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Fatal Accidents in Mines in Scotland 1895

Notes - The information in this page is mainly compiled from appendices to the reports of the Inspector of Mines and Collieries. Unless stated otherwise, the extra details are from the main body of the report. Many accidents are not listed in these reports and additional names have been added from newspaper reports and other sources - these are indicated by a shaded gray background.

Go to July to December 1895

Information from Appendix to Inspectors Report
 Extra details
Year Month Day Time Hour of Shift Name of Colliery Type of mine (if stated) Where situated Owner or Company First Name Surname Occupation Age Category Cause of accident and remarks
1894 September 19 7.30am 2nd Sheardale Coal Clackmannan Robert McAllister & Sons Malcolm Condie Waggon shifter 20 On surface Crushed by wagons Deceased and some others had pushed forward a loaded truck, which buffered against and set in motion another truck which stood upon the table of a weighing machine. Deceased and one or two others followed the latter to keep it in motion. It was stopped by a piece of wood which lay across the rail, and recoiled, when deceased's right arm was caught between the buffers of the two trucks and broken at two places above the elbow. This accident happened on the 19th September 1894, it was reported as a non-fatal accident and investigated. Death ensued after the investigation but was not intimated to me as it should have been, and I was not aware of the fatal termination in time to include it in the list of fatal accidents for 1894.
1894 December 25 9.30am 3rd Dalziel No 2 Pit Coal Lanark Wishaw Coal Co Charles McKean Bogie-man 24 Miscellaneous accidents underground Run over by a bogie on a haulage road while he was in front of it (This accident happened the previous year, but death did not result until some time after)  
1895 January 8 3pm 8th Cadder No 16 Pit Coal and ironstone Lanark Carron Co John McAndrew Waggon trimmer 17 Accidents above ground Knocked in front of the wheels of a waggon which he was illegally spragging  
1895 January 9 9am 2nd Cadzow Coal Lanark Cadzow Coal Co Ltd David Irons Miner 24 Falls in Mine Fall of head coal  
1895 January 12 3.30pm 10th Shawfield Coal Lanark Wilson's & Clyde Coal Co Ltd John Smith Miner 40 Miscellaneous underground Crushed by rope of hutches This accident occurred on a dook road in the Splint coal seam. The road dipped 1 in 7.3 on an average, and was 530 yards in length. The system of haulage was by a single rope, the empty rake of tubs taking down the rope. The deceased was employed as a miner, and when work was over for the day he and his son were proceeding up the dook on their way home; a loaded rake passed them, and deceased attempted to get on to it for the purpose of riding to the top; he got on the coupling-chain between two tubs, his hand slipped, and his body came in contact with & prop with such force that it was knocked out. The injuries received were such that he succumbed to them seven hours later. The rake consisted of eight tubs, and the speed was about three miles an hour. Deceased had not received permission to ride on the rake.
1895 January 13 1.30pm 5th Garliston, Garnqueen Pit Fireclay Lanark Peter Hurll Robert Docherty Joiner 26 Shaft Accidents While putting up erections at the pitmouth he fell off a ladder down the shaft  
1895 January 14 1.20pm 7th Elgin Coal Fife Thos. Spowart & Co Ltd Robert Morrison Miner 25 Falls in Mine Fall of coal  
1895 January 14 2.30pm 9th Fairhill Coal Lanark Archibald Russell Patrick Kyle Miner 16 Falls in Mine Fall of coal  
1895 January 15 12.30pm 7th Balquhatstone Coal Stirling John Nimmo & Son Thomas Fotheringham Bottomer 67 In shafts Struck by cage or material falling down shaft Deceased was bottomer at a mid-working, where one side of the shaft was fenced by a malleable-iron gate sliding vertically on guide rods, and raised by means of a lever to which it was attached by a chain which passed over a pulley. Something having gone wrong with the chain at the pulley, deceased leant over the gate to put it right, and appeared to have been struck by the descending cage. He received a severe scalp wound, from the effects of which he died on 5th November.
1895 January 22 12.30pm 6th Cobbinshaw Oil shale Edinburgh Caledonian Mineral Oil Co Ltd Manus Ward Miner 30 Falls in Mine Fall of oil shale  
1895 January 26 8.55am 3rd Newbattle Coal Edinburgh Lothian Coal Co Ltd Alexander Livingstone Labourer 50 On surface Fell off plank Deceased was employed as a labourer on the surface, and his duties were to riddle and then wheel ground blaes in a barrow to waggons, a distance of 7 yards from the pan. While tipping a barrow load of the blaes from a plank placed across a waggon, he overbalanced himself and fell to the ground a distance of 7 feet, injuring his head and spine, to which injuries he succumbed three days later.
