Gresford Colliery was a coal mine located a mile from the North Wales village of Gresford , near Wrexham .
101-429: The Gresford disaster occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery , near Wrexham , when an explosion and underground fire killed 261 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into the disaster did not conclusively identify a cause, though evidence suggested that failures in safety procedures and poor mine management were contributory factors. Further public controversy
202-405: A "weak man driven beyond his capabilities" whose evidence was affected by the extreme exhaustion and stress of enduring 4000 questions and 20 hours of cross-examination at the inquiry. One exchange between Cripps and Bonsall regarding the ventilation of 29's district largely destroyed the manager's credibility and left him in a state of near collapse. Bonsall was, however, effectively a substitute for
303-451: A day fired on a face less than 200 yards wide, the air thick with fumes and dust from blasting, the banjack hissing to waft the gas out of the face into the unpacked waste, a space 200 yards long and 100 yards wide above the wind road full of inflammable gas and impenetrable for that reason. Later in 1937, legal proceedings were started in Wrexham's petty sessions court against the pit manager,
404-434: A fireman it was like talking to a prop ". Cripps said he believed an explosion was triggered on 142's Deep near to 95's district by shotfiring near a main airway, noting that the explosion had occurred about the time the 95's night shift deputy, Sam Matthias, would have arrived at this point. The blast had ignited a pocket of firedamp which, Cripps suggested, had accumulated in the airway because of inadequate ventilation and
505-454: A lack of safety measures, bad working practices and poor ventilation in the pit, Walker drew very cautious conclusions about the cause in his final verdict. This was largely because the two assessors chosen by the miners and by the pit's management, and the barristers representing them, had given widely different suggestions as to the source of the explosion; though Walker stated he had "grave suspicions" regarding shotfiring near an airway in 95's,
606-559: A large area of the country". The inquest was initially adjourned on 14 December 1934, pending reopening of the Dennis section to obtain further evidence. Although recovery teams wearing self-contained breathing apparatus re-entered the sealed pit in May 1935, both government inspectors and officials from the Westminster and United Collieries Group would not allow any further attempts to be made to access
707-461: A large number of miners were trapped beyond the blaze. Meanwhile, the shift that was working the Slant was ordered to the pit bottom and told to get out of the mine. Only six men had escaped from the Dennis section, all of whom were working in 29's district: Robert (Ted) Andrews, Cyril Challoner, Thomas Fisher, David Jones (the district's night shift deputy), Albert (Bert) Samuels, and Jack Samuels. Some of
808-598: A list of the dead still buried underground. There is also a painting in All Saints' Church, Gresford , depicting scenes from the disaster and rescue. Nine years after the closure of the pit, in 1982 the head gear wheel was preserved as part of the Gresford Disaster Memorial. It was dedicated on 26 November 1982, in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales , and the surviving relatives of those miners killed in
909-464: A new shaft made little commercial sense, and not much profit had ever came out of the pit, so the Dennis didn't undertake the work. After the General Strike , cost-cutting measures were introduced in all mines, including in safety provision. Five local collieries - Westminster, Wrexham & Acton, Vauxhall and Gatewen - shut in quick succession during the 1920s and 1930s. Mechanisation, believed by
1010-447: A number of adverse conditions in the pit prior to the explosion. Firstly, underground mine ventilation in some districts of Dennis was probably inadequate; in particular, the 14's and 29's districts were notorious for poor air quality. The main return airway for the 109's, 14's and 29's districts was said to be 4 ft (1.2 m) by 4 ft (1.2 m) and far too small to provide adequate ventilation. Secondly, working conditions in
1111-420: A pit by men working in an irrespirable atmosphere. However, after retrieving air samples from beyond the permanent stoppings, the mining inspectors refused to allow recovery teams to go further into the Dennis districts to retrieve bodies, despite calls from the workers themselves that they should be allowed to do so. Dennis was never reopened; the bodies of the remaining 253 victims of the disaster would be left in
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#17330858410821212-401: A residual 45% stake in the colliery, and wanting additional profitability put manager, William Bonsall, under pressure to increase the productivity of the whole colliery. One of Britain's worst coal mining disasters occurred at the colliery. The Gresford Disaster occurred on Saturday 22 September 1934, when 266 men died following an underground explosion. As there was a football match on
1313-495: A third team member for over 40 yd (37 m) towards safety before being overcome himself by poisonous gases. Williams would be the only survivor; he was said by his family to be the man who later wrote the anonymous broadside ballad "The Gresford Disaster", which was highly critical of the mine's management. Despite the fact that the carbon monoxide levels in the 20's return suggested that no one farther inbye could be left alive, rescue efforts became focused on trying to fight
