Single Record

Full Details

Surname

WALLS

Forename

Joseph

Day

20

Month

04

Year

1938

Age

14

Occupation

Mine/Quarry Name

Bank, No.6 Mine

Mineral Worked

Coal

Owner

New Cumnock Collieries Ltd

Location

New Cumnock

County

Ayrshire

Details of Event

20 April 1938: Five Miners Dead and 21 Injured - Runaway Hutches In Ayrshire Pit - Rope Breaks as Men Near the Surface - Tangled Mass of Wreckage at Foot - Five miners are dead and 21 injured as the result of an accident yesterday afternoon at Bank No.6 Mine, Craigbank, New Cumnock, Ayrshire. A number of hutches in which men were being brought to the surface broke away from the haulage rope near the summit of the incline, and crashed in a tangled heap of wreckage after careering down the mine for about a quarter of a mile. One of the dead was a 14-year-old youth who had been only a few days at work in the pit. Three of the others were married. Two of the miners escaped death or serious injury by jumping from a hutch and clinging to overhead rafters. One man was actually walking up the roadway, to be taken by the next "lift" of hutches, when he was struck and killed. A companion escaped with minor injuries. The dead were:- Robert Murray, jun. (37), married. The Rows, Burnside; John Mackie (27), married, Stable Row, Craigbank; Joseph Walls (14), 78 Connel Park; Robert Milligan (32). Married, Connel Park, who died at the pithead; and James Crozier, South Western Road, who died in hospital at midnight. All of them resided in New Cumnock. Detained In Hospital - The following 13 men were detained at Ayr County Hospital and Kilmarnock Infirmary:- James Houston, Pathhead: Thomas Begg. Rigfoot Cottage, Burnside: Mungo Whiteford, South Western Road, Craigbank; William Sanderson, The Legate; William Mackie, Stable Row, Craigbank; Alexander Crozier. 9 Stable Row; Charles Brown, 59 Burnfoot; James Jackson, 88 Connel Park; John Mackie, Store Row, Connel Park; Alexander Walker, 16 South Western Road; William Ferguson (23) 5 Stable Row: Thomas Hunter (18) 33 South Western Road; Andrew Robertson (18), 37 Bank Brae Craigbank - all of New Cumnock. It was learned on inquiry early this morning that Whiteford. John Mackie, and Sanderson were critically ill. Another eight men who were less seriously injured were able to go home after treatment. There were 28 men in seven hutches, and only two escaped injury. Seven Hutches Each With Four Men - The accident occurred during the afternoon at a time when a number of miners were waiting at the bottom of the pit road, about 500 fathoms down the incline from the surface to come off duty. The means of ascent for seven hutches or tubs to be drawn to the surface by a haulage rope operated from the engine-house at the pit. Each hutch held four men, and when the train was nearing the surface the haulage rope broke and the tubs ran down the incline for about a quarter of a mile before crashing in a heap at the bottom. Workmates awaiting their turn to be drawn up heard the crash, and on dashing along the roadway came upon a mass of tangled wreckage, with the men pinned underneath. Three men of the shift, on finding the train full, had decided to walk, and they were in the path of the runaway hutches. Hearing the rattle of the wheels, two of them jumped into a manhole, but the third man, Robert Murray, was too late, and was struck and killed. Rescue Work - When the rope broke, it was realised at the pithead that the hutches had broken away, and rescue parties were immediately formed and sent down the roadway. They met the other men from the pit bottom, and steps were immediately taken to extricate their comrades. As each of the injured men was taken from the wreckage, first aid was administered on the roadway by doctors who had been summoned. Squads of helpers took the miners to the surface, and the more seriously injured were carried up the road on improvised stretchers. Ambulance waggons and nurses from Ayr and Kilmarnock were waiting at the top to take them to hospital. When the rescue parties descended, they met Robert Ferrans and James Brown, the two men who had jumped from a hutch as it was racing down the roadway and clung to the overhead rafters. Ferrans said that he was in one of the middle hutches when he felt it shudder. He sensed that something was wrong, and jumping to his feet, he caught hold of a girder above him. On glancing down, he saw the hutches disappearing at a great speed down the slope. When he scrambled down the haulage way to the assistance of his workmates, he found that Brown had escaped in a similar manner. Efforts To Avert Accident - Desperate efforts made by some of the miners to grasp the overhead water pipes when they realised that the runaway hutches were certain to crash were described to a reporter by James Collins, South Western Road, Craigbank. He said that he was travelling in the same hutch as the lad Walls, and everything went normally until they reached about 100 fathoms from the surface. Then the train of hutches slowed down and stopped. The safety catches clicked on the sleepers, but the next second the hutches were moving backwards. Some of the men grasped at the water pipes to try to stop the hutches, but it was useless, and the hutches started to race downhill. "I put one leg under the seat," said Collins, "and the other over Walls in an effort to protect him. Then came the crash. I was stunned, and when I came to my left arm was aching. We were scattered about in a heap, and it was a minute or two before I saw the boy. He was dead." James Lee, Stable Row; Craigbank. Who was travelling in the fifth hutch, said the steel rope reacted on them like a whip when it broke. Some of the men who tried to catch the water pipes were struck on the head and thrown back on their seats. The crash all happened within a few seconds. He was thrown clear, and then went to rescue his mates. Hutches Piled on Top of One Another - A doctor who answered the summons sent out for medical assistance said: "It was a terrible sight which met my eyes when 1 reached the scene. The hutches were piled on top of one another, and we had considerable difficulty in extricating the injured. Four doctors and five nurses and myself attended the injured until the arrival of ambulances." When news of the accident reached New Cumnock, women left their household tasks to go to the pithead where they made anxious inquiries for husbands and sons who had been working during the shift. An inquiry into the accident is being made by H.M. Inspector of Mines. About 200 men are employed at the colliery, which is owned by New Cumnock Collieries, Ltd. Official Statement - The following official statement was issued last night:- "The directors of New Cumnock Collieries regret to announce that through an accident at Bank No 6 Mine at 2.30 p.m. four men were killed and 15 injured. The directors wish to express their deep sympathy with the relatives of all those concerned in this accident. They also wish to express their thanks to all who gave help in this emergency, and especially to the doctors and nurses who came so readily and rendered such valuable assistance." There has been one previous serious mine accident this year, and that also took place in Scotland. Nine men lost their lives when fire broke out in the Kelly section of the Dumbreck No.1 Colliery, near Kilsyth, in January. [Scotsman 21 April 1938]