1895 January 31 6.30am 7th Parkhead No 17 Pit Coal Lanark Glasgow Iron & Steel Co Ltd William Wilson Pony driver 16 Miscellaneous accidents underground Caught by runaway hutches on a dook, caused by a hook breaking  
1895 February 4 10am 4th Leven Coal Fife Fife Coal Co Ltd Archibald Simpson Labourer 55 On surface Scalded in brine tank Deceased was scalded by falling into a tank containing brine, and heated by steam to a temperature of 205° F. The tank is situated near the Leven Colliery, and is used for the purpose of impregnating mining timber with salt, so as to preserve it from decay. Deceased was employed in connexion with this operation, and while removing timber from the tank he slipped in and was scalded about the legs. He removed the timber by striking a pick into it and then hauling it out by means of the pick handle, and it was when striking at a log that he fell in. He died 15 days after the accident.
1895 February 9 8.45am 2nd Castlecary Limestone Dumbarton Castlecary Fire-clay Co William Ferguson Miner 29 Falls of roof Fall of roof at working face  
1895 February 9 10am 5th East Plean Coal Stirling Merryton Coal Co James Newlands Miner 44 Falls of side Fall of coal and stone.  
1895 February 10 6pm 12th Donibristle Coal Fife Donibristle Colliery Co James Bowman Pump attendant 66 In shafts Rope broke Deceased was employed underground in charge of a pumping-engine. The night-shift engineman descended the shaft to relieve him at 6pm, and on reaching the pit bottom informed him that he fancied he had smelt something burning as he passed an old working about 30 fathoms from the pit bottom. Deceased immediately ascended upon the same cage, but failed to detect any indication of fire. He informed the winding engineman about it, and asked to be lowered slowly that he might make a more careful examination. He was being lowered upon the same cage, when it stuck in the shaft and dropped away, breaking the rope 32 1/2 fathoms above the cage. Deceased fell with the cage into the sump, and was killed instantaneously. Newspaper report
1895 February 11 3.45pm 10th Blair No 7 Pit Coal Ayr William Baird & Co Ltd William Johnstone Coal washer attendant 14 Accidents above ground Caught by the spur wheels of unfenced machinery  
1895 February 13 6.30am 7th Bothwell Park No 1 Pit Coal Lanark William Baird & Co Ltd Thomas Hill Trap-door keeper 78 Miscellaneous accidents underground When opening a door on a dook, he was knocked down by a “race” of hutches  
1895 February 16 9.30am 4th Bog Coal Lanark Hamilton McCulloch & Co David Wood Driver 15 Miscellaneous underground Run over by hutch Deceased was driving a pony which was drawing three loaded hutches on a road dipping about 1 in 30, and he was found dead with one of the wheels of the first hutch pressing against his neck. There was no evidence to show how the accident was caused. There was nothing unusual about the road. An endless rope used for haulage purposes was moving along the centre of the road. Newspaper report
1895 February 18 6.30am 1st Tannochside No 1 Pit Coal Lanark Calderbank Coal & Steel Co Ltd William Bryce, sen. Miner 45 Shaft Accidents Fall of stone from side of shaft while they were descending in the cage It had evidently been loosened by the frost. Other two persons were injured One miner was killed and two others injured by a stone falling from the side of the shaft, and crashing through the cover of the cage in which they were being lowered, and this had apparently been loosened by the previous intense frost. When the downcast shaft is not lined throughout, the exposed strata has a tendency to become loose after severe frost. New shafts are now mostly lined from top to bottom, irrespective of the kind of strata passed through, and this practice is greatly to be commended.
1895 February 19 7am 1st Leven Coal Fife Fife Coal Co Ltd John Devine Miner's assistant 14 Falls in Mine Fall of roof coal  
1895 February 19 2.30am 5th Muiredge Coal Fife Bowman & Co James Hart Miner 29 Falls in Mine Fall of stone  
1895 February 19 10.30am 5th Bonnybridge Fireclay Stirling Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Robert Paton Miner 27 Falls in Mine Fall of fireclay  
1895 February 19 8.10am 2nd Balbardie Coal Linlithgow Henry Walker & Cameron Richard Biswick Boiler fireman 35 On surface Boiler explosion This was a boiler explosion causing the loss of two lives, one a fireman employed by the owners of the colliery and the other a tramp, who happened to be in one of the fireholes at the time. A second fireman was injured but not seriously. The explosion caused much damage to property about the colliery and was the subject of a Formal Investigation by two commissioners appointed by the Board of Trade, whose report dated the 22nd April, has been published. I visited the colliery on the day of the explosion and then, and subsequently made examination into the matter, also attending the Formal Investigation. I do not propose giving all the details which are recorded in the Board of Trade Report but will only notice some features of the accident. Six egg-ended boilers comprised the range and were of the usual construction, and had the usual fittings and were flash flued. They were all connected. No. 1 boiler played no part in the explosion. No. 2 boiler was displaced and thrown over No. 1; its chimney end was found nearest the fire-holes; it lay on its side over No. 1. It had