Single Record

Full Details

Surname

FORBES

Forename

George

Day

03

Month

02

Year

1934

Age

Occupation

Mine Worker

Mine/Quarry Name

Polmaise, Nos 3 & 4 Pits

Mineral Worked

Coal

Owner

Archibald Russell Ltd

Location

Fallin

County

Stirlingshire

Details of Event

Mine Tragedy – Three Men Killed in Fallin Pit Explosion – Injured Man's Action - Three men were killed and one man was seriously injured in a gas explosion on Saturday at No.4 pit, Fallin Colliery, Stirling, belonging to Archibald Russell (Ltd.) The victims were:- William Quinn (31)colliery fireman, 20 The Square, Throsk; John Samson (21),mine worker, 12 Fallin Rows, Fallin; and George Forbes, mine worker, 13 Bruce Street, Bannockburn. The injured man is Leslie Stewart (36), 42 Fallin Rows, Fallin, who lies in Stirling Royal Infirmary. Leslie was the hero of the disaster, haning crawled on hands and knees for fully a mile to warn the other workers what had happened. The four men were engaged in dismantling an old place in the Hartley, section of the pit when the explosion occurred. There were actually 60 men at work in the pit, but they were in no danger, the explosion having occurred some distance away from the pit bottom. As soon as word was received at the surface that something serious had occurred underground, Mr James M'Donald, manager, and Mr James M'Kinlay, under manager, along with a rescue party, immediately descended the mine, and a few moments later Dr King, Fallin, arrived on the scene and was able to render first-aid to Stewart, who was in an exhausted condition after his ordeal in crawling along the mine road. The bodies of his comrades were recovered at intervals of 15 minutes, and distressing scenes were witnessed when relatives arrived to identify them. The rescue party experienced considerable difficulty in removing the bodies of the three men from the affected section, which is in a remote part of the workings, a mile distant from the pit bottom. Before the victims could be reached a mass of loose material dislodged by the explosion, which was heard fully a mile away, had to be cleared. One of the rescue brigade described the recovery of the bodies to a representative of The Scotsman. "We did not require to don gas masks to enter the section where the accident had taken place," he said. " Quinn was still breathing when we arrived, but he died as he was being carried to the pit bottom. The others had been killed instantaneously." Only the fact that an empty hutch lay between him and the seat of the explosion saved Stewart (the injured man) from the same fate. The three victims must have been thrown down with terrific force when the blast swept along the tunnel, for they were badly mutilated and burned." Quinn qualified for his under manager's certificate two years ago, and was studying for his first-class certificate. Two uncles of Quinn were killed in colliery accidents, one at Uddingston and the other at Burnbank, while his father dropped dead at the Fallin Colliery three years ago. Samson's younger brother lost his foot at the colliery last week. He was delivering a meal to his father when his foot was caught in the creeper, and it was found necessary to amputate it at the Stirling Infirmary. Mrs Stewart, wife of the injured man, told a reporter that she had a premonition of tragedy the night previously. After her husband had left for work she dreamt that site heard her daughter, who died about six months ago, saying several times, "Oh, mummy." “I am not superstitious," Mrs Stewart said, " but I was afraid there was something terrible going to happen." The manager of the colliery, along with Mr William Watson, the general manager, Glasgow, conducted an examination of the working place on Saturday afternoon to ascertain the cause of the explosion. Their official report is expected to be issued to-day. [Scotsman 5 February 1934]