| Year | Month | Day | Name of Colliery | First Name | Surname | Page | Information from Inspectors report |
| 1932 | January | 14 | Euston Pit, Bathgate | Robert | Kerr | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | January | 15 | Lethans | NK | NK | Accidents by Machinery (Underground) - At Lethans No. 2 Surface Mine, Fifeshire, on January 15, a machineman was standing in a branch road watching a chain machine cut across the roadhead when the machine kicked out of the holing and swung into the road. He was caught by the picks and received fatal injuries. An inspection showed that one of the picks had worked loose and was projecting about 1 1/2 inches more than the other picks. This projecting pick probably caught against a hard piece of coal or an ironstone ball and so caused the machine to kick out. The machine was fitted with a guard round the banjo, but the machineman was caught by the unprotected portion of the chain. | |
| 1932 | January | 19 | Cowden | James | Magee | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | January | 26 | NK (Kilmarnock area) | John Arthur | Pettigrew | FAI record – NAS | |
| 1932 | January | 27 | Little Raith | Edward | Macmillan | Beath accidents page | Not listed |
| 1932 | February | 5 | Loanhead | NK | NK | Accidents from Other Causes - On February 5, at Loanhead (Ramsay) Colliery, Midlothian, a repairer was crossing a carriage incline at an inclination of 65° when he lost his balance and fell a distance of 240 feet and was killed outright. He was attempting to reach the signal wire to stop the carriage, but it could readily have been done by the fireman who was ascending in the carriage. | |
| 1932 | February | 12 | Kinneil | Daniel McDonald | Tweedie | FAI record – NAS |
This MAY be the same accident: Accidents on the surface - A different type of accident which takes an annual toll of life both above and below ground occurred to a tub repairer who skinned his forefinger when screwing a nut with a spanner. He did not go to the first-aid room to have the wound cleansed and dressed, but his mate applied iodine to his greasy and dirty finger and put a bandage on. He finished his shift and presented himself for work next day but had to return home and died of septic poisoning 17 days later. |
| 1932 | February | 15 | Craigend | James | McLay | Stirlingshire accidents | Accidents by Explosives - At Craigend Colliery, Stirlingshire, on February 15, a fireman was found on a coal face mutilated and killed, and it was evident that several cartridges of high explosive had exploded. He probably intended to make a new sump-hole for water and was making up a charge when it exploded in his hands. It was suggested that he might have been inserting the fuse in the detonator, or attempting to make a water-tight joint by using hot gutta-percha melted from a piece of fuse or other waterproof compound. This is a most dangerous practice at any time and should be discontinued. |
| 1932 | February | 16 | Carriden | Robert | Grant | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | March | 5 | Rosehall | NK | NK |
Explosion of Firedamp - On March 5, a stone mine was being driven
between two seams at Rosehall No. 5 Colliery, Lanarkshire. It
was ventilated by air tubes and an auxiliary blower fan. The
stone miner was assisted by his son, and, as the latter was suffering
from a cold, and complained of the draught, he blocked the inbye
end of the air tubes with brattice cloth. After firing some shots and taking a meal, causing an interval of perhaps half an hour, the stone miner returned to the face and his naked light ignited firedamp which had accumulated. The accident can be directly attributed to the thoughtless act of obstructing the ventilating current. |
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| 1932 | March | 16 | Gill Pit, Overtown | William | Smith | With thanks to Lindsay Smith for this information | |
| 1932 | March | 20 | Riddochhill | Patrick | Bonar | Lothians accidents | Accidents by Electricity - At Riddochhill Colliery, West Lothian, on March 20, a brusher received a fatal shock and others were incapacitated on a conveyor face when the brushing contractor switched on the shaker conveyor motor, which had been recently shifted. There was a short circuit in the plug connexion making the conveyor pans “live.” The pan shifters had given the conveyor a trial run before leaving work and it then appeared to be in order. The plug attaching the flexible cable to the motor had been withdrawn and laid aside, to permit some brushing to be done, and the plug had then been replaced. It was clear from inspection afterwards that the flexible cable connexion to the plug had been carelessly made and that rough usage had drawn the cable about one inch out of the plug, the earth connexion being the first to be broken, thus setting up a a dangerous condition. A point to emphasize about the accident is that the plug had been roughly handled by unauthorized persons, who could not be expected to realize the danger. |