been raised from its place and turned over on its longitudinal axis and moved to one side. There was a fracture extending into two plates of the second ring from the chimney end at the bottom of this boiler and directly under the feed pipe; this fracture crossed a longitudinal seam, it was about 4 feet long and was evidently caused by pressure from within, as the edges of the fractured plates projected outwards. No. 3 boiler was fractured right round the second seam from the chimney end an$ the two parts projected some distance. No. 4 boiler was similarly fractured round the third seam and the two parts blown either way. Nos. 5 and 6 boilers played no part in the explosion. The boilers were supported by rackets and brick pillars. There was no evidence of (1) want of water, (2) overpressure, (3) thinning of plates. Two theories to account for the explosion were placed before the Court:— (1.) The theory of the Board of Trade Inspectors that No. 2 boiler had given way at the plates already described and allowed water, to rush, out with great force and destroy the brick supports of No 3 boiler casing it and No 4 boiler to explode. (2.) The theory of Mr. Munro, engineer of the Scottish Boiler Insurance Company, that there had been a latent flaw in No. 3 boiler at the point where the fracture occurred and that this boiler exploded first. The commissioners rejected both these theories and concluded that No. 3 boiler exploded owing to its brick supports becoming wasted. I incline to the view taken by the Board of Trade inspectors with some modification. The position of No. 2 boiler after the explosion considered in conjunction with the position of the fracture of the plates on its underside is worth consideration. It appears to me more probable that this fracture preceded the explosion than was caused by it. If it preceded the explosion it appears possible that a sudden rush of heated water into a hot flue might develop a momentary pressure sufficient to lift this boiler and cause it to assume the position in which it was found. The sudden strain put upon the adjoining No. 3 boiler caused it to give way, and in turn No. 4 gave way. The commissioners attached a small degree of blame to the colliery owners; they state: “We are not satisfied that sufficient precautions were taken by the owners to secure that the boilers were kept in good and proper working order.” It was proved that the requirements of the Coal Mines Acts and Special Rules founded thereon with regard to steam boilers were carried out, and in addition a mechanical engineer was employed by the owners to look after the machinery although he had no special charge of the boilers. The exploded boilers were also insured and inspected by a boiler insurance company. This finding indicated that the commissioners were not satisfied with an amount of supervision such as holds good with regard to nearly all the colliery boilers in the district.
Robert Strickland Not employed 50 Deaths not classified under Coal Mines Regulations Act Was close at hand when two steam boilers exploded
1895 February 20 7am 1st Bowhill No 2 Pit Ironstone Ayr Dalmellington Iron Co Ltd William Gavin Overman 41 Miscellaneous accidents underground Caught on a self-acting incline by runaway hutches  
1895 February 26 10am 4th Blantyre No 1 Pit Coal Lanark William Dixon Ltd Thomas Beveridge Brusher 53 Falls of roof Fall of roof at miner's working face Newspaper Report
1895 March 1 6.30pm 11th Gilmilnscroft No 2 Pit Coal Ayr Gauchalland Coal Co Robert Smith Joiner 37 Shaft Accidents While repairing the shaft he stepped on a bunton which gave way, and he fell to the bottom  
1895 March 5 2.30pm 8th Dalbeath Coal Fife Fife Coal Co Ltd Charles Harrower Miner 25 Miscellaneous underground Explosion of a shot Deceased and his brother were engaged in sinking a shallow pit from a coal seam to a stone mine below; in the pit, which was only about 3 1/2 feet deep they bored two holes and charged them with blasting gelatine; both holes were ready to fire at once, and the brothers each lit the fuze of a shot and retired with a miner, who was working the coal near the pit, to a place of safety ; one shot exploded, and after waiting about 1 1/2 minutes, deceased, unknown to his brother and the miner, returned to the pit and was either in it or getting into it when the second shot exploded, inflicting such injuries on him as caused his death three days after. Deceased apparently thought that (1) both shots had-gone off simultaneously, or (2) one had missed fire; in either case he made too hurried a return. The practice of lighting two shots together is often attended with accident.
1895 March 13 7pm 1st Quarter Coal Lanark Colin Dunlop & Co Robert McMillan Screenman 19 On surface Caught by screening belt Deceased was employed as night-shift screenman. He had been on the pithead scaffold speaking to the pitheadman, and when returning to his screen, instead of descending by a trap stair provided for the purpose, he slid down the upper screen, and was carried forward by the picking-table. As he passed over its end, he placed his right heel upon the upper edge of the dumb-plate, when it was caught by one of the plates of the picking-table, and his leg was drawn through a space 2 1/2 inches in width. He sustained compound fractures above the ankle and above the knee, and his leg was severely lacerated. He succumbed two days afterwards.
