| Date of Accident | Mine | County | Owner or Company | Name | Age | Occupation | Category | Cause of accident & remarks | Extra Information | District | ||
| 1906 | January | 5 | Prestonlinks | Haddington | Forth Collieries (1903) Ltd | George Davidson | 23 | Fireman | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | See Report, pages 12, 13,14. |
The most serious explosion occurred at Prestonlinks Colliery,
Prestonpans, belonging to the Forth Collieries (1903) Ltd. The place of accident, was in Gillies' heading of Great Seam of Coal, Sea-dook section. The Great Seam is in two divisions, the bottom portion, which is 3 ft. 9 ins. thick, is worked stoop and room, with stoops 20 yards square, and openings 15 ft. wide, the top portion which is not presently worked is about 3 ft. thick and is separated by about 4 ft. strata. The air current to ventilate the seam passes in from the Links shaft by means of a forcing fan 21 ft. by 7 ft., and goes by a parallel dook, part enters the west level and, after ventilating the faces there, passes to the opposite side or east level by air crossings, and after traversing the workings there returns by the haulage road to the Crown shaft. The quantity of air passing in to the west level measured about 2,000 cubic feet per minute. To ventilate the workings the air was conducted to the faces by means of brattice cloth. On the morning of the accident deceased and another oncost-man named John Colquhoun descended the Crown shaft about 5.45 a.m., and both carried naked lights to the station, which was the entrance to the west level ; both naked lights were extinguished after deceased had trimmed and lighted his "Davy" lamp, and both men proceeded by the light of the "Davy" along the level road to a part where a fall had taken place and which Colquhoun was to redd. Deceased passed in to the workings inside, and in passing out to examine the rise places he spoke to Colquhoun, who saw that he carried only the one lamp, namely the "Davy," and shortly after an explosion was heard, and Colquhoun was thrown to the ground. On recovering himself, Colquhoun ran out to the dook road, and met other men coming towards the scene of the explosion. A search party was formed but owing to the presence of after-damp it was found impossible to get to the rise working, and before deceased's body was got the ventilation had to be partly restored. The explosion was very violent, and the direction of force was from X towards Stewards heading, and from Stewart's heading to the dip ; the force was greatest at the latter, props being thrown out and hurled against the stoop's side, the dirt stoppings at the level were thrown on to the level road, and the air crossings were damaged. There were many indications of flame on the props, and on several pieces of paper near the place where deceased's body was found. The deceased's body was found at X with his head to the dip and lying on his face, and close to his left hand was his "Davy" lamp very much damaged ; diligent search was made near X for the remains of a match or an open lamp, but neither was found ; it was stated that the small open lamp which belonged to deceased was found at a tool chest at the station, where it was left by him when he proceeded inbye to make his inspection. The work had only started after the holiday, and during the suspension the roof had broken, causing several falls to take place, and liberating gas from the portion of coal above, as was ascertained by a bore being put up to this coal shortly before the date of accident, when gas issued from the bore hole. The falls deranged the brattice cloth, and some gas accumulated, and deceased in company with Colquhoun cleared out this gas the night prior to the accident. Hitherto the workings had been free of gas, but the close proximity of the “whin gaw” seems to have altered the conditions causing the strata to become gaseous. The cause of the explosion appears to have been due to the safety lamp; deceased had gone right into a body of gas before he was aware, and an explosion took place in the lamp, causing the gauze to be forced up, and the flame communicated with the explosive mixture outside. The construction of the safety "Davy" lamp in use was defective, as the bottom of the gauze was not fixed to the ring by rivets, but simply turned over on the ring, the result being that an explosion occurring inside the lamp the gauze would be forced out; an experiment showed that with a very moderate pressure the gauze was displaced from the ring. The plan shows the position of the workings, in section where explosion took place, and drawings show the lamp as it was found, one drawing showing the lamp as carried by the fireman. |
East |
| 1906 | January | 6 | Tannochside No 3 | Lanark | Archd. Russell Ltd | Murdoch Mcleod | 31 | Haulageman | Falls of roof | He was, along with a fireman, repairing an airway when the roof gave way and fell on him. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 8 | Kinneil | Linlithgow | Kinneil Cannel & Coking Coal Co Ltd | John Sneddon | 59 | Miner | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased worked in the first branch road off a heading, and the part of the heading above in the next place being steeper a "cuddie " was in use. It was the custom for deceased to come to heading road to assist his drawer with the empty tub, and he was sitting on the roadway as usual waiting on his drawer, when the miner in the place above came out with a loaded tub to run it to the heading foot, and failing to attach the " cuddie " chain the tub ran down the heading ; deceased was caught by it and pushed in front for a distance of 10 yards. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 8 | Lassodie | Fife | Thos Spowart & Co Ltd | William Terris | 66 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased withdrew a sprag to allow the coal to fall, and when he did so a fall of roof took place. The roof came away by a "roof break," which was over the face and unseen. | Newspaper report - Beath pages | East |
| 1906 | January | 8 | Lumphinnans | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Patrick Dignan | 26 | Brusher | Falls of roof | Deceased and his neighbour were brushing a road to the rise off a level, and in withdrawing the timber he was partly under the roof, and when it fell he was crushed beneath it. | Newspaper report - Beath pages | East |
