YNISCEDWIN. Swansea Valley, Breconshire. 24th. August, 1892.

The colliery was owned by the Yniscedwin Colliery Company and the upcast shaft was fitted with cages which were mainly used for lifting water in tanks. The coal was raised from a slant or drift which dipped at 1 in 3 and was 300 yards long. The men also use the slant to go and to come from their work. There was only one winding engine placed between the shaft and the slant and this worked the haulage in the slant and the cages in the shaft by means of separate drums which could be thrown out of gear by clutches as required.

Water was raised after the day shift finished and during the night when the slant was not working. The miners were raised and lowered in the slant by a “bridle”, three carriages nine and a half feet long, doubly coupled together and attached to the haulage rope. Stop blocks were provided for safety at the bank head and there was a level landing place. No coal was drawn during the night but a dozen men were employed in repairing. There was no banks man at night and it was the custom for the night overman to attend at the top of the slant and take charge of the descent of the night men. No other person was authorised to interfere with the bridle on the stop blocks.

About 6 p.m. thirteen men assembled at the mouth of the slant and the overman was in attendance. The bridle was attached to the rope and ready on the landing above the stop blocks which were properly closed. The engineman, who had been winding water in the shaft for about half an hour, had at this moment left the handles and was outside the engine house on the side next to the shaft. The overman came to tell him that they were ready to descend as was the usual practice.

The engine intended to resume the winding of water in a minute or two and had not changed the gearing on the drums and so the drum that wound the slant rope was out of gear but the brake was on.

Before the overman found the engineman, the men on the slant interfered with the bridle blocks and the bridle with nine men in it ran wild down the incline. Three of them jumped off and escaped but six were killed by the shock or the fall of the roof caused by the bridle knocking out timbers about 170 yards from the surface.

Those who lost their lives were:

  • Thomas Sims aged 70 years, pumpman,
  • William Jones aged 30 years, labourer,
  • Thomas Phillips aged 42 years, labourer,
  • Rees Pippin aged 27 years, repairer,
  • Edward Anthony aged 35 years, labourer,
  • William Lewis aged 17 years, labourer,
  • Thomas Jeffreys aged 18 years, collier.

The incident was carefully investigated. The machinery was found to be good and the management could not be blamed for what had happened which was caused by the culpable carelessness of one of the deceased. The jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death.”

 

REFERENCES
The Mines Inspectors Report.
“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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