1895 March 18 11am 5th Gilmilnscroft No 3 Pit Coal Ayr Gauchalland Coal Co John Grant Miner 22 Falls of side Fall of coal while “stooping”  
1895 March 18 7am 1st Clyde Coal Lanark Wilson's & Clyde Coal Co Ltd Patrick Gannen Miner 26 In shafts Fell from cage This accident occurred in one of the few circular shafts in the district. Deceased fell down the shaft from the cage from an upper to a lower seam. The shaft is 11 feet in diameter and passes through the Main coal at 126 fathoms, and the Splint coal at 139 fathoms; two cages traverse it, one running to the Main coal only and the other to the Splint; the drum of the winding-engine is of two diameters to suit the respective depths. The Splint coal cage was not used for raising mineral from the Main coal, and when this cage was at that seam there was an open space between each end of the cage and the circle of the shaft. Although the Splint coal cage was not used for raising mineral from the Main coal seam, it was occasionally used by the officials when they required to descend from the upper to the lower seam, and it was an occasion of this kind that led to the accident. Deceased and three other persons got on to the cage to descend to the Splint coal, and they had reason to believe that the first stop would be at that seam, as four persons was the maximum number allowed on the cage by the special rules, and therefore no person could have got on to it at the Main coal. An oversman, however, wished to descend from the Main to the Splint coal, and while the cages were running in the shaft he instructed the bottomer at the Main coal to signal to the engineman to stop the cage at that seam, the bottomer did so, and in order to warn any persons who might be on the cage, he leant forward as the cage approached and cried to them to keep on; some of the men on the cage heard this warning, but deceased, who was on the side of the cage opposite to the bottomer, apparently had not heard it, and probably thought he had reached the Splint coal when the cage stopped and seems to have stepped off the cage and fallen down the shaft through the space already described. The Main coal was lit by four hanging safety-lamps and the bottomer there had also a safety-lamp in his hand. Deceased had only worked in the Splint coal,for two or three days before the accident. A blind pit close at hand provided with ladders afforded a means of reaching the Splint coal from the Main coal. The practice of stopping a descending cage of men at an upper seam where the shaft is open is a dangerous one and has been discontinued in this case.
1895 March 19     Earnock   Lanark John Watson Ltd Andrew Lewes Railway guard 35 Deaths not classified under Coal Mines Regulations Act Crushed by wagons. Employed by Caledonian Railway Co. A mineral guard employed by the Caledonian Railway Company was injured while shunting wagons on the sidings of Earnock Colliery, and subsequently died. I had some doubt as to whether or not this case should be classed as a mining accident, as deceased was at the time of the accident engaged in work at the colliery, but on inquiry I found that the accident had been reported by the railway company as a railway accident, and will appear in the Board of Trade returns as such.
1895 March 21 10pm 4th Newton No 2 Pit Coal Lanark James Dunlop & Co Ltd Alexander Bell Brusher 22 Miscellaneous accidents underground Explosion of compressed gunpowder while putting it into a shot-hole Newspaper report??
1895 March 22 2.15pm 8th Shotts Coal Lanark Shotts Iron Co James Kennedy Miner 40 Miscellaneous underground Explosion of a shot This accident occurred in a place 10 feet wide, being driven over an upthrow dyke for a connection between two pits. Deceased bored a hole slanting upwards in the roof to a depth of 2 feet 9 inches, and inserted a charge of two 1/2-pound cartridges of gunpowder. Owing to the upward direction of the hole a piece of clay was placed in front of it and the needle was inserted, and both clay and gunpowder were pushed home with the stemmer. When the stemmer was withdrawn part of the clay adhered to it, and some of the gunpowder ran out of the hole on to the borings made by the drill. Deceased's lamp was not burning well and he took his picker to trim it, and while doing so a spark fell on the gunpowder lying on the borings causing it to ignite, and the flame in turn ignited the charge in the hole causing an explosion whereby part of the roof was blown down, and he was struck and injured so badly that he died three hours later. Had the deceased carried out the New Special Rule which makes it imperative on the person charging a shot to have his naked light "in such a position that it could not ignite the explosive," the accident would not have happened. Newspaper report
1895 March 25 6.30am 1st Fairlie, Windyedge Pit Coal Ayr W C S Cuninghame John McGhee Bottomer 35 Shaft Accidents While either stepping through the cage seat, or doing something in it, the cage was lowered upon him Scarcely a year passes in which there are not one or more lives lost by the cage coming down upon persons who have entered or have been crossing the cage-seat, and last year a bottomer, who for some unexplained reason had gone into the cage-seat, lost his life in this manner. There was no passage round the shaft in this case. Such a passage should always be provided, so as to do away with the necessity for workmen when passing from one side of the shaft to the other having to through the cage-seat. Another bottomer was injured by the cage coming down upon him in a similar manner. Newspaper Report
1895 March 29 8am 1st Dalziel No 1 Pit Coal Lanark Wishaw Coal Co Patrick McGinlay Miner 40 Falls of side Fall of coal  
James Brannan Miner 35

Information from Appendix to Inspectors Report
 Extra details
Year Month Day Time Hour of Shift Name of Colliery Type of mine (if stated) Where situated Owner or Company First Name Surname Occupation Age Category Cause of accident and remarks
1895 April 1 2pm 8th Machan Coal Lanark Howie & Train James Fairservice Engineman 27 On surface By machinery Deceased was employed as an engineman, and had charge of a winding and haulage engine, both in the same house. The haulage engine was of the horizontal type with a cylinder 9 inches diameter and geared 53 to 1. It was used for hauling coal up a dook in the Virtuewell coal; the speed of the empty rake in descending the dook was regulated by a brake on the drum. This brake consisted of a strap of hoop iron 3 inches broad which pressed on almost the whole surface of the brake flange. Deceased had set the haulage engine in motion to draw a rake up the dook. Shortly after an unusual noise was heard proceeding from the engine-house and on entering it deceased was found among the gearing terribly injured, and expired as he was released. The haulage engine was still in motion; the rope had broken away front the rake and been wound up the shaft, and the noise that had been heard was caused by the chain at its extremity striking the engine-house as it revolved. It is supposed that the brake gave way while the engine was in motion, and the handle striking deceased on the head .threw him in among the wheels, but how this happened there was no evidence to show. The tensile strain to break the strap and handle was great, as the part broken showed a ragged surface indicating a tear, and there did not appear to be any defect in the material. There was an iron fence round the engine and this was broken down.