| 1906 | January | 9 | Polmaise No 1 | Stirling | Archd. Russell Ltd | Peter Darrock | 16 | Hanger-on | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | When at the foot of a self-acting incline he was caught by a runaway hutch which a drawer at the top pushed over the brow of the incline without having attached it to the rope. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 10 | Earnock No 3 | Lanark | John Watson Ltd | John Miller | 27 | Miner | Falls of side | Fall of coal while holing ; caused by failure to sprag. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 15 | Balgonie | Fife | C B Balfour | Thomas Nicholson | 29 | Miner | Falls of roof | The roof which was coal, was low, and deceased and two others began to heighten and repair it. Deceased was filling a tub when some roof coal fell close by him, and thinking he would be safer inside he ran forward, and just then the roof collapsed and he was buried beneath it. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 15 | Hillhouserigg | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | Matthew Brown | 34 | Screenman | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | This man had been in failing health and suddenly expired at his work. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 16 | Springhill No 2 | Ayr | Arch. Finnie & Sons | John Crane | 41 | Miner | Falls of roof | Fall of roof at working face. Apparently the propping regulations were not observed. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 17 | Altonhill No 1 | Ayr | J & R Howie Ltd | Andrew McLelland | 60 | Sinker | Shaft accidents -things falling from part way down | While the overman was lowering a plumb line the iron nut on the end of the line, having been insecurely fastened by him, came off, fell down the shaft and struck deceased on the head. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 19 | Auchinraith No 2 | Lanark | Merry & Cunninghame Ltd | Michael Gainer | 45 | Miner | Falls of side | Fall of coal and stone from working face, apparently while holing. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 19 | Montomeriefield | Ayr | A Kenneth & Sons | William Rollo | 19 | Pithead labourer | On surface – by machinery | He went among the moving parts of the screeing machinery to put on a belt that had come off the pulleys, and got caught by the driving pulley. | Caused by the deceased going among the moving gearing to attempt to put a belt on. The result was that he got caught by the driving pulley. | West |
| 1906 | January | 20 | Burnockhill No 1 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Jose Blanco | 25 | Labourer | Shaft accidents – falling into shaft from surface | He opened the gate at the pitmouth, took a hutch off the cage, signalled the cage down, and then pushed an empty hutch into the open shaft and fell after it. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 20 | Dunnikier | Fife | Walter Herd & Son Ltd | George Campbell | 20 | Miner | Falls of side | Deceased withdrew a sprag to allow the coal to fall, when it fell across the face for a distance of 15 feet, throwing out two other sprags, and he was crushed beneath the mass. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 25 | Dalbeath | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | William Paterson | 52 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was taking coal off the face when the roof collapsed, and he was killed instantaneously. The place was approaching an old working, and the roof was troubled with "waste" breaks. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 26 | Boghead | Linlithgow | Gavin Paul & Sons Ltd | Margt Dunnigan | 30 | Coal cleaner | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | On February 5th, 1904, she met an injury by a hoist cage crushing her. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 27 | Whitrigg | Linlithgow | R Forrester & Co Ltd | Hugh Brannan | 29 | Miner | Falls of side | Deceased was holing his coal, and had it holed to a depth of 3 feet for a distance of 8 feet across, when it fell upon him : there were no sprags up to the coal. | East | |
| 1906 | January | 28 | Polmaise No 2 | Stirling | Archd. Russell Ltd | Thos Laird | 23 | Roadsman | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | They were allowed to enter workings which had not been previously inspected by a fireman, and they walked into an accumulation of fire-damp which ignited at their naked lights. |
The first fatal explosion took place in Polmaise No. 2 Pit, Stirlingshire,
and by it two men lost their lives. It appears that by the instructions
of the under manager the deceased and two firemen descended the
pit on the morning of the accident—a Sunday—in order
to make a stable near the pit bottom, and to fit up a signal
in the workings of the Hartley seam. These men were joined at
the pit bottom by the under manager, who sent the deceased with
a safety lamp between them to fit up the signal, and told one
of them, his own brother, to make an inspection with it, and
then use their open lights. A few minutes after, a violent explosion
occurred, and the bodies of the deceased were subsequently found
in the level in the Hartley seam, about 150 yards distant from
the shaft. This level is the return airway for the section of
workings towards which they were proceeding. They were the only
persons in that split of air at the time of the explosion, the
other three men being at the stable, which was ventilated by
a separate split of air. There seems to be no doubt that the
deceased carried a naked light with them, and this ignited fire-damp,
which accumulated in the workings during the week end, when the
speed of the ventilating fan seems to have been reduced one half. This explosion would not have happened if the regulations had been strictly observed. Instead of the duly appointed fireman having first descended and made the prescribed inspection before the shift began, four men went down in the cage together. Again, the under manager sent his brother and the other man, neither of whom was the duly appointed fireman, into the workings instead of the proper fireman, who was present, and the examination, instead of extending to the whole section, was to be restricted to the immediate vicinity of where they were to be working. Had the fireman made the proper inspection with a safety lamp he would have discovered the fire-damp, and the explosion would not have occurred. It seems to me that there was no occasion to employ these men on a Sunday, and that the work they were sent to do could quite well have been done any other day. Newspaper report |
