South Yorkshire Times, June 27th, 1942.
Causes of Barnburgh Disaster
“Without Precedent in This Country,” Says Coroner
Amazing escapes by 18 entombed men, some of them cut off from the outside world for 21 days and accounts of gallantry by the trapped miners and their rescuers, made a thrilling story when the inquest was opened at Doncaster on Wednesday on the four victims of the Barnburgh Main Colliery disaster of April 24th. The men described how a violent upheaval in the north-west workings of the Parkgate seam, in which the floor rose and the sides closed in, blocked the roads and imprisoned them, and their hopes and fears as time
Special tributes were paid to two young haulage hands, William Cruise (19), of Goldthorpe, and Leslie Thompson (17) of Mexborough, who, when the water supply of a party of five gave out, dragged themselves along for 70 or 80 yards to fetch “dudleys” left in the working places by the men as they bolted for safety.
The Victims.
The four victims were Alfred Thomas Lackenby (26), corporal, 9, Princess Road, Goldthorpe: Charles William Cope (41), collier, 72, Wind-hill Crescent, Mexborough; George Frederick Southwell (30), collier, 10, Edna Street, Bolton-on-Dearne; and William John Rodgers (26), collier. 73, Frederick Street, Mexborough.
With the Coroner (Mr. W. H. Carlile), sat Major H. J. Humphrys (Divisional Inspector of Mines). Mr. A. S. Furniss represented the Colliery Company, and Mr. J. A. Hall (President), the Yorkshire Mineworkers’ Association.
Dr. J. K. W. Morris, of Goldthorpe, described the injuries of the four men. He said death would be instantaneous. All had been severely crushed, but there was no sign of burning on the bodies.
Matthew Fairhurst, collier, 14, Whitworth Buildings. Thurnscoe, described his escape and, in reply to Major Humphrys said the height of the roof before the accident was 5ft. bins., and only 18 inches afterwards.
Heard Tapping.
John Richard Humphries, collier, 107, Queen Street, Swinton, one of the men rescued, said after the “bump” they went back to four full tubs, which had been squeezed between the roof, floor and sides. There were eight men together by that time. About 8 p.m. on Saturday they heard tapping and they shouted back. They heard more tapping at 12.55 p.m. on Sunday. Water was got through to them at 1.10 p.m., and they were released at 1.30 p.m.
Another of the rescued, Edward Hall, collier, 92, Main Street, Goldthorpe, said when they had steadied themselves they had a talk on what they should do, and they decided to make themselves safe, as the district was still bumping a little. They were rescued two days later.
The Last Five.
One of a group of five men, the last to be released, William Fudge, collier, 119, Main Street, Goldthorpe, said in the plane the floor had lifted 18 inches or two feet. All ways of escape were cut off. Between 7 and 8 p.m. on Sunday a rescuer was near enough to tell them that eight men had been released that afternoon but they were not liberated until about 6 a.m. on Monday.
A 19-year-old haulage hand, William Cruise, of 120. Main Street, Goldthorpe, one of the heroes of the disaster, said Leslie Thompson (17) worked with him, and when Goldthorpe, one of the heroes of the disaster said Leslie Thompson (17), worked with him, and when the dust had cleared they went down the crossgate and released the deputy, Winder. They met Fudge, and found Lackenby, who was dead. They had no water by Saturday and witness volunteered to fetch some which had been left in the working places by the men when they dashed for safety. Thompson went with him once, and in one place the roof was so low that they could hardly drag themselves along. Each journey was 70 or 80 yards and on the second visit he heard the rescue party. He could also talk to the eight men who were trapped, although he could not see them.
The Coroner: You seem to have kept your head, and I congratulate you.
Modest Hero.
Mr. Hall said that facing the Coroner was a modest young man but out of his modesty emanated one of the most courageous feats he had come across in his varied experience of pit disasters.
Limping into the box, Walter Winder, deputy, 38, Thurnscoe Road, Bolton, said he was buried, about four feet from Lackenby, for just over two hours before he was liberated.
Replying to the Coroner and Major Humphrys, he said he had been satisfied with the way the seam had been worked, and had received no complaints from the men. He had found that in the Parkgate seam, where there was a rock roof, the floor came up, but he had never seen anything so sudden as on that occasion.
Robert Hanham, overman, 37, Warren Vale Road, Wath, when asked by Mr. Mall if he would connect the disaster with an earth tremor, replied in the negative.
Adjournment.
The inquest was then adjourned until yesterday.
Timothy Davies, deputy, said he could not offer an opinion on the cause of the unusual amount of lifting when the disaster occurred. In 40 years’ experience he had never known such a violent occurrence.
Mr. Hall asked if stripping the pillar of coal or dinting the floor would not weaken the pillar.
Davies replied that there would be no weakening if the coal taken was replaced by packs. The pillar might even be strengthened if slack coal was taken out and replaced by rock.
Mr. Hall said his argument was that stripping the pillar would weaken the whole area.