1895 April 3 1.20pm 8th Bellfield Coal Lanark William Barr & Sons Robert M. Leggate Manager 28 On surface Crushed by dynamo This accident was of a sad nature. A box containing a large dynamo for electric machinery and weighing about 4 1/2 tons, was being removed from a waggon by means of a screw jack, which raised the box and pushed it along horizontally on a prepared track. Deceased, the manager of the colliery, was superintending the work and went under the box to work the screw jack. As soon as the box was raised a short distance, it canted and one end fell on him and crushed him so severely that he died three hours after. The screw-jack although acting on the centre of the box was not acting on the centre of gravity and as soon as it was raised off the planks at one end it fell over sideways.
1895 April 6 6.30am 1st Seafield Oil shale Linlithgow Pumpherston Oil Co Ltd John Fowler Drawer 21 Explosions of fire damp or coal dust Ignition of fire-damp by naked light This explosion of fire-damp occurred in a heading rising 1 in 4 in the Fells oil shale seam. The heading was being driven in a piece of solid shale lying between a downthrow dyke and a stooped waste. The section was worked with naked lights. Deceased was just starting work when his lamp ignited gas in the heading. The amount of ventilation and means of conducting it to the face were not altogether satisfactory, but had a proper supervision been exercised by the firemen probably the accident would not have happened. The person who was working in the heading during the shift before the accident, complained to the fireman of that shift that the air was not good, but the fireman did not take the trouble to examine it, as he should have done when making the second inspection, in terms of General Rule 4. The fireman, whose duty it was to examine the heading before the succeeding shift commenced, stated he did so and found it clear of gas, but he did not chalk the face, and there was consequently no evidence that he had examined it. When I inspected the place after the accident I found the heading clear of gas, but there was gas in a hole in the roof, in a place between it and the dyke, and this was probably the source of the gas that exploded. Both firemen were proceeded against and fined.
1895 April 8 11am 5th Heatheryknowe Coal Lanark Ferrier & Strain Duncan Hood Miner 60 Falls of side Fall of fireclay from working face, owing to want of sprags  
1895 April 8 2pm 8th Banknock, Livingstone Pit Coal Stirling John Young & Co William Anderson Miner 40 Falls of roof Fall of coal and roof at working face  
1895 April 8     Vogrie   Edinburgh Vogrie Colliery Co Name unknown --- Not employed -- Deaths not classified under Coal Mines Regulations Act Fell down shaft. Supposed to be a case of suicide The body of a man whose name I could not ascertain was found in the shaft of Vogrie Colliery : how he got there there was no evidence to show, it appeared probable that he had committed suicide. The shaft top was properly fenced.
1895 April 9 1pm 7th Hallhill No 1 Pit Coal Lanark William Baird & Co Ltd Robert Leishman Drawer 33 Falls of roof Fall of roof on drawing road Newspaper report
1895 April 11 2pm 9th Hopetoun Oil shale Linlithgow Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co Ltd Hugh Borthwick Driver 34 Miscellaneous underground Crushed by runaway hutches Deceased was employed as a driver, and met his death by being crushed against a stoop by some runaway tubs, which had become detached from a rake which was being drawn up a dook extending from the surface. The system of haulage was the ordinary dook rope. Work was over for the day, and deceased brought his horse to No. 17 level, and, tying it to a crown, commenced to wash its feet with water coming from the level. While thus engaged a rake, consisting of 13 loaded tubs, was being drawn to the surface, and when it was some short distance above where deceased was engaged the coupling between the eleventh and twelfth tubs came out, and two tubs ran back. Deceased appears to have heard the tubs coming, and he ran behind some empty tubs in the lye. Unfortunately the points at No. 17 level were standing open, and the runaway tubs entered the level and collided with the empty tubs, and crushed him against the stoop side. He died three hours after from his injuries. The couplings in use were of the rams-horn pattern, and they are generally considered safe. It is probable that in coupling the tubs the coupling was twisted, and a jerk while the rake was ascending the incline caused it to slacken, untwist, and become detached. There have been instances of similar couplings unhooking, notably in my predecessor's time, at Burntisland Mine, whereby a fatality occurred.