| 1932 | March | 21 | Millhall | James | Doherty | Stirlingshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | March | 24 | Smeaton | Francis M | Chalmers | Lothians accidents | Falls of Roof at Working Face - A fireman in Cowden Nos. 2/5 Colliery, Midlothian, met his death on March 24 in the following circumstances. He watched two brushers charge a brushing shot on a longwall conveyor road and then drew a bar from under the edge of the brushing. The bars were set at about four feet intervals and the roof under the brushing was sounded and appeared to be strong. A brusher and a repairer walked under the unsupported roof and were closely followed by the fireman who intended to continue his inspection, but he was killed by a stone which fell from the brushing face. The occurrence illustrates the inadequacy of sounding as a means of testing the roof under some conditions, and also the importance of drawing supports in proper sequence. All preliminary work should be completed before the supports under the area to be shot down are removed. |
| 1932 | March | 30 | Earnock | John | Clark | Hamilton accidents page | Not listed |
| 1932 | March | 31 | Woodyet | Patrick | McMenamy | Stirlingshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | April | 7 | Polbeth | NK | NK | Accidents from Other Causes - At Polbeth (Oil Shale) Mine, Midlothian, on April 7, a miner was standing on a scaffold which he had erected in a steeply inclined working to enable him to stamp a hole in the roof. A piece of old wagon buffer formed part of the scaffold, and it broke in the centre causing him to fall heavily, a distance of four feet, with fatal results. | |
| 1932 | April | 12 | Shale Mine, West Calder | Thomas | Peden | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | April | 19 | Kinglassie | NK | NK | Falls of Roof and Sides on Roads - A different type of accident, which depended on the judgement and skill of the persons engaged on the work in hand, occurred at Kinglassie Colliery, Fifeshire, on April 19. A fireman was supervising the clearing of a fall of side on a main road when he noticed a dangerous piece of stone in the roof. Along with the oversman he proceeded to make a detailed examination to decide how best to deal with the stone, when it fell unexpectedly. He lost his balance in trying to get clear and another falling piece struck him on the head and killed him. The roof, a thick sandstone was much broken up by the working of the seams immediately below and above, conditions under which steel arches demonstrate their utility most effectively. | |
| 1932 | April | 21 | Woolmet | NK | NK |
Falls of Roof at Working Face - A machineman was injured at Woolmet
Colliery, Midlothian on April 21, by a fall of blaes roof on
a wet face. The sequence of work was:- day shift, stripping;
back shift, under-cutting; night shift, brushing and conveyor
shifting. The roads were brushed to the coal face and ten feet by eight feet steel arches were used. At the end of the cutting shift the machine was pulled out of the dip corner, which was very wet, and moved across into the old conveyor track. At the start of the next cutting shift it was racked into the face and lowered to the dip corner. Several props had to be knocked out and reset during both these operations in the same area. When cutting uphill and passing this place a fall of roof occurred, breaking three straps and reeling out the props. The roof had been unduly disturbed by knocking out and resetting supports on two occasions, as well as shaken by the vibration due to blasting ; special methods of support, introducing long straps, should have been used under these conditions. |
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| 1932 | April | 30 | Foulshiels | Frank | McGonegal | FAI record – NAS | Accidents by Machinery (Underground) - At Foulshiels Colliery, West Lothian, on April 30, a machineman was preparing to set a haulage prop to cut in with a bar machine when the rope caught in the picks of the revolving bar, which dragged him under the bar, killing him instantly. The bar had been disengaged for the earlier moving of the machine. The primary cause of the accident was the starting switch, which was out of order. The electrician had been sent for and the leading machineman was loth to switch off as the fuse would probably have blown, and the risk of allowing the bar to revolve in such circumstances was taken. |
| 1932 | May | 2 | Fauldhead | James | Duncan | Dumfriesshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | May | 7 | Northfield | David | Gardner | Shotts accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | May | 11 | Rosie | William | Glover | Fife accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | May | 17 | Gateside | Patrick | McCafferty | Lanarkshire Accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | May | 27 | Woodend | Thomas | Peden | FAI record – NAS | Not listed |