1414-407: Is a deputy to the viewer and involved more directly with the daily work of the pit. When a colliery has a number of pits under a viewer, there is an overman to each pit. The overman has responsibilities for daily and hands-on tasks, such as inspecting the pit's safety each day and recording the work performed for piece work systems. An overman would be an experienced miner who has been promoted on
1515-485: Is a folk song in 6/8 time which appears to have been published anonymously and distributed as a broadside shortly after the colliery explosion. It has been widely recorded, including versions by Ewan MacColl , The Hennessys , Alex Campbell and The Albion Band . It is included in the Roud Folk Song Index (no:3089), and is discussed by Roy Palmer in his 1974 book Poverty Knock: a picture of industrial life in
1616-416: Is no chance that any man is alive. I have been down in pits after ten explosions, but I have never seen anything like this. From the point where the fire is raging for twenty yards the stones are red-hot". More explosions continued to occur within the pit over the next few days. On 25 September, a surface worker named George Brown became the 265th victim when he was killed by flying debris after one blast blew
1717-402: The longwall system where the coal face was mined in single blocks. Gresford was considered a modern pit by standards of the time and most districts in the Dennis section were mechanised except 20's and 61's, which were farthest from the main shaft (approximately 2.75 mi (4.43 km)) and which were still worked by hand. Evidence given at the inquiry into the disaster suggested there were
1818-602: The 15th century, it was not heavily exploited until the 18th century. By 1900, more than 12,500 miners produced three million tonnes a year. Industrialist Henry Dennis of Ruabon , and his son Henry Dyke Dennis, began the colliery near Gresford in 1907. The site was on the edge of the Alyn Valley , between the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway (later the Great Western Railway 's Birkenhead to London Paddington line), and
1919-553: The 18-man Llay team finally received a call down the pit and went in accompanied by a Gresford miner who was to show them the way. In a somewhat disorganised fashion John Charles Williams and his two rescue men making up the No. 1 Llay team, along with a Gresford rescue man W. Hughes, were instructed by the Gresford staff then below ground to check the mile-long return airway of the 20's district. Bonsall later stated that his intent had only been that
2020-453: The 1980s the site was redeveloped as an industrial estate. In 1982 a memorial to the victims of the disaster was erected nearby; it was constructed using a wheel from the old pit-head winding gear. The last underground link to the disaster, Mr Eddie Edwards, who began work in the mine aged 14, and who participated in the rescue efforts, died on 6 January 2016, aged 102. Since 2021, Wrexham A.F.C. football shirts have had '1934' embroidered on
2121-452: The 2,600 ft (790 m) deep 95's and 24's district were always uncomfortably hot. Thirdly, it was alleged, there were also numerous breaches of safety regulations leading to the districts being in an unfit condition to operate. The disaster inquiry was told that one of the pit deputies , whose job was to oversee the safety of a district, admitted that he also carried out shotfiring during his shifts, in addition to his other duties. It
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#17330858410822222-512: The Carr brothers, where one brother acted as viewer. An experienced viewer, known for their good judgement, was recognised as a skilled profession and in the North East they often became an independent contractor or consultant who would advise a number of mines on particular issues, such as sinking a new shaft, or making a new investment. This represented the shift from the viewer as manager or agent, to
2323-481: The Clutch, while the remaining five went to the pit bottom and safety. Beyond the Clutch, Williams found three falls in the main haulage road. Once he got past them he discovered a fire had started about 20 yards before the main entrance to 29's district, blocking escape from the districts further inbye, and immediately sent back for men and materials to fight it. The evidence of Williams, Bonsall and Ben Edwards, who all saw
2424-591: The Dennis and the Martin. They were named after Sir Theodore Martin, the company chairman, and Mabel Dennis, wife of the company managing director Henry Dyke Dennis, who had ceremonially cut the first sods for each of the respective shafts in November 1907. Work was completed in 1911. The mine was one of the two deepest in the Denbighshire Coalfield : the Dennis shaft reached depths of about 2,264 ft (690 m) and
2525-462: The Dennis section. Evidence of 'heating' in the air samples taken beyond the stoppings, and the consequent risks of restarting fires, were cited as the reason: Walker agreed, though at the time of writing his report he hoped "that this heating will subside in time and that then it will be safe to re-enter the Dennis Section". As there were no other reports concerning the deeper parts of the section,