1895 April 12 12.45pm 7th Whitehill No 1 Pit Coal Ayr William Baird & Co Ltd Peter Rafferty Sinker 24 Shaft Accidents While engaged lowering sinking pumps, he was standing on a wooden “kirn” which was being hoisted. The kirn broke away, and he fell with it down the shaft  
1895 April 13 11am 5th Lanemark Afton Pit Coal Ayr Lanemark Coal Co John Graham Repairer 55 Falls of roof Fall of roof on a road while he was repairing it  
1895 April 26 1pm 7th Quarter No 1 Pit Coal Stirling William Baird & Co Ltd John McGovern Miner 30 Explosions of fire damp or coal dust Explosion of coal dust, or of firedamp and coal dust. The cause has not been definitively ascertained The first fatal explosion happened on 26th April, in Quarter Colliery, Denny, owned by Messrs. William Baird & Co. By it 13 persons lost their lives, being the greatest number of lives lost in the district by a single accident since the explosion in Barrwood Colliery, Kilsyth, in 1878, when 17 lives were lost. The Secretary of State, by virtue of powers conferred upon him by section 45 of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, directed a formal investigation of the accident to be made, and appointed Mr. Charles J. Guthrie, advocate, and myself for this purpose. The investigation was held accordingly in the Sheriff Courthouse, Stirling, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of June. The report based upon the investigation has since been published, and it is therefore unnecessary here to enter into the details of the explosion. Direct evidence as to its origin was not available on account of all the persons employed in the pan of the workings where it took place having lost their lives,'while the most careful inspection afterwards brought to light no indirect evidence which could explain with anything like certainty the origin of the disaster. As the result of arbitration safety lamps were introduced into this mine six years ago, but an examination of the clothing of the deceased men proved that a naked light illegally exposed probably was the origin of the explosion, seeing that on most of the bodies either matches, pipes, or appliances for opening safety lamps were found. Gunpowder for blasting was permitted, and as several of the working places were dry and dusty I am of opinion that if a shot had been fired at the time in one of these working places it might have originated the explosion, but as there was no evidence of such a shot having been fired, I do not think shot-firing had anything to do with it. Whatever was its origin, in my opinion there can be no doubt that the extent and disastrous effects of this explosion were principally due to fine dry coal dust which lay in the workings traversed by the flame. See Main site for full report
John Busbie Haulage contractor 39
Robert Mitchell Miner 40
John Comrie Drawer 25
John McMillan Miner 30
Patrick Carr Miner 24
Patrick Dunnion Miner 30
Henry McGovern Drawer 32
Peter Tully Bencher 27
John Nicol Fireman 40
Peter Connoway Miner 28
Bernard Dunnion Drawer 26
John Heron Miner 24
1895 April 27 Noon 1st Bredisholm No 1 Pit Coal Lanark Glasgow Iron & Steel Co Ltd Robert Paterson Fireman 52 Falls of roof Fall of roof on a haulage road while he was redding a previous fall Newspaper report
1895 April 30 11am 5th Muircockhall Coal Fife Henry Ness & Co John Oswald Miner 49 Falls in Mine Fall of coal Newspaper Report
1895 May 10 3pm 8th Milnwood Coal Lanark Coltness Iron Co Patrick Nackett Labourer 60 Accidents above ground Run over by the Caledonian Railway Company's locomotive on the siding  
1895 May 10 9.30pm 6th Balbardie Coal Linlithgow Henry Walker & Cameron William Aitken Miner 40 Falls in Mine Fall of stone  
Dennis McGonigal Miner 18
1895 May 15 7.10am 1st Wellsgreen Coal Fife Fife Coal Co Ltd William Comb Miner 49 Falls in Mine Fall of coal  
1895 May 17 6.15pm 1st Pollock Lochinch Pit Coal Renfrew Wilson's & Clyde Coal Co Ltd William Muir Brusher 38 Miscellaneous accidents underground Explosion of blasting powder. Cause not ascertained, but it is supposed that a spark from a lamp fell into an open cannister. Other 6 men were injured These brushers with several others had gone down the shaft to commence work, taking with them about 21 lbs. of gunpowder in six canisters, and were congregated about the tool-house near the pit bottom when, in some unexplained way, the contents of four of the canisters, amounting to some 14 lbs., exploded. It is conjectured that one of the canisters had been opened, and that a spark from a lamp or a pipe fell into it.