| 1932 | June | 11 | Craigend | NK | NK | Falls of Roof at Working Face - At Craigend Colliery, Stirlingshire, on June 11, a machineman was fatally injured by a fall of roof near a roadhead when shovelling loose coal from the rear of a disc machine before commencing his cutting shift. The maximum prescribed distances for supports were four feet between props, four feet between rows, and five feet between the front row of props and the face. One or two straps were always set at each side of a roadhead and a strap was also set under the brushing lip. The roof was a strong sandstone and did not appear to cut off on the line of the face for each undercut. The roof fell between a natural joint and a break probably caused by a heavy brushing shot. The distance between the front row of props and the face was excessive ; there was an absence of regular strapping ; the sides of the brushing should have been more adequately supported when the breaker props were removed; and such heavy explosive charges should not have been permitted in the brushings. | |
| 1932 | June | 14 | Cowdenbeath | George | Mitchell | Beath accident pages | Accidents on the surface - A labourer was instantly killed at Cowdenbeath Nos. 7/10 Colliery, Fifeshire, on June 14, in a sub-station whilst standing on a ladder, whitewashing a wall behind a cable and near some live isolating links at 6,000 volts, when the brush handle touched one of the bare links. The links were 9 feet 6 inches above floor level, and working in direct disregard of his instructions and without adequate supervision. The sub-station was one of a number which was being modernized; any kind of work by unauthorized persons should be prohibited under these conditions whilst the current is on. |
| 1932 | June | 17 | Dean, Kingseat | William | Pearson | Fife accidents | Accidents by Explosives - On June 17, at Dean Colliery, Fifeshire, a stone miner was found dead and his assistant seriously injured, 1 1/2 hours after a round of eight shots had been fired by detonator and fuse in the face of a level cross-measure drift. The place was very wet and it would appear there had been some delay in lighting one or more of the fuses and the men did not give themselves time to reach a place of safety. |
| 1932 | June | 18 | Manor Powis | James | Petrie | Stirlingshire accidents | Shaft Accidents - One onsetter was killed at Manor Powis Colliery, Stirlingshire, on June 17, by inadvertently falling under the descending cage as it was landing at the pit bottom. He was raising the sliding gate at the time and there was nothing to indicate that anything had fallen down the shaft to stun him. |
| 1932 | June | 23 | Loganlea | James | Logan | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | June | 23 | Polkemmet | John Harold | Logan | FAI record – NAS | Not listed |
| 1932 | June | 28 | Manor Powis | Bernard | McKenna | Stirlingshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | July | 1 | Westwood | Charles | Crichton | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | July | 8 | Littlemill | NK | NK | Explosion of Firedamp - A repairer was assisting to remove a fall of roof at the face of a dook at Littlemill Colliery, Ayrshire, on July 8, and ignited firedamp by his acetylene cap lamp when standing on the fallen stone. The fireman had tested for firedamp half an hour earlier but, more stone having been removed, the repairer had access to a higher zone in the cavity. Firedamp was not previously known in this seam and it may be that the fireman's examination was somewhat perfunctory on this account. The strata are highly inclined and the hazard of firedamp may generally be expected to increase with the depth of the seam from the surface. | |
| 1932 | July | 11 | Polmaise | William | Sneddon | Stirlingshire accidents | Falls of Roof and Sides on Roads - At Polmaise 1/2 Colliery, Stirlingshire, on July 11, a repairer was standing aside whilst his mate was preparing to set an additional wooden bar to support the roof on a cross measure drift in the shaft pillar, when an old larch bar broke, without warning, and fell across the repairer's neck, killing him instantly. A small fall had occurred recently, but there was very little stone resting on the bar, which had been set for several years, and was dazed. The occurrence was totally unexpected, and, having regard to the more or less rapid deterioration in the strength of timber, it points to the superiority of steel roof supports, especially on permanent roads. |
| 1932 | July | 19 | Roman Camp | Thomas | Fisher | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | September | 3 | Bowhill | NK | NK | Accidents from Other Causes - A different type of accident, closely allied to those classified under " Falls of Roof and Side" at the working face, occurred on September 3 at Bowhill Colliery, Fifeshire. An overman was struck by a steel prop which was reeled out when a large stone fell from the roof in the waste, inflicting fatal injuries. A heavy weight had occurred in the waste and the overman was supervising the erection of additional supports in the working face. When it is the normal practice to withdraw supports from the waste, it is a mistake to leave a in few isolated props as they tend to prevent the roof in the waste breaking down regularly. | |
