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Full Details

Surname
HUNTER
Forename
David Rodger
Day
20
Month
06
Year
1938
Age
22
Occupation
Electrician
Mine/Quarry Name
Lochhead
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Wemyss Coal Co. Ltd
Location
Coaltown of Wemyss
County
Fifeshire
Details of Event
20 June 1938: Men Ablaze on Pole - Electric Cable Becomes 'Alive' - In Grave Condition - Two colliery electricians employed at Lochhead Colliery, Coaltown of Wemyss, are in a grave condition as the result of extensive electrical burns inflicted when a 6600 volt high tension cable at which they were working yesterday afternoon became "live." The men are David Hunter, aged 22, 19 Viewforth, Leven, and Robert Keddie, aged 23, 26 Henderson Park, Windygates. Both are in Wemyss Memorial Hospital. They were engaged in disconnecting a high tension cable from the 20-feet high junction pole, it is stated, when flashes of flame suddenly shot from Hunter's body. Keddie, it appears, was working immediately below him. Trying to release Hunter from the " live" cable, he also became a mass of flames. The men, their clothes ablaze, and their bodies electrified, were held at the head of the pole for several seconds. The current was quickly switched off, and the men dropped to the ground. First-aid men were on the spot in a short time, and extinguished the flames and rendered first-aid. Hunter and Keddie were removed to Wemyss Memorial Hospital by an ambulance which was summoned from the Rescue Station at East Wemyss. Both had sustained extensive burns, and may also be injured by their fall. [Scotsman 17 June 1938] "Live" Cable Tragedy - Injured Colliery Electrician Dies in Fife Hospital - The death occurred yesterday in Wemyss Memorial Hospital of David Hunter (22), 19 Viewforth, Leven, one of two colliery electricians severely burned when contact was accidentally made with a 6600 volt High tension cable at Lochhead Colliery, Coaltown of Wemyss, last Thursday. The other man injured, Robert Keddie (23), 26 Henderson Park, Windygates, was stated yesterday to be holding his own. The accident happened after Hunter and Keddie had climbed a 20-feet high pole to carry out some work on the cables. They were under the impression that the current had been completely switched off. Hunter appears to have come in contact with a "live" cable just as he caught hold of Keddie, who was above him, There was an immediate burst of flame, and the plight of the hapless men, unable to release themselves, was seen by many miners on their way to work. A phone message had to be put through to Michael Colliery, East Wemyss, about a mile and a half away, before the current could be switched off. When the current was cut off both men fell to the ground. Hunter was found to have sustained exceptionally severe burning injuries affecting the spine. [Scotsman 21 June 1938] Fife Man's Death - Shock from Electric Cable - Jury's Rider To Verdict - The death of a young Leven electrician, David Rodger Hunter, 16 Viewforth, Leven, at the Wemyss Memorial Hospital, after receiving a shock from an electric cable containing 6600 volts, was the subject of an inquiry at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, yesterday, before Sheriff-Substitute Dudley Stuart and a jury. Thomas Hunter, the dead lad's father, in reply to Mr Tom Cassells, M.P., solicitor, Falkirk , for the relatives, stated that he had visited his son on several occasions in hospital. He asked the lad how it had happened, and his son, in describing the accident, said, "I have made a mess of things this time." Questioned further by Mr Cassells, witness said that his son had told him he had been instructed to go to this place by the foreman. Mr Cassells - Did he make it quite clear he had been informed the current was off?-Yes. Mr Cassells added that another man named Keddie, who had been injured, was still in hospital, and could not be present in Court. John Turner, 643 Wellesley Road, Methil, an electrician with the Wemyss Coal Co., stated that on June 16 he was engaged in taking a disused electric cable from a pole. The operation was being supervised by John Sym. Witness said that it had been arranged that the current should go off at 1.30 p.m. and Keddie was to go up and release the shackle. That had been arranged by Sym. Turner then told him he had looked about 1.45, and saw Keddie come down for a key, presumably to remove a bolt. "The Juice Is On" - "I saw him go up the ladder again," said witness, "and then John Sym asked me what was hindering the work. I told him about Keddie coming down for a second key, and then I saw Keddie lying across an iron strip at the top of the pole. I thought he had hurt himself, but I had no idea that the power was on." Hunter then went up the ladder, and was supporting Keddie by the armpits. He cried, "The juice is on. For God's sake get a rope." Witness told how he ran to get a message sent to get the current cut off. By the time he came back, Keddie was lying on the ground, and Hunter was lying on a bracket on the pole unconscious. Alex. Scott, Church Street, West Wemyss, spoke of seeing sparks coming from Keddie and Hunter, and both men's clothing bursting into flame. When John Sym, foreman electrician, 8 Anderson Crescent, Coaltown-of-Wemyss, entered the box, he was formally warned by the Sheriff. When asked if he wished to make a statement, he said, "In view of the warning, I prefer to say nothing," After an absence of half an hour the jury found that "the accident was due to the foreman electrician in charge instructing his workmen to execute work in dangerous proximity to live wires, when they had been informed the current was cut off." The jury added a rider that stringent measures should be taken in future to ensure the regulations governing this work being enforced, and if possible, improved upon. [Scotsman 2 August 1938] Three Scottish cases were recognised the Carnegie Hero Fund Trustees at their monthly meeting at Dunfermline yesterday. - "Live" Cable Tragedy - David Hunter (22), electrician, 19 Viewforth , Leven, Fife, who sustained fatal injury on June 16 while rendering assistance to a fellow-workman who had come in contact with an electric cable at Lochhead Colliery, Coaltown of Wemyss. In order to take down a disused cable, both men were working at a height of 20 feet on a pole which carried three overhead cables. After unscrewing the bolts, and in mistaken belief that the current had been switched off, one man straightened himself, and his head came in contact with one of the other cables. The current passed through his body, and, after telling Hunter, the man lost consciousness. Despite warnings, Hunter seized hold of the man under the armpits to prevent him from falling, and maintained his hold, although by then his own clothing and boots were alight. When the current was switched off, both men fell to the ground, seriously injured, and Hunter died four days later. Hunter's parents were awarded a memorial certificate. [Scotsman 25 November 1938]