West |
| Joseph Kennedy | 22 | Drawer | ||||||||||
| 1906 | January | 29 | Bothwell Castle Nos 3 & 4 | Lanark | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | John Martin | 26 | Drawer | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | When crossing the line on the colliery premises he was run over by waggons which were being shunted by the Caledonian Railway Co.'s locomotive. | West | |
| 1906 | January | 30 | Roman Camp (Oil shale) | Linlithgow | Broxburn Oil Co Ltd | James McGuigan | 45 | Labourer | Shaft accidents – falling into shaft from surface | There are two levels at shaft on surface, one for shale, the other, 10 feet above, for debris; at the former there are gates at entrance to the shaft, while at the latter a “policeman” covered the mouth. At the lower level the loaded tubs are taken off the cage at south side of shaft and the empty tubs put on a north side. A loaded tub of debris was raised to the upper level, and deceased who was at the lower level, had instructions to put an empt tub on the cage as soon as it descended. He accordingly passed to the north side with an empty tub, opened the gate and pushed it forward to the open shaft before the cage had reached the level, and tub and he were precipitated to the bottom, a distance of 50 fathoms. | East | |
| 1906 | February | 3 |
At two mines irruptions of water took place, one by which five
men were entombed for about four days, and the other by which
two lives were lost. The first occurred at Tullygarth Colliery, Clackmannanshire, owned by Messrs Jas. Fyfe & Co. The shaft is 61 yards deep to the Splint Coal seam, and at 50 yards it cuts the Cherry Coal seam. The principal workings were at the lower level, in the Cherry Coal, and were reached by a crosscut mine from the Splint Coal, and in the upper level were two working places reached from the mid working. Operations were begun at the colliery in 1900, and as soon as the Cherry Coal was reached, boring was commenced and carried on until the waste of the abandoned workings of Clackmannan Colliery was reached and the water was drawn off, as the workings progressed to the dip, bore holes were put through to the dip waste, and quantity of water was regulated by plugging the holes at intervals, according to the capacity of pumps to deal with it. At the time of the inrush bore holes were running water from the waste at A and B. The work was proceeding as usual on the morning of the 3rd February, when water was seen making its way down the "dook " of the Cherry Coal, and as it increased in volume the alarm was raised, and the men rushed toward the shaft, but on reaching the crosscut mine their way was barred by the water, and they had to travel a heading situated inside the crosscut mine and reach the shaft by the upper level ; in the excitement the men at work, five in number, in the Splint Coal were forgotten, and the manager in company with a miner, who volunteered to accompany him, tried to force their way to them by the crosscut, but the current was too strong and they had to retreat. Arrangements were at once made to try and keep the water in check, and to this end the speed of the pumps was increased commensurate with safety, and water chests capable of drawing 50 tons per hour were put on the cages. A telephone message reached my home at 3.30 p.m., and as I was away on inspection duties I got back at 3.50 p.m. and at once proceeded to the colliery, which I reached at 5.15 p.m. Having examined the plan, I descended along with the manager and some officials to the upper level, and by means of "chapping" was able to locate the entombed men in the seam below, at D. As the water continued to rise in the shaft it was decided after consultation with the manager to put down a bore hole, and by it to lower food and light until they were rescued, and to effect a rescue to make an opening between the seams ; the bore hole was completed early on the morning of the 5th, and after communicating with the men below it was discovered that only three were present and by "chapping" the two others were located further to the dip. To reach these men a mine was started in the strata, but this was finally abandoned when the opening was made. The work of sinking the opening proceeded without intermission until it was completed at 8.15 p.m. on the night of the 6th, the time occupied being 70 hours, when the three men were brought up, and as soon as this had been effected a rescue party descended the opening and made their way to the two other men, and got into communication with The men worked in the level, and when they discovered that the water had cut off their escape by the shaft they went to the rise workings, where work was discontinued about six months before, and the roof had fallen almost close to the coal face, and they were unable to proceed further either to right or left, and were compelled to remain on the roadway at C. To reach the men and effect a rescue the fallen face had to be cleared for a distance of 24 yards, and the party resolutely set to work to accomplish this ; the work was progressing satisfactorily when carbonic acid gas made its appearance, caused in a great measure by the oxygen in the limited area being consumed by the burning of the lights and breathing of the men, and for well nigh three hours a struggle ensued between determined workmen on the one hand and the foul atmosphere on the other, and it looked as if the workmen would be defeated and the poor fellows left to perish, when a cylinder of oxygen under pressure was obtained and taken to the place and by means of an india-rubber tube the gas was allowed to escape, the effect being that the entombed men, now much exhausted, were revived, and the atmosphere sufficiently cleared to permit acetylene lights to burn, and in a short time the rescue was accomplished, not a moment too soon as in less than two hours the black damp was at the top of the opening. During their confinement the men were in dire straits, as the water was at one time 1 foot 6 inches from the coal face, and to sit up straight, stones were placed in the water and their heads forced into the recess made in the fallen roof; the younger man prior to his light going out on the night of the 4th, wrote a farewell letter on a stone to his friends. While the work of rescue was going on, either myself, Mr. Whalley, or Mr. Carey were present. The water came from an old clay hole, situated 1,250 yards to the west of the Tullygarth Colliery, by an old shaft of the Clackmannan Colliery, abandoned about 30 years ago, and supposed to be filled up ; the clay hole is outwith the royalty of the former colliery. The old shaft collapsed and the water found its way into the waste of the Cherry Coal, which is connected to the workings in the Tullgarth Colliery, The quantity of water which found its way into the working was estimated at 3,000,000 gallons. |