2626-454: The Gorge. Land at this time was rarely sold, the aristocratic estates were intent on preserving themselves intact, and so mining rights would usually be in terms of a long-term lease . As both of these gentlemen were affluent, if not titled, they would not be familiar with mining themselves and would not generally wish to become so. As mines grew larger and more complex into the nineteenth century,
2727-512: The Llay No. 2 rescue team, described the whole end of the level as "one mass of flame, the coal sides of the roadway, burning in one white mass, and the more stones we moved to one side, the more air we put on to the flames [...] It was most peculiar to see the flames from that fire, all the colours of the rainbow, a sight which I will never forget." By early Saturday morning large crowds of concerned relatives and off-duty miners had gathered silently at
2828-595: The Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire's "Denbighshire Fund." The local committee which met in Wrexham took monies from both funds, and appointed a visitor to ensure that immediate relief was distributed in the form of grants and temporary weekly allowances. The two funds were amalgamated in July 1935, under the provision of a trust deed to form the Gresford Colliery Disaster Relief Fund, with three trustees:
2929-560: The Lord Mayor of London, the Governor of the Bank of England and the Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire. They devolved power to a local administration committee, who paid monies via an honorary actuary. The fund was wound up after the deaths of the last dependants, and donated residual monies to the creation of the memorial to the victims unveiled in 1982. The mine remained sealed off for six months after
3030-497: The Martin shaft about 2,252 ft (686 m). By 1934, 2,200 coal miners were employed at the colliery, with 1,850 working underground and 350 on the surface. Three coal seams were worked at Gresford across several sections: Lying east of the Bala Fault , the mine was extremely dry, unlike mines to the west of the fault, and was therefore prone to firedamp . The Main coal in particular, which made up most of Gresford's output,
3131-468: The Saturday afternoon between Wrexham and Tranmere Rovers , on Friday, 21 September, many miners doubled up their shifts so they could attend the match. This meant there were more miners down the pit than there ordinarily would have been. The explosion occurred in the Dennis district at around 2am, the time when the men would be having their mid-shift snack. Only six men survived the blast. A fire followed
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3232-446: The accident, considered that the main return airway for the 109's, 14's and 29's districts was far too small at 4 feet by 4 (according to one witness). Evidence was given that 95's and 24's district, at 2,600 feet deep, was uncomfortably hot. There were numerous breaches of regulations regarding the firing of explosive charges in 14's district, taking of dust samples, and other matters. The colliery had made an operating loss in 1933, and
3333-551: The area's mines were sent below to assist: a manager from another colliery, sent down at about 4:30 am, described his attempts to extinguish the fires. Seven dead miners, all men who had been working near the Clutch, were soon brought to the surface. By 5:00 am the Gresford rescue team was already in the pit and some of the teams from the neighbouring Llay Main Colliery were at the surface, though they grew increasingly frustrated while waiting to be called down. At 8:40 am,
3434-445: The basis of experience. A viewer in the early years, in contrast, would often be a 'gentleman' from a social class comparable to that of the bourgeois owner. In later years, from the mid-19th century, it became more common for viewers to be skilled miners who had risen through the ranks. Wages in 1849 for an overman were 26 shillings to 28s. per week. This was twice that of other skilled trades, such as blacksmiths, indicative of
3535-429: The cap off the Dennis shaft. In total, only 11 bodies (eight miners and the three rescue men) were ever recovered from the mine. Inquests recorded the cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning. The mine shafts remained sealed for six months, after which unaffected districts were gradually re-entered. Recovery teams first entered the pit, using breathing apparatus, on 7 March 1935. The damage caused by explosions and by
3636-520: The cause suggested by Cripps. Unusually, as neither Jones nor Brass agreed with Walker's findings, both appended individual reports to the main text. Without any decisive evidence, Walker's conclusions did not attribute any outright blame or definitive cause for the disaster. But in a debate in the House of Commons in February 1937 following the release of Walker's report, the politician David Grenfell condemned
3737-473: The colliery, with 1,850 working underground and 350 on the surface. The government passed the Coal Mines Act 1911 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 5 . c. 50) requiring every new colliery to have two intake airways into the mine, to allow air to circulate in the workings and only one air intake be allowed for the movement of coal. Gresford Colliery was in operation before the law came into force and was exempt. Retro digging
3838-447: The deputy up a ladder; Samuels was commended at the inquest for his bravery and leadership of the group. After a long and difficult escape up 1:3 gradients, several ladders, and past rockfalls, the six miners eventually rejoined the Dennis main road and met Andrew Williams, the under-manager, who along with Bonsall had immediately descended the Dennis main shaft on being notified of the explosion. Williams took David Jones and went on towards
