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Full Details

Surname
BRENNAN
Forename
James
Day
19
Month
03
Year
1938
Age
44
Occupation
Miner
Mine/Quarry Name
Lochore, Mary Pit
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Fife Coal Co. Ltd
Location
Lochore
County
Fifeshire
Details of Event
19 March 1938: Stone Miners Death: Accident In Mine - A stone miner, James Brennan (44), Main Street, Glencraig, died in Dunfermline and West Fife Hospital on Saturday following injuries received in an accident at the Mary Colliery, Lochore, belonging to the Fife Coal Company, Ltd. Brennan leaves a widow and two of a family. Two other men - George Hunter, stone miner, 22 South Glencraig, and Alec Weavil, mine supervisor, Kilsyth, had a narrow escape. The three men were working in the North Stone Mines when, it is understood, an explosion occurred. Coal was hurled from the face and struck the men down. An investigation is being made into the cause of the accident. [Glasgow Herald 21 March 1938] Explosion Mystery - Miner Killed While Hammering Steel Pin - Witnesses' Theory - What was described as a mysterious fatal accident was the subject of an inquiry in Dunfermline Sheriff Court yesterday. The victim of the accident was James Brennan, miner, Bird's Buildings, North Glencraig, who died on March 19 in Dunfermline and West Fife Hospital from injuries received the previous day in the underground workings of Lochore Colliery, as a result of being struck by a quantity of material projected by an explosion from the coal-face of his working-place. It was explained by witnesses that Brennan was one of a number of men who were engaged driving a stone mine in the colliery. After a number of shot-holes in the "pavement" had been fired, it was found that a steel pin driven into the face, which was used as an anchorage for a mechanical scraper, had become loose owing to the concussion. Brennan was told to tighten it up by driving it farther into the face. At the first or second blow of his hammer on the pin there was an explosion. Brennan was fatally injured, and another man who was standing close behind him received slight injuries. Witnesses stated that the steel pin was about seven feet from the ground, somewhere near the line of the shots that had been fired by the night shift, and they agreed that the pin might have been driven into part of an unexploded charge. Sheriff-Substitute F.A. Umpherston, addressing the jury, said that it seemed a very mysterious accident, but he did not think there was anything they could suggest which could prevent the same thing happening again. The jury returned a formal verdict. [Scotsman 20 May 1938]