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Full Details

Surname
BIRRELL
Forename
John
Day
07
Month
09
Year
1932
Age
Occupation
Colliery Overman
Mine/Quarry Name
Bowhill, No.2 Shaft
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Fife Coal Co. Ltd
Location
Auchterderran
County
Fifeshire
Details of Event
7 September 1932: Pit Fatalities In Fife - Dunfermline Court Inquiry - Four Mining Accidents - Four pit fatalities in West Fife were the subject of inquiries before Sheriff Umpherston at Dunfermline to-day. A formal verdict was returned at the conclusion of this inquiry [Joseph Sharp Morton] and also at the conclusion of that into the death of John Birrell, colliery overman, Craigwood Cottage, Woodend, Cardenden, who died at Dunfermline and West Fife Hospital on 7th September from injuries received on 3rd September in No.2 Pit, Bowhill Colliery. Birrell, it was stated by a witness, was looking at a dubious stone in the roof when it came away and struck some steel props, one of which struck Birrell a blow on the back. The witness, John Reid, underground fireman, 5 Sixteenth Street, Bowhill, said the stone came away very suddenly. [Evening Telegraph 20 October 1932] Accidents from Other Causes - A different type of accident, closely allied to those classified under " Falls of Roof and Side" at the working face, occurred on September 3 at Bowhill Colliery, Fifeshire. An overman was struck by a steel prop which was reeled out when a large stone fell from the roof in the waste, inflicting fatal injuries. A heavy weight had occurred in the waste and the overman was supervising the erection of additional supports in the working face. When it is the normal practice to withdraw supports from the waste, it is a mistake to leave a in few isolated props as they tend to prevent the roof in the waste breaking down regularly. [From Inspector of Mines Report for 1932]