3939-580: The development of the modern mining engineer. Even at the time, the distinction between managers, or 'agents', for the day-to-day operation of collieries, and consultant viewers, who advised on the development of new aspects, was never a clear one. The viewer would be responsible for deciding major expenditures, such as the purchase of a pumping engine or construction of a tramroad or railway. These new technical innovations were described in advisory guide books such as John Curr 's The Coal Viewer and Engine Builder's Practical Companion (1797). The overman
4040-417: The disaster. In 2000 as a final act of remembrance, the names of all those who lost their lives in the pit were added to the memorial. On the 75th anniversary in 2009, various memorials took place, including Wrexham Football Club delaying their match by 15 minutes - as they would normally have done in the days when the mine was working. Colliery viewer#Overman A colliery viewer or coal viewer
4141-449: The district via the "wind road" which was the 29's air return drift . Samuels told a further 30 men working in the 29's district to follow. But as the six-man lead group went ahead attempting to fan the air to mitigate the effects of the deadly afterdamp , they soon realised the other miners had not followed them. Jack Samuels described how Jones repeatedly fell back, commenting he was "done", but Samuels told him to "stick it" and shouldered
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4242-580: The district's high productivity would have been impossible if lamps were constantly being extinguished by gas, and stating that witnesses had claimed to smell gas when "firedamp has no smell such as has been described". A year before the inquiry published its conclusion, coal production resumed at Gresford from the South-East Martin section in January 1936. In 1937 the inquiry published its findings. Despite being presented with evidence of management failures,
4343-525: The evidence obtained at the inquiry to call for nationalisation of the coal industry. This eventually occurred in 1947 when the pit, and others like it, were taken over by the National Coal Board . As part of the takeover agreement, nearly all the operating records and correspondence relating to the private management of Gresford Colliery were deliberately destroyed by the trustee. Gresford Colliery finally closed on economic grounds in November 1973. In
4444-553: The evidence, and although the pit was reopened in March, 1935, for safety reasons the Dennis section remained closed, and was eventually sealed. Having adjourned the inquiry in December, 1934, by December 1936, Walker legally had to make his final report. The report noted that before the accident ventilation in some districts was possibly inadequate: in particular, it was noted that 14's and 29's districts were poorly ventilated. The report after
4545-413: The explosion might have been caused by the spontaneous heating of a pillar of coal, based on reports of a burning smell in the area of the Clutch prior to the disaster. Shawcross had been able to demonstrate that the evidence of the miners with respect to stone dusting on the main haulage roads was exaggerated or untrue, and used this to cast doubt on their reports of gas and dangerous shotfiring practices at
4646-482: The explosion, and the mine was sealed off at the end of the following day. On 25 September, rescuer George Brown was killed on the surface when another explosion blew a seal off the Dennis shaft and he was hit by flying debris. Only eleven bodies were ever recovered. The mine owners docked the men half a day's pay, as they had not completed a full day's shift. Sir Henry Walker , the Chief Inspector of Mines, chaired
4747-420: The explosion. Districts of the mine were gradually reopened, although the Dennis district, where the explosion occurred remained sealed. Coal production restarted in January 1936, and by 1945 there were 1,743 men employed. Gresford was officially closed on 10 November 1973 due to a combination of exhaustion of existing coal reserves and geological problems. Wrexham Library has the memorial book on display with
4848-411: The face. The assessor chosen by the mine owners, John Brass , also argued that the explosion, judging by the positions in which the bodies of the haulage men were found, had taken place at the Clutch, and that the gas had come from a new drift being driven from there to 29's for ventilation. Brass dismissed the miners' testimonies of poor conditions in 14's as "extravagant and contradictory", claiming that
4949-441: The fire at 29's Turn, using sand, stone dust, and extinguishers. The miners trapped in the most northerly districts, the 20's and 61's, would have been more than 1 mi (1.6 km) on the other side of the fire, and rockfalls at the entrance to the 29's soon made it clear there was little chance of escape for the men trapped in the affected districts. As the falls were levelled, the fire become more severe: Parry Davies, captain of
5050-399: The fire at this critical point, differed on how large it was: Bonsall thought they could not get close enough to it to fight it, but Edwards, who was able to view the burning spot directly, said that it did "not seem much of a fire", and the final report of the inquest was inconclusive as to whether the fire could have been put out at this stage if better equipment had been to hand. Williams and