| 1932 | October | 5 | Fauldhead | Charles | Ferguson | Dumfriesshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | October | 20 | Cardowan | John | Campbell | Lanarkshire Accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | October | 30 | Carriden | John | Forrest | Lothians accidents | Underground Haulage Accidents - An unusual type of accident occurred at Carriden Colliery, West Lothian, on October 25, when the day-shift men were travelling up an endless-rope haulage dook having an average gradient of 1 in 4. The rope was stopped before the men were permitted to ascend, and one of the full tubs had come to rest about six yards above three mushroom pulleys. It is possible that the screw clip had been attached to the rope with its leading end gripping a distorted part, due to a splice, and that its hold had somewhat loosened when the passed through the pulleys. A slight vibration of the rope, caused later by the men travelling probably started the tub amain, the clip sliding down the rope until the tub finally overturned after travelling about 70 yards. One drawer was killed, and two other men were injured ; they had failed to make use of the refuge holes. More self-acting catches should be used on the full road on endless haulages, especially below mushroom pulleys where full tubs may receive a jerk as the clip and lashing chain pass the pulleys. |
| 1932 | November | 2 | Lethans | NK | NK | Accidents by Explosives - At Lethans No. 2 Surface Mine, Fifeshire on November 2, a fireman took up a position 50 feet from a brushing shot in hard sandstone and round a bend of about 40°, and a piece of rock ricochetted from the side and struck him inflicting fatal injuries. He had not extended his cable to the full length and he could have gone round another bend to fire the shot. | |
| 1932 | November | 5 | Easthouses | Thomas | Smith | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | November | 8 | Newcraighall | Robert | Ramsay | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | November | 14 | Lumphinnans | Robert | Neilson | Auchterderran pages | Underground Haulage Accidents - At Lumphinnans Nos. 11/12 Colliery, Fifeshire, on November 14, a bencher was fatally injured on a dook on an inclination of 1 in 2.5. The dook was being enlarged below the bench where he normally worked and he had taken some empty tubs down to the repairers. On returning with a full dirt tub he was crushed between the tub and side of the road. He may have been walking up the steep gradient and slipped, but this type of accident can only be prevented by discontinuing the practice of requiring one man to operate benches at different levels, as the temptation to ride on the tubs is very great. |
| 1932 | November | 15 | Tulligarth | Matthew | McLeod | Clackmannanshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | November | 16 | Cardowan | William | Bradley | Cardowan 1932 page | |
| Michael | Flynn | ||||||
| Peter | Frati | ||||||
| Richard | Maroney | ||||||
| William | McAlister | ||||||
| John | McNab | ||||||
| James | McVey | ||||||
| George | Mullen | ||||||
| James | Reynolds | ||||||
| John | Watt, jun. | ||||||
| John | Whiteford | ||||||
| 1932 | November | 23 | Lingerwood | John | Heriot | Lothians accidents | Falls of Roof and Sides on Roads - Whilst steel arches offer a certain sense of security even on road ways in unstable ground, care is necessary in such circumstances as was shown at Newbattle Colliery, Midlothian, on November 23 The roadway was 12 feet in width and 8 feet 6 inches in height and was supported by arches five inches by three inches in section set at about three feet intervals. About 120 yards from the face one arch had been displaced by the breaking of a fish-plated joint, and as it fouled the signal wires, it had been removed. A contractor and two miners were hanging up the signal wires when a "bump" occurred causing a fall of roof, 46 feet in length, which bent or broke a number of steel arches leaving them standing amongst the fallen material. The contractor was killed and the two men were slightly injured. The seam was about six feet in thickness at a depth of 255 fathoms, and two seams had been worked underneath this area at depths of 307 and 366 fathoms respectively, some years ago. It was originally intended to have a double unit face, when the road would have been in the middle of the waste, but the rise-side face had been stopped just behind the area where the fall occurred. The road was only from 12 feet to 15 feet from the solid coal and this was probably the first occasion where a main road of such large section had been formed so near a rib side. The roof beds were broken due to the solid coal side and to the proximity of the coal corner left by the abandoned rise face. Prior to the accident I have no doubt the rock which fell was being directly supported by