East | ||||||||
| 1906 | February | 8 | Lumphinnans | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | William Shaw | 48 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was taking down a "fallen" overhanging-the face when thereof fell upon him. | East | |
| 1906 | February | 9 | Chapel | Lanark | Chapel Coal Co Ltd | Benjamin -------- | 33 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was wedging down coal at the roadhead when the roof fell away suddenly upon him; in its descent the stone threw out a prop which supported it. | East | |
| 1906 | February | 12 | Cowdenbeath No 10 | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Alexander Michie | 27 | Shunter | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | Deceased had removed some empty waggons into a siding and fouled the crossing, and while riding down with a second train, on the brake of one of the waggons, he was thrown off and crushed between the buffers. | East | |
| 1906 | February | 16 | Portland No 4 | Ayr | Portland Colliery Co Ltd | Charles Currie | 50 | Brusher | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | Struck by a stone projected by a gunpowder shot. He failed to take proper refuge. The accident was not reported and he died on 26th July. | West | |
| 1906 | February | 16 | Ellismuir No 3 | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | Gavin Wilson | 29 | shaftsman | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | When working at a mid-working he put his head out into the shaft and the descending cage struck him. | West | |
| 1906 | February | 23 | Portland No 8 | Ayr | Wm Barr & Sons | Samuel Taylor | 35 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – suffocation by natural gases | In trying to get his tools out of a place full of black-damp he was suffocated. | In Portland No. 8 Pit, Ayrshire, a miner lost his life by knowingly entering a body of black-damp. He had been engaged driving a "dook" through old pillars, but just as the face of his working place was nearly through a pillar, black-damp, which the air current was unable to dispel, caused him to retreat, and he and his brother were given another working place 600 yards distant. Eight days after being put out by the black-damp, the deceased without sanction, and without informing any one went into his former working place, apparently to attempt to get out some tools which he had left at the face. His brother, when he failed to come to his working place, went in search of him, and his body was found about 8 yards from the face of the dook. His lamp and jacket he had hung up at a point above where the black-damp extended. | West |
| 1906 | February | 26 | Michael | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | James Thomson | 45 | Repairer | Haulage – ropes or chains breaking | Deceased and some others were repairing a steep heading which was worked as a chain brae. In order to get empty tubs to the place where repairs were being made a weighted tub was put on one end of the chain and the empty on the other, and both tubs were on the one line of rails causing the chain to cross, and while the chain was in motion one link caught another, causing a break, and tubs ran back and knocked out some timbers and the roof fell. | East | |
| 1906 | February | 27 | Michael | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | Mary Lynch | 15 | Coal cleaner | On surface – by machinery | Deceased worked at the picking table, and she appeared to have stood on the bar of a fence, and overbalancing fell on a revolving shaft which caught her clothing, and she was wound round and crushed. | East | |
| 1906 | March | 2 | Rosie | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | Robert Herd | 55 | Repairer | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased and another repairer were engaged in doing some necessary repairs in a section of Chemiss coal, and he hauled the debris in tubs to the dook haulage road by means of a horse, and was proceeding outbye with a loaded rake when he met his accident. No one saw the accident but two workmen on their way home discovered deceased under the first tub of the rake quite dead. From the position in which deceased was found it is supposed that the rake was running at a high speed outbye on a gradient of 1 in 20 when the two leading tubs left the rails and up-ended, and that he was endeavouring to detach the horse's tail chain when the weight of the tubs behind caused the tub to move towards the pavement and crushed his head. | East | |
| 1906 | March | 6 | Giffnock | Renfrew | Giffnock Collieries Ltd | David Keir | 35 | Pump attendant | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | He fell to the pit bottom in some unexplained manner from a stage in the shaft where a steam pump was placed. | West | |
| 1906 | March | 10 | Bannockburn No 3 | Stirling | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | John Mclachlan | 55 | Pump attendant | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | In some unknown manner he fell to the pit bottom either from the cage or from the entrance to a steam pump placed in the shaft. | Newspaper report | West |