5151-434: The group were sitting taking a mid-shift break about 300 yd (270 m) north of the Clutch when the initial explosion happened. Jack Samuels, in his testimony at the inquest, described hearing a "violent thud [...] followed at once by dust" while at the face and commenting "that's the bloody bottom gone". By the "bottom", Samuels clarified that he meant 14's district, which lay below them. A colleague advised them to leave
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#17330858410825252-408: The hands of the deputies, or that they would lose their jobs. The assessor approved by the miners, Joseph Jones , also theorised that a large quantity of methane gas , which had accumulated at the coal face in the 14's district, might have been ignited through an accident with a safety lamp or from a spark from a mechanised coalcutter. Jones was sharply critical of the management, stating that 14's
5353-399: The initial rescue attempts. By July, a party of men using breathing apparatus had proceeded 700 yards beyond the stoppings into the Dennis section as far as the top of the haulage road of the 142's Deep, though they found no trace of any of the missing miners. Within a matter of months, normal ventilation was restored to the Slant section: this work was, to that date, the first ever reopening of
5454-425: The inquiry considered explanations presented by the legal representatives of the pit's management and by the inspectors. The divisional inspector, Charlton, countered the miners' theories by suggesting that firedamp had actually accumulated further up the Dennis main road just beyond the Clutch. This gas was ignited at the Clutch when a telephone was used to warn miners of the influx of firedamp. Shawcross suggested that
5555-514: The inquiry which opened on 25 October 1934, at Church House, Regent Street, Wrexham. Walker was assisted by John Brass, for the mine owners; and Joseph Jones for the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB). Both sides employed barristers, Hartley Shawcross for the owners; while the MFGB were offered pro bono publico the services of Labour MP and barrister Sir Stafford Cripps . Walker wanted access to
5656-419: The inquiry's chair later confessed to "an uneasy feeling that Mr. Bonsall was overridden" on the matter. On Saturday 22 September 1934 at approximately 2:00 am a violent explosion ripped through the Dennis section. The explosion started a fire near 29's district and blocked the main access road, known as "142's Deep", to all the section's other districts. At the time up to 500 men were working underground on
5757-503: The lax attitude of the management to monitoring gas levels, contrary to section 29 of the Coal Mines Act 1911 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 5 . c. 50). The heart of Cripps's argument was that the mine's management had focused quite calculatedly on maximum production, and that the deputies had accordingly been encouraged to ignore safety regulations. While the regulations also gave individual miners safety responsibility, many said in evidence that they were unwilling to speak out for fear of victimisation at
5858-469: The local and divisional inspectors, Dominy and Charlton, at Gresford in the months leading up to the disaster and Cripps argued the Inspectorate had an interest in turning a blind eye to safety failings. Cripps went so far as to describe Dominy's inspections as "an absolute farce" and commented that it was "pathetic that a person who answers questions like that should be in charge of the inspection of mines in
5959-416: The management of the colliery because the miners' testimonies had told: ...of lamps having been extinguished by gas, blowing the gas about with a banjack , of protests and quarrels about firing shots in the presence of gas. There is no language in which one can describe the inferno of 14's. There were men working almost stark naked, clogs with holes bored through the bottom to let the sweat run out, 100 shots
6060-549: The manager, William Bonsall, had been under pressure from the Dennis family to increase profitability. He had spent little time in the Dennis section of the pit in the months before the disaster, as he was overseeing the installation of new machinery in the mine's other section, the South-Eastern or Slant. Subsequent to the accident a number of theories were advanced in the Report as to the explosion's exact cause: Sir Stafford Cripps,
6161-401: The mine or being the engineer engaged to direct it technically, the viewer would be held responsible for any accident. The under-viewer, under-looker or steward, was a deputy to the viewer. As well as being an assistant to them, their main role was to act as a locum if the viewer is away from the colliery, and to ensure that the responsible person was always present. A viewer employed by
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#17330858410826262-421: The mine owners and Inspectorate to cover up any evidence of their culpability in the cause of the explosion. The miners' unions continued to press for entry into the sealed districts to recover bodies, with Grenfell and senior union officials including Herbert Smith and Joe Hall of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain volunteering to lead the recovery teams personally, but the matter was finally settled when
6363-416: The mine owners ever being called to give evidence. The only conviction against the management at Gresford Colliery was for inadequate record-keeping, for which Bonsall was fined £150 plus costs. Permission to re-enter the Dennis section was never given, and no examination or inspection of the deeper parts of Dennis was ever undertaken. This decision was widely perceived by the public as a deliberate attempt by