1895 May 20 10am 5th Dunnikier Coal Fife Walter Herd & Sons John Sinclair Miner 32 Falls in Mine Fall of stone  
1895 May 22 7am 1st Auchenharvie No 1 Pit Coal Ayr Glengarnock Iron & Steel Co Ltd John Sproull Drawer 17 Miscellaneous accidents underground Run over by a hutch on a heading. Supposed to have been drawing in front of it  
1895 May 25 1.5am 1st Neilsland Coal Lanark John Watson Ltd George Lyness Sinker 30 In shafts Plank fell in shaft This accident was caused by a rope which was being wound up the shaft with no burden attached, and provided with an appliance known as " sinker's grip," dislodging a plank from the side of the pit. The sinker's grip was attached to the rope so as to afford the sinkers standing on the rim of the kettle something to hold on by better than grasping the chain. Fig. 1 shows the appliance which was altered to Fig. 2 after the accident. The pit was 74 fathoms deep, and the plank which was 7 ft. 4 in. by 9 in. by 3 in., was nailed to the side of the shaft at a point 27 fathoms from the surface. The plank supported a pipe. It would appear that the rope while being wound up the shaft had been swinging, and the upper surface of the grip caught the under surface of the plank tearing it from its place, the plank fell to the bottom and injured one of the sinkers so severely as to cause his death about three weeks after the accident.
1895 May 25 11.30am 5th Hamilton Palace No 2 Pit Coal Lanark Bent Colliery Co Ltd James Wilson shaftsman 58 Shaft Accidents While ascending on the top of a water chest on the cage, he put his out his foot to close a valve, when he was caught between the chest and the buntons  
1895 May 28 10am 3rd Bardykes Coal Lanark Merry & Cunninghame Ltd George Pate Washing machine foreman 59 Accidents above ground Smothered in a dross-hopper, by a rush of dross coming away upon him The foreman of a coal-washing machine lost his life in a large dross hopper, three sides of which lined with sheet iron sloped to the outlet hole in the bottom. The dross sometimes adhered to the sides and did not run freely, and deceased had gone to the bottom of the hopper with a shovel, and began to clear away the dross. This relieved the body of dross lying above him, which came down with a rush and suffocated him.
1895 May 30 11.30pm 3rd Roman Camp Oil shale Linlithgow Broxburn Oil Co Ltd Archibald Finlayson Shale inspector 40 On surface Fell in shale wagon Deceased was setting some pieces of shale in a truck which was nearly full, when a loaded tub was, brought forward to be tipped. The runner shouted to the men in the truck to "look up.'' Decease called to him to hold on, and at the same, time tried to leap towards the end of the truck to get out of the way. Probably owing to his being hurried,.he slipped and fell backwards upon an angular piece of shale, which fractured his spine. He died three days afterwards.
1895 May 31 3.20pm 1st Kinneddar Coal Fife Fifeshire Main Colliers Ltd Frank Sharp Miner 52 Miscellaneous underground Underground fire This accident, which caused the loss of nine lives, has, as already stated, been reported on, and a brief account only will now be given. The wooden lining and other timber in an upcast shaft was set on fire by an open fire, kindled for the first time on the day of the accident, and used in conjunction with an ordinary covered cube or furnace, and a fire lamp for causing ventilation. The woodwork in the shaft burned fiercely, and flames soon reached the surface. While passages leading to the upcast shaft were being closed by the building of dams a large fall of surface clay, relieved by the burning out of the barring, fell down the shaft and drove hot air, smoke, and possibly flame, over the persons engaged, and seven of them were so badly burned that they died in the course of a few hours. Two other persons who were not burned crawled out to the downcast shaft in the smoke, and in some way not ascertained fell down that shaft to a lower seam. See Main site
10th Alexander Sharp Miner 42 Miscellaneous underground
9th Alexander Thomson Fireman 31 Miscellaneous underground
Thomas Sharp Miner 23 Miscellaneous underground
Thomas Hunter Miner 41 Miscellaneous underground
George Bell Miner 28 Miscellaneous underground
George Ramage Miner 31 Miscellaneous underground
William McKenna Miner 42 Miscellaneous underground
John Hunter Miner 28 Miscellaneous underground
1895 June 6 8am 2nd Clyde Coal Lanark Wilson's & Clyde Coal Co Ltd Thomas Simpson Miner 27 Falls in Mine Fall of coal Newspaper report
1895 June 7 10.30am 5th Mauricewood Ironstone Edinburgh Shotts Iron Co John Lane Miner 69 Miscellaneous underground Suffocated Deceased was driving a road through a barrier of ironstone which separated two sections of longwall workings, and which was about 90 feet in width. The road was about 4 feet in width by about 3 feet in height, but as part of the debris was spread along it to save drawing it to the surface, the average clear height was reduced to about 1 foot 6 inches. At the date of the accident the road had been driven for a distance of about 60 feat. No provision was made for taking in air from the longwall face. Deceased commenced work shortly after 6 am. At 9.15 am he fired a shot and retired to the longwall face, where he took breakfast. It is not known when he returned to the working face, but at 10.15am a miner who was working down from the other side of the barrier to meet him heard him chap on the strata, and make a pre-arranged signal that he was leaving off work for the day. About two hours afterwards the fireman visited the place. About half-way in the narrow drift he found a lamp burning, on passing which his own lamp was at once extinguished. He took up the spare lamp, which contained some paraffin oil, proceeded inwards, and found deceased lying about 12 feet from the face. He was quite dead, and his lamp, which lay beside him, had been extinguished. Death had apparently been due to asphyxia.