| 1906 | March | 12 | Blairenbathie | Kinross | Fife Coal Co Ltd | John Murie | 29 | Brusher | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | Deceased and his neighbour were engaged charging a shot hole in hard rock with gelignite; the cartridges were tied in bundles of three and inserted into the hole; one bundle was put back but the next bundle stuck owing to a twist in the hole, and when forcing it back with a pick shaft the whole charge exploded. His neighbour was badly injured | East | |
| 1906 | March | 12 | Lochore | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | James McCall | 38 | Leading Sinker | Shaft accidents - falling from part way down | Deceased and another sinker were engaged in a sinking shaft repairing a pump, and were on a scaffold while doing so, when by some unknown cause he fell into the shaft to a scaffold 40 fathoms below and was killed. | East | |
| 1906 | March | 16 | Rosehall No 7 | Lanark | R Addie & Sons Collieries Ltd | Joseph Dempsey | 53 | shaftsman | Shaft accidents -things falling from part way down | While packing the stuffing box of a plunger in motion, the pump rods broke and the falling debris killed him. |
West |
|
| 1906 | March | 21 | Armadale | Linlithgow | United Collieries Ltd | John McLean | 30 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | A fall occurred on the main haulage road during the night, and deceased and others were engaged redding it with a view to make repairs, when a large stone from behind the area of the fall came away, swinging out the crown which supported it, fatally crushing both men. | East | |
| William Pearson | 37 | Roadsman | ||||||||||
| 1906 | March | 22 | Bothwell Castle No 4 | Lanark | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Henry Powell | 18 | Drawer | Falls of roof | Fall of roof from brushing face. It was said that the fall displaced two props and a crown. | West | |
| 1906 | March | 26 | Earnock | Lanark | John Watson Ltd | Wm Calder | 31 | Waggon trimmer | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | When between two waggons, at the screes, shovelling coals, the waggoner brought forward other waggons which moved one of the standing waggons, and he was caught between the buffers. | West | |
| 1906 | March | 27 | Auchincruive Colliery, Mossblown No 2 | Ayr | Auchincruive Coal Co | Hugh Corrigan | 42 | Miner | Falls of roof | Fall of roof in working place. | West | |
| 1906 | March | 27 | Viewpark No 1 | Lanark | R Addie & Sons Collieries Ltd | Joseph Rankin | 20 | Drawer | Falls of roof | When taking a full hutch along a road the roof fell on him. | Newspaper report- Bothwell pages | West |
| 1906 | March | 28 | Sheriff yards | Clackmannan | Alloa Coal Co Ltd | James Forsyth | 32 | Miner | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | A fall of coal took place and injured this man's spine, in October, 1902, from which injury he subsequently died. | East | |
| 1906 | March | 28 | Leven | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Taylor | 45 | Labourer | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | While filling coal into tubs at the bing he dropped down dead. | East | |
| 1906 | March | -- | Cults (Limestone) | Fife | Trustees of the late James Martin | John Donaldson | 41 | Miner | Metalliferous mines – falls of roof | The seam is 12 feet thick, and at the place of accident the bottom 4 ft. had been taken out right across the opening, which was 19 feet wide. The remaining 8 feet in two beds was cut out on one side, and a shot was fired on the other side to relieve it, but the rock failed to come down. Deceased and his neighbour went under it with bars to lever it down, when the whole mass fell pinning him to the ground causing injuries to which be succumbed. | East | |
| 1906 | April | 2 | Newcraighall | Edinburgh | Niddrie & Benhar Coal Co Ltd | James Aitken | 25 | Drawer | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased's duties were to put on and take off tubs at the foot of a self-acting incline 270 feet long. A full tub was standing on the blocks at the top, and the blocks, which had not been properly set, slipped and the tub ran away, and on reaching the bottom struck deceased causing injuries to which he succumbed an hour later. | East | |
| 1906 | April | 3 | Ellismuir | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | Thos Craigie | 75 | Waggon greaser &c | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | While oiling the siding points he was run over by two waggons and a Caledonian Railway Co.'s locomotive while shunting Apparently the whistle was not sounded before the locomotive was started. | West | |
| 1906 | April | 3 | Blairmuckhill | Lanark | A & G Anderson | Nathaniel Blair | 20 | Labourer | On surface – miscellaneous | A boiler was being raised into position by screw jacks placed under the boiler and inside the seat, and while doing so it tilted slightly ; deceased, who was working one of the jacks, made a rush at an opening to get outside, and was fatally crushed between the boiler and side of brickwall of seat. Had he remained where he was he was perfectly safe. | East | |
| 1906 | April | 7 | Dalkeith | Edinburgh | A G Moore & Co | William Jackson | 17 | Trimmer | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | Deceased appeared to have been on the moving waggons, and in jumping down to regulate the speed by the brakes he stumbled and fell and waggon crushed him. | East | |
| 1906 | April | 11 | Bothwell Castle No 2 | Lanark | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Thos Stevenson | 25 | Jigger | Miscellaneous underground – by machinery | When passing a haulage tension carriage he got caught by the pulley. He had been prohibited from going there. | West | |
| 1906 | April | 13 | Loganlea | Edinburgh | United Collieries Ltd | Peter Higgins | 34 | Miner | Falls of side | The bottom portion of the seam - main coal - is taken out first and the upper portion left on and supported by props for several feet, after which it is worked off. Deceased had 10 feet of the upper portion on, and was preparing to take out more bottom coal when a part of the upper portion came away, and, striking him, killed him instantaneously. | East | |
| 1906 | April | 27 | Lumphinnans | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Seary | 35 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by underground fires | See report |
In the No. 1 pit of Lumphinnans Colliery, Fife, a fire broke
out in the Lochgelly Splint Coal seam, about twelve years ago,
and at the time the section was built off by brick stoppings,
