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Full Details

Surname
TANNER
Forename
Isaac
Day
29
Month
05
Year
1908
Age
45
Occupation
Shotfirer
Mine/Quarry Name
Hanham
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Bedminster, Easton, Kingswood & Parkfield Collieries Ltd
Location
Conham
County
Gloucestershire
Details of Event
Contrary to the usual practice he fired four shots of Saxonite with Pickford's Igniter and Fuse, which should allow of 65 seconds before the shots would respectively go off. He appears to have taken too much time to squeeze the igniters with the pliers provided for the purpose, the result being that one of the shots exploded before he got clear. The stones from the first shot knocked him down and injured him so that he died from the results on the 15th April, 1909, ten and a half months after the accident occurred. Frederick Watts and Isaac Tanner, at work in Hanham Colliery, had prepared four charges for blasting close to each other and Tanner had jstt set fire to the fuses. He appears to have taken longer than expected to light them and before he could get to a place of safety, one of the shots exploded and a falling stone broke his arm. Unable to move, he called out to Watts to help him, whereupon Watts went back and dragged him to a place of safety, although he knew the charges might explode at any moment. Sadly Tanner died from the effects of his injury. On the 29th May Frederick Watts was awarded the Edward Medal for his heroism.