6464-423: The miners and the other by the colliery management, were also appointed to assist Walker and the inquiry. Local interest in the inquiry was enormous: as time went on the colliery officials called as witnesses faced increasing hostility from the public gallery, to the degree the atmosphere began to affect the quality of their evidence. The inquiry was marked by sensational allegations about the conduct of both sides: it
6565-408: The miners' legal representative, suggested that an explosion had been triggered in 95's by shotfiring (the firing of explosive charges) near a main airway. The miners' appointed Assessor also surmised that a large quantity of gas had accumulated at the top of the face in 14's district, which was then ignited by an accident with a safety lamp or by a spark from a coalcutter. The legal representatives of
6666-510: The night shift with more than half in the affected areas. The rest were in the Slant district of the South-East section about 2 mi (3.2 km) from the explosion; many there were unaware for some time afterwards that a disaster had occurred. In Dennis the night overman , Fred Davies, who was on duty at the bottom of the main shaft, heard a crashing sound and was enveloped in a cloud of dust for around 30 seconds. When it cleared he telephoned
6767-463: The night shifts, the pit was not under the direct supervision of the under-managers and manager but was effectively run by the colliery officials – the overmen and deputies or 'firemen' – and often by the deputies alone. While the deputies called to give evidence all claimed the pit was safe, miners alleged that the deputies had actively encouraged unsafe working, and many said that the deputies ignored complaints about safety: one claimed "if you talked to
6868-528: The nineteenth century through songs, ballads and contemporary accounts (despite being a 20th-century composition). The song "The Colliers" on Seth Lakeman 's 2006 album Freedom Fields is about the disaster. Gresford Colliery The North Wales Coalfield , of which Gresford was part, runs from Point of Ayr , on the Flintshire coast to the Shropshire border. Although coal mining records date back to
6969-510: The old main road between Wrexham and Chester . The Dennis' company United Westminster & Wrexham Collieries took four years to sink two deep shafts , the Dennis (downcast) and the Martin (upcast), located 50 yd (46 m) apart. It was one of the deepest coal mines in the Denbighshire coalfield, the Dennis shaft reaching a depth of about 2,264 ft (690 m) and the Martin shaft about 2,252 ft (686 m). The first coal
7070-431: The overman Fred Davies made an initial attempt to get up to the fire using breathing apparatus, but were driven back by fumes. Shortly before dawn, volunteers began entering the pit with ponies to tackle the fire and help clear debris. The area's trained mine rescue teams were alerted, though there were delays in doing so which were later suggested to reflect management disorganisation. In the interim many volunteers from
7171-476: The pit head awaiting news. Hopes were raised in the evening when rumours began circulating that the fire in the Dennis main road was being brought under control; families waiting at the surface were told rescue teams would soon be able to reach the miners in the 29's, the nearest district beyond the Clutch. However, by Sunday evening it became clear that conditions in the pit had become extremely hazardous. Fire took hold in 29's haulage road as well as 142's Deep, and
7272-437: The pit than the manager. Bonsall was not a trained mining engineer and at Gresford the role of mine agent, which would normally be held by a technically experienced person with authority to stand up to both manager and owners, had for some time been temporarily filled by the company secretary since the retirement of the previous agent Sydney Cockin. Gresford had previously had a good safety record, but there were suggestions that in
7373-417: The pit's management, however, suggested that firedamp had accumulated in the main Dennis haulage road beyond the Clutch (a junction on the main drift where the underground haulage machinery was located) and which was ignited at the Clutch when a telephone was used to warn miners of the influx of gas. This interpretation sought to deny that poor working practices were the ultimate cause of the disaster. After
7474-445: The real target of the miners' anger, the owners of Gresford. By contrast there was widespread sympathy for Williams, the under-manager, despite him facing equally harsh questioning from Cripps. Williams was understood to have recognised the dangerous conditions on taking the job at Gresford and had begun to rectify them: he also had three sons working in the pit, giving him, it was suggested, a personal interest in its safety. Cripps used
7575-504: The records of work done underground, so that on the Wednesday before a Friday payday he could 'reckon' with the men and agree the totals of work done. The overman would also have regular roles underground, whereas the viewer would spend most of their time on the surface. Pits in the 19th century worked a two shift system, with a morning or 'fore' shift (6am-2pm) and an afternoon or 'back' shift (2-10pm). Having an overman permanently on site