and up to within a few days of the accident had given no trouble. The No. 1 pit was downcast and the air passed on the dip side of the stoppings toward the No. 11 pit. It appeared that three days before the accident a smell of coal stink—well known as a product off a coal fire—was felt, and at once men were sent to look over the stoppings and make repairs and put in new stoppings where such were necessary. On the morning of .the accident several men were engaged at the stoppings, when one burst out between D and A, and a volume of carbon monoxide was projected into the airway, fouling the air current to such an extent that it was with difficulty the men got back to the intake side of D ; the foul air was carried by the current right to the upcast shaft, and deceased who were doing some repairs on the roadway in the workings of No. 11 pit were right in its way and their escape was an impossibility. In reaching the upcast shaft the foul air had to pass the stables, and all the horses, eighteen in number, were overcome as well as the men in the vicinity of the shaft, more or less ; as soon as possible the air current was cut off by means of stoppings in mines leading up to Lochgelly Splint Coal seam on No. 1 pit side and a fresh air current was obtained from the same pit in a lower seam, the Five Feet Coal, and taken into the section and carried the reverse way than the way originally, the result being that several horses revived. Rescue parties were formed to reach the unfortunate men, and as a precaution birds in cages were carried by the men in advance and as soon as the birds showed signs of collapse a halt was made until the foul air had been carried away in front and a further advance made possible ; great difficulty was experienced in reaching the deceased, who were found after 18 hours' arduous work. The Lochgelly Splint Coal seam is liable to fire by spontaneous combustion, and fires are not uncommon ; the fire usually begins in the upper portion. In the section where burst took place the system of working was longwall, and owing to the approach of other workings to the seat of the fire the strata became broken and air was drawn through the crevices, causing a renewal of the fire. As the coal was distilled gas was produced and, prior to the accident, was ignited at one of the stoppings; it is very probable that an explosion of gas took place inside, throwing out the stopping. In trying to reach the bodies the search parties were more or less affected by carbon monoxide as the side roads and openings in the strata were filled with the gas ; at one place great difficulty was experienced in taking fresh air in at a junction of two roads owing to the broken strata, and a tunnel made of brattice cloth had to be formed. The need for pneumatophors was very evident as, in addition to lessening the risk to life in the foul atmosphere in the work of rescue, the bodies of the victims could have been reached in a much shorter time. Newspaper report - Beath pages |
East |
| Andrew Black [NB Name in report is wrong - correct name is Alexander Black] | 42 | Miner | ||||||||||
| 1906 | April | 29 | Muiredge | Fife | Wemyss Coal Co Ltd | James Izatt | 34 | Labourer | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | While suffering from despondency he jumped into the colliery pond and committed suicide. | East | |
| 1906 | April | 30 | Dumbreck | Stirling | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Alexr Scott | 40 | Labourer | On surface – miscellaneous | A scaffold was being erected on the dirt bing. He stepped upon a plank which had just been sawn through and fell 20 feet. | West | |
| 1906 | April | 30 | Blairenbathie | Kinross | Fife Coal Co Ltd | William Haxton | 49 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was redding a roadway which had been temporarily stopped, and was forming a building with the fallen debris, when a stone fell from the roof and crushed his head against the partly formed building. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 1 | Bowhill | Fife | Bowhill Coal Co Ltd | George Ross | 39 | Pit bottomer | Shaft accidents – miscellaneous | Deceased was engaged loading the deck of the cage which held four tubs, and while doing so the cage was suddenly lifted and he was carried up the shaft and crushed. The cage had not been signalled to ascend. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 1 | Lassodie | Fife | Thos Spowart & Co Ltd | Thomas Haddow | 42 | Brusher | Falls of roof | Deceased was in the act of setting timber to the roof of a roadway which he had just brushed, when a stone fell and struck him between the shoulders. His injuries proved fatal on 23rd January, 1907. | ||
| 1906 | May | 2 | Herdshill | Lanark | Coltness Iron Co Ltd | John Quigley | 65 | Miner | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | Quigley complained to his neighbour on starting work that he felt ill, and latterly left the face and went to the roadhead, and in a short time expired. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 4 | Duddingston (Oil shale) | Linlithgow | Oakbank Oil Co Ltd | Thomas McLean | 15 | Haulier | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased's duties were to detach the empty tubs from the endless rope-chain attachment; he tried to attach the chain to a loaded tub contrary to orders, when he was overtaken by another loaded tub coming up from another bench and dragged some distance, receiving injuries which terminated fatally two hours later. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 6 | Whitehill | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | John Walker | -- | Repairer | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | While proceeding from the shaft to his work he complained of feeling unwell and shortly afterwards expired. The child had wandered to the colliery sidings where shunting was going on, and was run over by the waggons. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 10 | Little Raith | Fife | Lochgelly Iron & Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Porteous | 30 | Hanger-on | Haulage – ropes or chains breaking | Deceased hung three tubs on to the rope at the foot of an incline and gave the signal ; when the rake had proceeded about 28 feet the rope broke and tubs ran back, fatally crushing him. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 12 | Little Raith | Fife | Lochgelly Iron & Coal Co Ltd | Christopher Shad | 3 | Child | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | The child had wandered to the colliery sidings where shunting was going on, and was run over by the waggons | East | |