the arches and if they had been well set they ought not to have collapsed since they were capable of sustaining a much bigger load. There were contributing causes to instability which should be mentioned, (1) the sandstone brushing, four feet in thickness, was broken down very irregularly by heavy shots and the only point of contact in most cases between the steel arch and the roof was at the crown, giving a concentrated instead of a distributed load ; (2) the arches were set on thin layers of sandstone built up to a height required to permit the crown to approach the roof, and to allow for subsidence by crushing ; (3) stone packing was built between the arches to steady them but no struts or distance pieces were set and each arch had therefore to sustain its own load. This accident has been described at some length because it is the first I have had to record due to failure of steel arches in this colliery, where similarly erected, they have been used for many years with outstanding success. The two main causes of breakdown in this case appear to have been the position of a road of large sectional area in relation to the solid coal side in a thick seam, where the subsidence on one side of the road was much greater than on the other, and the inadequacy of the methods of setting the individual arches. The placing of the roadway in an area of uniform subsidence as well as the details of the methods of setting the supports are points which merit careful consideration. |
| 1932 | November | 26 | Fauldhead | Joseph | Stitt | Dumfriesshire accidents [Natural causes] | Not listed |
| 1932 | November | 26 | Blairhall | Hugh | Laing | Fife accidents | Falls of Roof at Working Face - A coal-cutting machineman was fatally injured by a fall of roof at Blairhall Colliery, Fifeshire, on November 23, whilst knocking out the haulage prop which had been set under the brushing at the roadhead. It is not good practice to set a haulage prop in this position as the roof has been subjected to the shattering effect of blasting and the vibration set up by the haulage prop may lead to further disintegration. Setting a long steel girder under the brushing, parallel to the face, before firing the shots might be adopted with advantage, as it tends to limit the shattering effect of the shots. |
| 1932 | November | 28 | Glebe | NK | NK | Shaft Accidents - At Glebe Colliery, Lanarkshire, on November 28, a fireman was climbing across a shaft inclined at a gradient of 45° when he slipped and fell a distance of 56 fathoms to the bottom and was killed. He should have obtained the carriage when he could have crossed the shaft in safety. | |
| 1932 | November | 29 | Rosie | Daniel | Malcolm | Fife accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | November | 30 | Law Nos 6/7 | NK | NK | Falls of Roof at Working Face - At Law Nos. 6/7 Colliery, Lanarkshire, on November 30 a miner was stripping coal from a machine-cut face when a comparatively thin slab of roof fell on him. The roof had been supported by straps with a prop at one end and the other end needled into a “falling stone” above the coal. Two straps were reeled out and broken as the needling had not afforded any support. If the two straps had fulfilled their purpose the stone could not have fallen. | |
| 1932 | December | 5 | Hill Hall | Edward | Moir | Stirlingshire accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | December | 8 | Bowhill | NK | NK | Falls of Roof at Working Face - At Bowhill Colliery, Fifeshire, on December 8, a pack-builder was standing on fallen stones in the waste two or three feet behind the last row of supports when he was struck by a large stone which fell from the roof and injured him fatally. It was sometimes necessary to blast the roof in the waste to get stone for pack building and one shot had already been fired for that purpose. He was making an inspection to decide upon the position for another shot hole and should have remained under cover of the supported roof. | |
| 1932 | December | 10 | Motherwell | William | McCracken | Lanarkshire Accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | December | 13 | Gilmerton | Alexander | Hutchison | Lothians accidents | Not listed |
| 1932 | December | 14 | Polmaise | NK | NK | Accidents by Machinery (Underground) - The third fatal accident was at Polmaise Nos. 1/2 Colliery, Stirlingshire, on December 14. It was also to a machineman who was caught by the picks of a revolving bar, in this case whilst racking it clear of the undercut. | |
| 1932 | December | 17 | Thankerton | James | Doyle | Bothwell accidents page | Not listed |
| 1932 | December | 20 | Lindsay | William | Thomson | Beath accidents page | Not listed |
| 1932 | December | 21 | Lingerwood | John Brown Young | Dodds | FAI listing | Not listed |
| 1932 | December | 25 | Fauldhead | Hugh | Goudie | Source – list published by Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society | |
| 1932 | December | 27 | Middleton Lime Works | Angus Veitch | Hennessy | FAI listing | Not listed |
