Single Record

Full Details

Surname

O’NEAL

Forename

Martin

Day

15

Month

02

Year

1906

Age

33

Occupation

Hewer

Mine/Quarry Name

Allhallows

Mineral Worked

Coal

Owner

Allerdale Coal Co. Ltd

Location

Mealsgate

County

Cumberland

Details of Event

Died March 12. Deceased and another miner were hewing opposite the roadhead in a rise brow in the Thirty inch seam, when an elliptical shaped cauldron bottom, with diameter 7.5 feet, parallel to the face, and 3.5 feet at right angles to it and 13 inches thick in the centre, thinning out all round fell from the roof, which is a slaty black stone, upon him. A deputy had examined the place before work started and another deputy was in the place examining it when the fall took place. The place was brushed to within about 4 feet of the coal and the stone fell nearly back to the face of the brushing. No prop was under the stone, although two or three were set under the caunch between the roadhead and coal face. There was a visible slip to the left of the roadhead but the fall did not extend right up to it. The hewers in Cumberland set their own timber, and there was a good supply of props of suitable lengths close at hand and it would have been prudent of deceased to have made more use of them. The timbering rule for the seam was that no point of the exposed roof at the face, unless where brushed, had to he more than 2 feet from a support, and this was not complied with, the excuse being that more props would have prevented them working.