| 1906 | May | 17 | Ingliston (Oil shale) | Edinburgh | Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co Ltd | John Hunter | 37 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by explosives | Two shot holes were bored in the shale, charged with 1 ½ pounds of gunpowder and white tape fuse used; one shot was in the centre and one in bottom. Both shots missed, and after waiting 40 minutes deceased returned and withdrew the stemming of the former, re-charged the hole and fired it. Later on he was unramming the latter when the charge exploded. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 18 | Kirkwood | Lanark | United Collieries Ltd | Francis Haley | 20 | Miner | On surface – railways, sidings or tramways | When passing between two standing waggons, a third moving waggon struck one of them, and he was crushed between the buffers. | West | |
| 1906 | May | 19 | Lumphinnans | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Alexander Bremner | 34 | Engineman | On surface – by machinery | The shaft of No. 1 pit was being enlarged, and as the work progressed the pumps, pipes, &c.. were removed. For the purpose of raising the parts a steam crab was used with hawser, and at the time of accident it was arranged to draw the foot rod of the lower ram of pump at 102 fathoms down during the breakfast hour when no one was in the shaft. Accordingly steam was applied to the crab, when the worm and the idle gear wheels broke, and the pieces flew in all directions, some of which struck deceased. The strain on the machine was too great, as beside the weight of the foot rod, the cross-rods, rods, &c., under, had, by an overlook, not been detached from the foot rod. | Newspaper report - Beath pages | East |
| 1906 | May | 25 | Donibristle | Fife | Donibristle Colliery Co Ltd | David Campbell | 29 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased worked in a longwall face where two "lypes" ran parallel with the face ; he was instructed to work from one end and take " cut" coal with him and timber as he went; instead, however, he worked in front, and when the coal was taken off, the "lypes" were relieved and the roof fell upon him. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 26 | Bog, Nos 1 and 2 | Lanark | Hamilton McCulloch & Co Ltd | William Stirling | 42 | Miner | Miscellaneous underground – by underground fires | Overcome by the fumes of an underground fire. | At Bog Colliery, Lanarkshire, two men lost their lives by the fumes of an underground fire. It appears that fire due to spontaneous combustion broke out in a section of the Ell Coal worked by the "stoop and room" method, and steps were taken to attempt to isolate the fire by putting in stoppings. The manager stated that he gave instructions to put in stoppings at a certain point from which the air went towards the seat of the fire, and a shift of six men, one of whom was the fireman in charge, started to put in the stoppings. Owing to some misunderstanding, they commenced to put in a stopping at a point towards which the air would tend to drive out the fumes from the fire. Before the stopping was completed several of the men were affected more or less by the fumes, but four of them remained and completed this work, and were about to retire when three of them, one after the other, fell insensible. Some 2 1/2 hours elapsed ere the bodies could be got out. One man was dead, and another died two days after, while the other (the fireman) recovered. This accident appears to have been due to the men's ignorance of the deadly nature of the carbonic oxide gas given off by an underground fire. Had they known this, they would have retreated when first they noticed the fumes coming out on them. | West |
| George Muir | 23 | Miner | ||||||||||
| 1906 | May | 28 | Arniston | Edinburgh | Arniston Coal Co Ltd | Alexander Munro | 22 | Attendant on coal cutting machine | Miscellaneous underground – sundries | Report, page 19. |
The first took place at Arniston Colliery, Edinburgh. Preparations were being made to begin the "cut," and this necessitated renewing the the picks on the disc. To enable this to be done the current was switched on sufficient to cause disc to revolve the distance between the picks ; while this work was in progress a slight shock was felt just as the current was put on, and the leakage ran up the haulage rope which deceased was getting in order. He shouted to the man at the switch handle to switch off, which had already been done, and after a word to his companions he fell forward and became unconscious. He was at once removed to the nearest road, and artificial respiration applied for fully two hours, but he succumbed. The other men working about the machine felt the shock, but it was so slight that they compared it to a "jag," and they were none the worse. A thorough test of the machine, cables, &c., by a galvanometer failed to discover the defect. The voltage was 450, and current was continuous. |
East |
| 1906 | May | 28 | Mossbank | Lanark | John Horn & Co | John Allan | 40 | Miner | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | While waiting on the pithead to descend the shaft he suddenly expired : he had been ailing for some time and was under medical treatment. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 29 | Bowhill | Fife | Bowhill Coal Co Ltd | Alexander Mathieson | 33 | Drawer | Haulage – run over or crushed by trams & tubs | Deceased put a tub on to the rope at the foot of a short brae, and another drawer put a loaded tub on at the top end and pushed away ; as soon as the latter applied the brake to the wheel the axle broke and tubs ran back, and deceased was shouted to to stand clear ; he evidently mistook the shout and stepped in front of the runaway tubs. | East | |