Mr. Hall asked Davies if he had worked out, or could estimate, the weight of the fall.
When witness replied in the negative, Mr. Hall suggested that officials of the colliery were not interested whether the same thing happened again or not.
A Breeze.
The Coroner intervened by saying that was an unfair remark.
There was a limit to what might be said.
Mr. Hall: The limit is that there ought to have been a proper inquiry.
Coroner: If you are going to start threatening me I am not having it. To come and say you ought to have had an inquiry, do you think that bothers me? I am not worried by you, Mr. Hall. It is not the first time you have made the suggestion about an inquiry, and if you think it has any effect on me I want to disillusion your mind. As far as my inquiry is concerned, it is going to be a fair one. You have said that witnesses who should have been called have not been called. That is an inference against me and I am not having it.
Manager’s Evidence.
Geoffrey C. Payne, B.Sc., of Field House, Barnburgh, manager of the pit for the past four years, said there had always been lifting of the floor, but they had had more trouble with it during the last six months than previously in the Parkgate seam.
Asked by the Coroner it he had formed any opinion as to the cause of the disaster, he replied: “I think it was caused through a shock bump. That is the liberation of a large amount of pent-up energy which suddenly reacts in the roof and gives the district a smack. That tremendous force, transmitted through the coal pillars, causes the floor to heave up.”
Coroner: Are you still satisfied with the system of working the seam ?—Yes.
By Major Humphrys: He had not known of another shock bump, and he had not yet come to a conclusion as to what caused the bump.
Major Humphrys said the shock was felt in surrounding villages, and the vibratory effect was registered on seismographs as far away as Birkenhead, Kew and Durham.
Mr. Hall: Do you think it was an earth tremor?
Witness: No
Mr. Hall: Do you think it was an earth tremor?
Witness: No.
Mr. Hall: Let us assume economics had not to be taken into consideration, could this disaster have been averted by the system of complete packing in the area from which coal has been extracted?—I do not think it would have given any more protection. It is generally recognised that the retreating board and pillar work is the safest method.
I am not putting this question because of inattentiveness to packing, but would full packing have prevented this crash?—Packing might have accentuated it by bringing the weight forward on to the face, causing the working places to fall in, where the men would have been trapped.
Mr. Payne was in the witness box for 2 ¼ hours, and as he finished Mr. Hall said he could not sit down without complimenting him on his effort and assistance during the dark hours after the disaster. He and his colleagues worked well, and the men appreciated their efforts.
Expert’s Comments.
Expert evidence on the strata associated with mining was given by Dr. Arthur Winstanley, special inspector attached to the Ministry of Fuel and Power (Health and Safety Division).
He said there were two kinds of “bumps” recognised in mining—pressure “bumps” and shock “bumps.”
There was no evidence that there had been a specific shock “bump” in this country before that at Barnburgh. In a shock “bump” as a rule there was an area of coal pillars surrounded, or partly surrounded, by wastes. There was a strong thick sandstone bed either immediately above the coal or separated from it by other strong beds. As a result of the extraction of coal, the sandstone had sagged. As a consequence the strong bed over the pillars had been driven upwards a little. It might be less than an inch but it meant that the centre of the coal was carrying the strata right up to the surface. The preparatory condition was the domed sandstone bed overhanging the pillars. As a result of the breaking off, the domed portion above the middle of the pillars suddenly took off, the domed portion above the middle of the pillars suddenly took a shock downwards.
Coroner: You would not recommend coal being worked in the same way by leaving these wastes surrounding a small area of coal? —I would not.
Dr. Winstanley added that there had not been any shock “bumps” before, and therefore one was not so much on the alert as in countries, such as the United States and India, susceptible to them. If for no other reason than to bring to the notice of mining people the circumstances associated with shock “bumps,” the disaster would have one useful side to it.
The Verdict.
The Coroner prefaced his summing up by paying more tributes, saying that when the disaster happened every effort was made to rescue the men, although most people thought there was little hope of bringing any of them out alive. He praised the courage of the men who were entombed, and the initiative of those in charge of the rescue operations, and the men who took part. Mention should again be made of Cruise and Thompson, the part they played probably helping the older men, and he agreed that they should have some recognition.
Dealing with the disaster, the Coroner said it was without precedent in this country. He accepted Dr. Winstanley’s theory as to what took place. The circumstances were propitious for a shock “bump” by a combination of conditions and the way of working the coal in the area affected.
As a result of the inquiry, the system of working might be reviewed. Perhaps the coal would not be worked in such a way that only a small proportion of coal was left, almost surrounded by wastes, which might give rise to something of that kind. He did not attach any blame, and he did not think there had been any suggestion of blame, on the way the place had been worked previously.
He recorded a verdict of “Accidental Death.”
The inquest was closed with a tribute by Major Humphrys to the rescuers. He was present at the time, and he commended their indomitable spirit of endurance and perseverance, which made one proud to be associated with the mining industry.