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Full Details

Surname
BOWKER
Forename
John
Day
20
Month
09
Year
1907
Age
34
Occupation
Collier
Mine/Quarry Name
Birchenwood, No.6
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Birchenwood Colliery Co. Ltd
Location
Kidsgrove
County
Staffordshire
Details of Event
A ventilating door hear the foot of a jig was controlled by the hooker-on by means of a chain passing over a pulley hung from a plug driven into a hole drilled in the roof. When the door was pulled open to permit the passing of a tub passing through the plug came out and the hooker-up shouted to deceased, who were at work a few yards further up the jig, to come and replace it. They examined the roof, which consisted of floating or irregular sandstone and apparently considering it safe, proceeded to drive the plug in again. They had only struck it two or three times when a large stone 7 feet by 6 feet by 1 foot thick at one side diminishing to 2 inches at the other suddenly fell killing both men. The plug was in the line of the thick edge of the stone and had apparently acted as a wedge and the stone had probably been more or less shaken by some shots fired in the neighbourhood on the previous day. 2 killed.