| 1906 | May | 30 | Castlehill | Lanark | Shotts Iron Co Ltd | John Pender | 65 | pitheadman | Deaths not comprised under Mines Act | Deceased, who was an engineman prior to taking up duties as a pitheadman, worked an extra shift on the engine in place of the engineman who was off work, ill, and just as he was being relieved he suddenly expired through heart failure. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 2 | Glenboig (Fire clay) | Lanark | Glenboig Union Fireclay Co Ltd | Joseph Wallace | 44 | overman | Explosions of fire damp or coal dust | See Report, pages 12, 13,14. |
This explosion occurred in a cross-cut mine being driven over
an upthrow fault of 7 fathoms. The mine had a rising gradient of 1 in 4, and was up a,distance of 140 ft. The air current to ventilate the mine was that which traversed the workings, and it was led up to the face by brattice cloth, the intake being on the hutch way and the return on the "cuddie" way, the system of haulage being "cuddie" brae. At the foot of the mine was a pump driven by a haulage rope and wheel, and the night prior to the accident the pump, got out of order, necessitating repairs. To enable the repairs to be done part of the bratticing had to be removed, the result being that the air short circuited and gas collected in the mine. On the morning of the accident, the fireman found gas, and to prevent anyone approaching he put up a fence across the entrance and wrote in chalk ''Gas found in mine," and at the station he warned the men who worked in the ordinary places near by. Deceased and two workmen went to the mine some time after to restore the ventilation by fixing up the bratticing, and of necessity took down the fence, and while he apparently was busy the one man sent the other—a Pole—to look for some tools, and he wandered up the mine and ignited the gas with his naked light, causing an explosion. The explosion was very violent, as, in addition to destroying the bratticing and knocking out props, several men in the vicinity were thrown down, deceased, who appeared to have been in the direct line of the force, being thrown against a stoop side and killed instantaneously. In removing the fence to restore the ventilation, the overman, as the person in charge of the operative details in the mine, did a quite legitimate thing, and could not be aware that the Pole had gone up the mine : the statement of the Pole being that deceased did not see him go, and apparently did not hear the other workman send him for the tools. |
East |
| 1906 | June | 4 | Tannochside No 3 | Lanark | Archd. Russell Ltd | Jas Gillon | 51 | Miner | Falls of side | Fall of coal while holing ; caused by failure to set sprags. | West | |
| 1906 | June | 5 | Newbattle | Edinburgh | Lothian Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Kerr | 46 | Haulage engineman | On surface – by machinery | A haulage engine on the surface works a band rope led down the shaft and connected to machinery in a clutch house in bottom where there are three sets of clutches for three sets of haulage systems. The engine was signalled to stop, and deceased did so while the strain was at its greatest owing to the gearing of the three systems being in ; while the engine was at a standstill he began to clean out one of the crank pits, and, unknown to him the strain was relieved by the clutchman throwing one of the systems out of gear, causing the engine to move slowly, and crank came round and crushed deceased. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 7 | Minto | Fife | Lochgelly Iron & Coal Co Ltd | George Bremner | 32 | overman | Haulage – ropes or chains breaking | The descending tub stuck on a self-acting incline while it was moving down, and deceased went behind and "stamped" the chain, the result being that the chain broke and the tub above ran him down. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 8 | Carberry | Edinburgh | Edinburgh Collieries Ltd | Hugh Forsyth | 29 | Attendant on coal cutting machine | Miscellaneous underground – by machinery | A coal cutting machine of the disc type was in use, and the length of the "run" was 120 yards on an inclination of 1 in 3. In order that the machine should feed itself while cutting, a rope goes round a pulley fixed to a prop by a gabby and chain, one end of the rope is attached to the machine and the other end winds round a drum on the machine. Deceased, as leading man, was in front of the machine, and while it was cutting to the rise the gabby broke and pulley came down with terrific force and striking his head fractured his skull. The gabby was made of best iron 1 1/8 in. diameter, and did not appear to be defective. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 14 | Blairadam | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Thomas Stark | 35 | Brusher | Falls of roof | Deceased was driving a road through old waste to reach a section of coal when the roof suddenly fell upon him. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 15 | Herdshill | Lanark | Coltness Iron Co Ltd | James Hendry | 33 | Miner | Falls of roof | Deceased was taking off coal at the "nose" corner of the face when the roof suddenly fell away from a "waste" break. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 22 | Highhouse No 1 | Ayr | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Robert Miller | 20 | Roadsman | Falls of roof | Fall of roof on old road while withdrawing props. | Happened to two roadsmen who were engaged in drawing props from an old road 12 feet wide. They had drawn a large number, but were taken by surprise by a sudden fall of roof which knocked out the props which in an ordinary case would have protected them. Fatal accidents by falls while drawing timber are not of frequent occurrence in the district. | West |
| John Fraser | 29 | Roadsman | ||||||||||
| 1906 | June | 25 | Dumbreck No 2 | Stirling | Wm Baird & Co Ltd | Andrew Burke | 23 | Drawer | Falls of roof | Fall of roof on a road while putting a hutch on the rails. | West | |
| 1906 | June | 25 | Lumphinnans | Fife | Fife Coal Co Ltd | Richard Sneddon | 51 | Miner | Falls of side | While holing his coal a piece fell away and crushed him ; he died from his injuries 11 days afterwards. | East | |
| 1906 | June | 27 | Saline | Fife | West of Fife Coal Co Ltd | James Shearer | 56 | Brusher | Falls of roof | Deceased and his neighbour were about to make some repairs, and while he was preparing to set a prop part of the roof fell and injured his foot; he died from the effects of the injury on 25th September, 1906. | East | |