7676-489: The report was presented to parliament in January 1937, in April 1937, at Wrexham Petty Sessions, 42 charges were made against the colliery company, the manager and officials. Most were withdrawn or dismissed, but manager William Bonsall was convicted on eight counts of breaking mining safety law, and fined £140 with £350 costs. The national and local newspapers focused on stories of heroism and bereavement, with speculation about who
7777-463: The rescue teams were withdrawn as further explosions took place behind a heavy fall on the far side of the fire. Relatives were told the shafts into the Dennis section would be capped because no one could have survived and it was far too dangerous to try to recover any further bodies. The final man to leave the pit, John McGurk, president of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, commented, "There
7878-404: The responsibility. As for most jobs, down to the lowliest colliers, a house and free small coal were also provided. There was a distinction in a colliery between 'day wagemen', those such as overmen and engine drivers, who were paid a daily or weekly wage and 'oncostmen', those such as coal cutters and loaders, who were paid according to a 'bargain', a form of piecework . The overman would keep
7979-520: The reverse in memory of the disaster. The disaster is commemorated by the hymn tune "Gresford". Known as "The Miners' Hymn", it was written by a miner named Robert Saint from Hebburn , South Tyneside . The tune remains popular with many colliery brass bands , and is always played at the annual Miners' Picnics around the North of England , especially at the Durham Miners' Gala . "The Gresford Disaster"
8080-466: The role of the viewer shifted to representing the safe technical management of the mine, on behalf of the owner. Later, as mine safety laws were passed, the viewer had a duty to represent the interests of the miners as well. The viewer was usually employed by the owner, but in some cases was also the owner, or part-owner, themselves. The New Hartley Pit, of the Hartley Colliery disaster , was owned by
8181-671: The sealed districts. By the end of September 1934, 1,100 Gresford miners had signed on the unemployment register. Relief funds were set up by the Mayor of Wrexham , the Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire, and the Lord Mayor of London . Their efforts raised a total of more than £580,000 for the dependants of the victims equivalent to £51,000,000 in 2023. On 25 October 1934 the official inquiry opened at Church House on Regent Street in Wrexham . It
8282-456: The surface and told Bonsall, the manager: "something has happened down the Dennis. I think it has fired." Bonsall immediately went into the mine to try to establish what had occurred. At approximately 3:30 am the afternoon shift overman, Benjamin Edwards, reported that parts of the Dennis main road were on fire beyond a junction, known as the Clutch, where the haulage motors were located, and that
8383-421: The team establish the atmosphere in the return: he claimed that his order had been "not to go in until they got definite instructions from me, because what I had in my mind was that it would be charged with carbon monoxide, and I did not want them to go through that because there would not be the slightest chance of getting men back through it." The instruction was, however, misinterpreted by a deputy as meaning that
8484-534: The team should physically enter the return; accordingly the rescue team entered the airway using breathing apparatus, despite the fact that their canary died instantly. Williams, the team's leader, ordered them back when after several hundred yards after the airway ahead narrowed to 3 ft (0.91 m) by 3 ft and less. Two of the team then in Williams' words "seemed to get alarmed" and collapsed, possibly after removing their nose clips; Williams then tried dragging
8585-456: The three Gresford rescue teams themselves said they would follow the Inspectorate's advice in the matter. It is probable that resentment at the dominance of the North Wales industry by Yorkshire, represented by Smith and Hall, played a part in their decision. Bonsall was portrayed by Cripps and others as a ruthless and cynical manager, but researchers now think that he is more likely to have been
8686-406: The two years Bonsall had not had Cockin to help him the pit's management had come under increasing commercial pressure. Bonsall admitted he had spent little time in the Dennis section of the pit in the months before the disaster, as he was overseeing the installation of new machinery in the "Slant", an area in the South-East section. Work on improving the Dennis section ventilation had been halted, and
8787-405: The under-manager and United & Westminster Collieries Limited, the owners of the mine. Aside from the evidence of poor working practices, it was discovered that Bonsall had after the accident instructed an assistant surveyor, William Cuffin, to falsify records of ventilation measurements during several weeks when none had actually been taken. However, the court dismissed most of the charges without
8888-458: The water directed down the pit was severe, and efforts concentrated on building stoppings so that fresh air could be readmitted to the pit. In May, Parry Davies, captain of the Llay Main No. 2 rescue team, accompanied by two inspectors and a Ministry of Mines doctor, entered into the 20's return airway to recover the body of John Lewis of Cefn-y-Bedd , one of the members of the No. 1 team killed in
