating his snap at 2’s Transfer Point. He asked Williams to keep an eye on the two conveyors until the afternoon shift arrived. So by 12.30 p.m. five men were in the 5’s Unit, Lawrence E. Coe, the overman, W. Hudson, W. Wardle, J. Rothery and C.E. Ray. J. Williams was just outside. There were no eye witness to say what happened during the next half hour as five of the men were killed in the explosion. Williams escaped with minor injuries but he could remember little of what happened.

At about 1 p.m., the lights went out at 10 East Loading Point, the conveyor stopped and three men working there felt a rush of air and dust from inbye. One of them T. Furlong, telephoned to the top of the 10 East Haulage Road asking for the deputies to be sent back. He also phoned the overman. H. Cunningham, telling him that he thought there had been an explosion. Furlong then opened the switch controlling the supply of power inbye of the Loading Point and with his work mates, went inbye but returned after making an unsuccessful attempt to enter 5’s Unit.

Canham and another day shift deputy, H. Towler, had reached the top of the 10 East Main Haulage Road when Furlong telephoned and they went back to the district. On their way they met Williams making his way out. All he could tell them was that he had been blown over and he thought there had been an explosion. Tower isolated the gate-end switches near the 2’s Transfer Point and they, along with Canham, tried to get beyond the end of that Slit because of the fouled air.

Two afternoon shift deputies, J. Wilsher and J. Bedford also attempted to go up the Intake Gate but Wilsher’s lamp went out after he had travelled about 15 yards.

The undermanager H.H. Gregg, had been with Cunningham when Furlong telephoned and these two men went inbye, Gregg having first informed the surface electricians that there had been a power failure in 10 East District at about 1.10 p.m. On reaching the top of the 10 East Main Haulage Road, Gregg learned that Williams had been injured and concluded that there had been an explosion in 2’s Drift where Williams normally worked. He telephoned the manager at 1.25 p.m. and asked for ambulances and stretcher parties to be made available. When he reached the 5’s Intake Slit, Gregg saw that the belt had been blown off the Trunk Conveyor for about 50 yards and there was every sign that an explosion had occurred in the 5’s Unit. He sent a message to this effect to the surface and the Wakefield Rescue Station was called out to give assistance. The Rescue Station received the call at 2 p.m. and a team left at once for the colliery. 

Gregg and others then entered the 5’s Return Gate and travelled along it to the ripping lip without difficulty but when they were attempting to go under the lip, his flame safety lamp went out and he had to withdraw. Gregg started to restore the brattice sheets in 10 East Trunk Conveyor Road and in the new connection. He then made another attempt, with others, to get into the 5’s Unit through the Intake gate. This attempt failed because of fouled air.

By 2.50 p.m. a fresh air base had been established at the entrance to the 5’s Intake and from there Rescue men wearing breathing apparatus, explored the Unit via 5’s Intake and quickly found the bodies of four men. On trying to travel down the Ribside, they met a fall and returned to the fresh air base. They inspected the 5’s Return Gate and found a fifth body. All the bodies were recovered and their clothing was searched for prohibited articles by a Police officer on their arrival at the Wakefield City Mortuary and no contraband was found.

At about 7.50 p.m., a series of ‘bumps’ were heard and it was thought that there had been further explosions. The news was sent to the surface and after a conference it was decided to withdraw to the fresh air base near the 10 East Loading Point. At about 10.50 it was decided to seal off the 5’s Unit to limit the spread of any further explosion.

The construction of stoppings was started and the air was sampled in the return while the work was going on at hourly intervals. Since these samples contained steadily decreasing quantities of explosion products, the seals were not completed. On the afternoon of 24th April there seemed no risk of any further explosion and the area was inspected by two of H.M. Inspectors, W.M. Crumpsty and T.W. English and officials of the N.C.B.

The inspection showed that there was no risk of another explosion and the stoppings were removed.