GLENAVON. Rhondda, Glamorganshire. 24th. October, 1900.

The colliery was the property of the Glenavon Rhondda Collieries Company, Limited, and five men were drowned by an inrush of water from an old colliery. At the time of the accident, a heading was being driven on three shifts towards the Caerau old workings which were known to contain water. Boring operations were being carried out with a patent boring machine and up to a few hours of the disaster they appeared to have been made in strict accordance with the provisions of the Act. One shift of men worked from 2 to 10 p.m. did nothing but bore and the other shifts worked the coal and shale which formed the seam which was 6 feet 5 inches thick.

There was a fault between the Glenavon heading and the old workings which had an upthrow of at least 18 to 20 feet at the point where the Glenavon straight heading first touched it. At a few yards back from this point, the heading altered its course and was driven almost parallel to the fault. At the date if the inundation the plan showed a distance of 15 yards between the face of the heading on the dip side and the face of the Caerau workings on the rise side of the fault.

On the evening before the disaster, the borers finished their shift at 10 p.m. and there were two front boreholes, one of which had struck the fault at a distance of 13 feet and the other, bored at a greater rise, about 18 feet in advance of the face. A fresh flank hole on the left had been started but it had progressed only four feet. The shift that followed worked on the coal and shale and the second which came in at 6 a.m. also began the same work. Although the face must have advanced about three feet when at about 9.15 a.m. water came from the roof near the left-hand corner of the heading and began to pour into the place. It continued for some hours but long before the flow ceased a dip working and some stalls branching from it were completely flooded. The five men who worked in these places were drowned. All the other workmen, about 80 men, escaped by means of the upcast shaft.

Those who died were:

  • Thomas Curtis aged 58 years, collier,
  • Rees Jenkins aged 24 years, collier,
  • David Jenkins aged 43 years, collier,
  • David Jones aged 52 years, collier,
  • Evan Jenkins aged 36 years, collier.

It was later discovered that the fault, instead of being an upthrow of 18 to 20 feet, was one of not more than 7 feet. Possibly there may have been an attempt to prove this fault from the Caerau side by drifting downwards a few feet, which would have reduced the thickness of the intervening strata. The Inspector went on to say:

I think the unfortunate occurrence was chiefly due to the presence of the fault in creating a feeling of security. Even if the last flank hole had been bored further before the face was allowed to advance it is uncertain whether this hole would have tapped the old workings. The ground in which it was bored was washed away by the flood, but according to the plan and section it would appear that its position was such that had it been continued a little further it would have struck the fault at a point below the face of the Caerau dip, and if continued still further would have been in solid ground below the seam.

 

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1900.
Colliery Guardian, 9th November 1900, p.985.

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

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