1895 June 18 8.15am 3rd Townhill Coal Fife Townhill Coal Co William Anderson Miner 53 Falls in Mine Fall of coal  
1895 June 19 8.30am 3rd Cowdenbeath Coal Fife Cowdenbeath Coal Co Ltd William Beveridge Reddsman 58 Falls in Mine Fall of stone Newspaper report
1895 June 19 10.10am 3rd Loanhead Coal and ironstone Edinburgh Shotts Iron Co Edward Murphy Char filler 39 On surface Struck by sprag Deceased was shifting a truck which had been loaded with ironstone. He ran an empty truck against it to set it in motion and then running after the loaded one, he attempted to insert a snibble in the right leading wheel. The point of the snibble was caught by a spoke of the wheel, and twisted against the. wheel guard ; the outer end of the snibble was jerked violently backwards, striking deceased and knocking him in front of the rear wheel which passed over both of his legs nearly severing them from his body. He died about 15 minutes afterwards.
1895 June 22 5.25am 1st Fallahill Coal Linlithgow Peter Thornton John Ramsay Drawer 16 In shafts Fell from cage Deceased and three others were descending the shaft to commence their shift at a landing or mid-working situated at a depth of about 30 fathoms. When the cage stopped at the landing two of the men stepped off; as the third was following them the cage began to ascend slowly, and as deceased was stepping off, it tilted him forward upon the plates, his legs swung past the cage bottom, and he fell to the bottom of the shaft, a distance of about 43 fathoms, and was killed instantaneously. The shaft was one of two which were situated about 40 yards apart. One was a pumping pit, and was used only by the officials, and when required. The winding pit was fitted with coupled horizontal engines having 18 in. cylinders and 10 ft. drams. Only one rope and cage were in use; consequently the load was unbalanced. There were no shuts at the mid-working. The signalling apparatus appeared to be in perfect order, and the shaft was fenced at the mid-working by a gate, sliding vertically, and connected by a wire to an indicator in the engine house. While the cage containing the four men was being lowered, a messenger entered the engine-house, to inform the engineman that the overman, who was attending to the pumps in the pumping shaft, was signalling to be drawn up. He waited until the engineman had set the cage at the landing, then delivered his message, and was told by the engineman that he could not leave his engine until the cage had been signalled away by the bottomer. While he was speaking the bell rang one stroke. He then raised the cage about half way to pit mouth, shut off steam, pinned down his brake, and went over to the pumping pit to draw the overman. As he was leaving the winding engine-house the bell rang two strokes, and immediately afterwards some one was heard shouting up the shaft that a man had fallen down. The bottomer, fireman, and the three men who had left the cage agreed that no one at the landing had touched the signal lever prior to the accident, and from their positions relative to it, it appeared to be highly improbable that they could have done so. The bottomer and fireman saw the cage beginning to rise before deceased had left it, and on seeing him fall the fireman sprang to the lever and signalled one stroke to stop the cage. As it appeared to continue its ascent, he then signalled two strokes, and shortly afterwards shouted to inform the pitheadman of the accident. Several persons on pithead distinctly heard the signal bell strike one, and shortly afterwards strike two; but no one heard it strike one twice as they must have done had it been first rung inadvertently, and then rung by the fireman to stop the cage. The accident may have been caused by the engineman having checked the engines with steam during the descent of the unbalanced cage, and having unconsciously reversed the engines and eased the brake while listening to the message from the pumping pit. The elastic force of the steam shut in the cylinders might be sufficient to move the pistons a few inches as the cage was relieved of its load; and the single stroke of the bell which the engineman took to be the bottomer's signal to raise the cage, was probably the fireman's signal to stop it. Assuming, however, that this was the cause of the accident, the engineman appeared to have contravened Additional Special Rule No. 2 in respect that be moved the cage from the mid-working while the gate fencing the shaft was open. He was tried for this contravention and on pleading guilty was admonished.
1895 June 25 11am 6th Newton No 2 Pit Coal Lanark James Dunlop & Co Ltd Patrick McKirdy Pithead labourer 18 Shaft Accidents While stepping off the cage, it was started by the engineman, who did not observe him, and he was caught by the “policeman”  
1895 June 25 6.15pm 2nd Bent Coal Lanark Bent Colliery Co Ltd John Campbell Roadsman 60 Falls in Mine Fall of stone  
1895 June 26 6.40am 1st Thankerton No 7 Pit Coal Lanark John McAndrew & Co John Balfour Miner 28 Falls of side Fall of coal Newspaper report
1895 June 28 9.15am 3rd Sheardale Coal Lanark Robert McAllister & Sons Thomas Penman Miner 61 Falls in Mine Fall of stone  

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