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Full Details

Surname
THORNTON
Forename
William
Day
14
Month
12
Year
1912
Age
41
Occupation
Boilker Minder
Mine/Quarry Name
Wheatley Hill
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Weardale Steel, Coal & Coke Co. Ltd
Location
Wheatley Hill
County
Durham
Details of Event
He was shortening a belt used for driving a mechanical stoker from an overhead shafting and was probably standing on the feed pipes with the belt hanging round him, while he drove in the rivets against the wall. The belt caught in the boltheads of a shaft coupling close to the pulley sheaves, and being around him pulled him up to the shafting, causing injuries from which he died on December 14. There was no reason why he should not have stopped the shafting to do this work. Since the accident all similar couplings have been covered over.