8989-500: The workers and unions to improve working conditions, created more dust and explosions, in an economic climate where the government were reluctant to enforce regulation. By 1934, there were two main sections to Gresford Colliery, the Dennis and the South-east, which were both part mechanised. 2,200 miners worked in three eight-hour shifts. Some miners worked double shifts to earn extra money despite it being illegal. The Dennis family owned
9090-445: Was "of a very gassy nature". The explosion occurred within the main seam of Dennis. This section, which began more than 1.3 mi (2.1 km) from the shaft bottom, was mined down a shallow gradient following the 1:10 dip of the seam. At the time of the disaster Dennis was divided into six "districts": 20's, 61's, 109's, 14's, 29's, and a very deep area known collectively as the "95's and 24's". Most districts in Dennis were worked by
9191-533: Was a "veritable gasometer ", that there had been "flagrant and persistent breaches of the Coal Mines Act and General Regulations" and that the deputy responsible for ordering the rescue men into 20's airway was "guilty of manslaughter". Both Cripps and Jones suggested the Inspectorate itself was partly culpable for the explosion through its failure to enforce the Regulations: Jones noted the inadequate work of
9292-439: Was at fault, or what caused the disaster left alone. The disaster left 591 widows, children, parents and other dependants. In addition, over 1500 miners were temporarily without work, until the colliery was re-opened in January 1936. After each newspaper opened its own fund, they and national donations by September 1935 totalled £565,000. The sum was divided equally split between the Lord Mayor of London's "Mansion House Fund" and
9393-506: Was at the Ironbridge Gorge in 1608, where Jesse Whittingham leased four adits from James Clifford , at a rent of £200 a year for five years. Clifford had acquired the lands of Wenlock Priory at Broseley in 1560, after the priory's dissolution in 1540. Several such monastic lands moved from traditional tenant farming to entrepreneurial mineral exploitation at this time, spurring the early industrial revolution, particularly around
9494-429: Was caused by the decision to seal the colliery's damaged sections permanently, meaning that the bodies of only 8 of the miners were ever recovered. Two of the three rescue men who died were brought out leaving the third body in situ until recovery operations began the following year. The Westminster and United Collieries Group began to sink the pit at Gresford in 1908. Two shafts were sunk 50 yd (46 m) apart:
9595-466: Was chaired by Sir Henry Walker , His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Mines, who had himself been in the pit during the rescue attempts. The miners, through the North Wales Miners' Association , were represented by Sir Stafford Cripps ; the mine owners, mindful of the fact they could face criminal charges, hired a formidable legal team including Hartley Shawcross . Two mining assessors, one approved by
9696-426: Was claimed that the deputies had after the accident held meetings together with the inspectorate, leading to a protest by miners, and there were several comments that the unions had paid miners to give evidence, causing an uproar in court. The miners' legal representatives presented several theories at the inquiry as to cause of the explosion. Evidence had rapidly emerged that for much of the time, and especially during
9797-445: Was considered so important that a second deputy or 'back-overman' would work the second shift. Depending on pit conditions, the fore shift might concentrate on winning coal and the back shift on the 'dead work' of timbering and propping roadways etc. The viewer's role, particularly with the development of parliamentary mining regulations in the mid-nineteenth century, was ultimately that of responsibility. Although not necessarily owning
9898-420: Was divided into six districts: the 20s, 61's, 109's, 14's and 29's districts, along with a very deep district known as "95's and 24's". These districts were worked by the longwall system but the 20's and 61's, which were furthest from the shaft, were worked by hand when the remaining districts were mechanised. The coal was renowned as being of very good quality and hot burning. In 1934, 2,200 men were employed at
9999-651: Was produced in June, 1911 and full production reached before the outbreak of World War I . Three seams were worked: the Crank, the Brassey (named after engineer Thomas Brassey ), and the Main. House coal was produced from the Crank seam, the Brassey seam was virtually gas free whilst the Main seam was very gaseous. Working conditions at the colliery were dusty, and very hot, the temperature often more than 90 °F (32 °C). The Dennis section
10100-400: Was revealed that he fired more charges during his shift than a full-time shotfirer could have safely carried out. The colliery had incurred an operating loss in 1933, and the pit manager, William Bonsall, is thought to have been under pressure from the Dennis family to increase profitability. Henry Dyke Dennis was reputed in the Wrexham district to be a forceful individual who had more control of
10201-493: Was the manager of a coal mine or colliery . The term was mostly used in the late eighteenth to nineteenth centuries, in the UK. In modern use, the viewer would be the senior and responsible mining engineer at a site. The role began as a person to represent the owner of the land, often an aristocrat, who had leased the rights to mine there to another who would 'work' the mine. One of the first formally recorded arrangements for such
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