Charles Colliery Explosion – Llansamlet – 1870

CHARLES. Llansamlet, Glamorganshire. 23rd. July, 1870.

The colliery was the property of Mr. Charles Henry Smith of Swansea who lived in Tenby and the village was about four miles from Swansea. The colliery was near the village church by a canal bridge. It was a small colliery that employed between 50 and 60 men and boys and the workings were not very extensive. It had a reputation as being well managed and so well ventilated that it was worked with naked lights. Mr Robert Mills was the manager.

There were three shafts at the colliery but only two were connected with the ventilation and working of the colliery. Each shaft was 54 yards deep. At the bottom of the upcast shaft there was a “bully”, 600 yards long, driven in the direction of Tregof Farm. The main working pursued was the heading And stall mode and the quantity of air passing was only about 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute. The colliery was worked with naked lights.

The Charles Pit was situated to the rise of the Try Cenol Colliery and several communications, principally by boreholes had been made between the two collieries to allow water to pass to the Try Cenol Colliery where it was pumped to the surface. In making this communication it was found that the Try Cenol old workings or goaves were heavily charged with gas and as the Charles Pit workings were to the rise, the gas would naturally pass through the holes. To prevent this, the holes were kept covered with water and a person was constantly in attendance to see this was carried out. There was a three-inch diameter pipe through the stopping to allow water to get trough. There was another connection with the Swansea Coal Company’s workings near the shaft that was that had seven boreholes one and a half inches in diameter, driven through the solid coal for three yards. Two men, Daniel Evans and David Richards were employed to watch the boreholes day and night.

The explosion occurred about 5 p.m. on a Saturday when both shifts were in the workings. The report was heard at a considerable distance from the pit head and a distressed crowd quickly gathered. Relays of volunteers worked continuously down the pit until 2 a.m. on Sunday when all the bodies were recovered. Some of them were badly mangled and had to be brought to the surface wrapped in sacking.

The Misses Grenville came from Swansea to give sympathy to the grieving widows and Mr. Wales, the Inspector, arrived at the colliery.

The men who died were:

• David Boddicombe aged 27 years, married.
• William Thomas aged 26 years, married.
• William Leyshon, aged 44 years, married.
• Thomas Williams aged 27 years, married.
• Thomas J. Williams, aged 48 years, married.
• Evan Rees aged 23 years, married.
• Daniel Evans aged 30 years, married.
• Thomas Williams aged 18 years.
• John Williams aged 22 years.
• D. Evans aged 17 years.
• Edward Rees aged 16 years.
• William Rees aged 14 years.
• William Watkins aged 14 years.
• John Leyshon aged 14 years.
• John Llewellyn aged 14 years.
• Thomas Phillips aged 21 years.
• John Foley aged 14 years.
• David Thomas aged 16 years.
• William Williams aged 26 years.

The inquest was held before Mr. Edward Strick, Coroner and evidence was heard from the overman, John Andrews that the two firemen, John Rees and David Rosser had reported him that there was no gas in the pit and no gas had been seen for the last few months. John Andrews, the fireman, who lived in the pit yard who had worked at the colliery for two years and taken part in the rescue operations, gave evidence of the recovery of the bodies and the state of the workings after the disaster.

It was thought that a fall had released the gas which had ignited at the open lamps of the men. Mr. Wales commented:

From my examination of the colliery and the evidence given at the inquest, I believe the explosion was caused by the gas passing from the Tyr Cenol Colliery goaf to the Charles Pit workings, and, although I did not discover any gas, nor did the evidence go to show that any had ever been allowed to accumulate in any part of the mine, I am, nevertheless, of the opinion that the quantity of air passing was much too small, and the arrangements for the ventilation which would carry any gas which might exude from the Try Cenol old goaf right into the Charles Pit workings where naked lights were used was most defective and, considering the close proximity to the Tyr Cenol old goaves which were well known to contain inflammable gas, the Charles Colliery should have been worked with locked safety lamps and not naked lights.

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1870. Mr. Thomas E. Wales.
Colliery Guardian 29th July 1870, p.122, 5th August 1870, p.141.
”And they worked us to death” Vol.2. Ben Fieldhouse and Jackie Dunn. Gwent Family History Society.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.