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Full Details

Surname
LIDDELL
Forename
George
Day
09
Month
02
Year
1907
Age
39
Occupation
Hewer
Mine/Quarry Name
Prudhoe
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Mickley Coal Co. Ltd
Location
Prudhoe
County
Northumberland
Details of Event
Deceased was hewing in a bard 7 yards wide in the Brockwell seam in the North Dip Flat. The seam is 2 feet 7 inches thick and is overlaid by 1 foot of tough black shale, a kind of inferior cannel coal, above which is 6 feet of blue metal and then sandstone. In the centre of the bord about 1 foot of sagre is taken up to make height for the tub. The sagre is stowed on either side. The roof is supported by props and head trees with an occasional plank across the train road. Deceased’s bord was 17 yards past the last headways which was holed narrow. The fore shift deputy had made the usual examinations during the fore shift and deceased was visited by the hack shift deputy about an hour before the accident and the potter had been in several times. The putter was in the herd near the headways when he heard the roof working and he ran out-bye and also shouted to deceased. The putter escaped but deceased who had run out was caught and covered up his body not being recovered until 12 hours later. The fall commenced 17 yards from the face and extended 17.5 yards out-bye and right across the bord the black stone was broken down and the blue metal fell up to the post. Several jacks were observed in the blue metal running nearly in the same direction as the coarse of the bord. Had deceased remained at the face he would have been quite safe. The Loud Inspectors reported ‘in our judgement the roof was not properly supported by planks or other means of safety’ and the jury while returning a verdict of accidental death recommended the use of planks across the tramway. There was no evidence that before the fall any danger was apprehended and the record of the collieries owned by the Mickley Coal Co. as regards deaths by falls of roof or side is particularly good the five years 1902-6 showing a death rate of 0.29 per 1000 as compared with a death rate on 0.76 for the whole country over the same period.