GELLI. Ystrad, Glamorganshire. 21st. August, 1883.
The colliery was the property of Thomas and Griffiths and was also know as The Globe. It was about 300 yards deep and over 400 men and boys were employed. The manager was Mr. Daniel Thomas who was the son of one of the joint proprietors, Mr. Edmund Thomas.
Five men lost their lives in an explosion of gas. There was some work going on at the furnace half of which was out and the other half was damped down. There were men working in the mine and one of them ripped the head of his stall without making special precautions and had a man hold a lamp in an improper position. The resulting explosion caused the deaths of the following men.
Those who died were:
- Thomas Woodliffe aged 26 years, collier,
- David Thomas aged 32 years, collier,
- John Lewis aged 34 years, collier,
- John Jones aged 46 years, collier,
- John Chubb aged 44 years, undermanager and was the undermanager at the Dinas Colliery at the time of the 1879 disaster.
Benjamin Woodliffe, brother of Thomas was badly burnt.
After the inquest verdict which brought in a verdict of “contributory negligence”, there was a case presided over by Judge Stevens. He found there could be no compensation when the plaintiff contributed to the accident. He also commented that the Employers Liability Act would be faced with many legal difficulties.
REFERENCES
The Mines Inspectors Report.
The Colliery Guardian, 22nd August 1884, p.292.
“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.
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