MineArchiveAberaman Colliery roof fall, 1908
Three men died after a fall of roof at Powell Duffryn's Aberaman Colliery on 3 May 1908 while they were pulling down a low bridge of ground on an engine plane.
| Date | 3 May 1908 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Aberaman Colliery |
| Region | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Type | Collapse / Roof Fall |
| Fatalities | 3 (Three killed: George Stear, Thomas Lewis and Samuel Wilkinson, who died the next day.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
Loosening a bridge of cliff released a mass of rock from a concealed slant above the road.
Contributing factors
The place was untimbered.
What happened
On 3 May 1908 George Stear, Thomas Lewis and Samuel Wilkinson were sent to pull down a low bridge of cliff on an engine plane in the Seven Feet seam at Aberaman Colliery, where gradual squeeze had brought the roof below the plane's usual height. As they loosened the cliff, a mass of the rock above, held by a concealed slant along one side of the road, came away. Stear and Lewis were buried and killed; Wilkinson's thigh was badly injured and he died the next afternoon. The place was untimbered, and no one survived to describe the fall.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On 3 May 1908 a fall of roof on an engine plane in the Seven Feet seam at Aberaman Colliery killed George Stear and Thomas Lewis outright and fatally injured Samuel Wilkinson, who died the next day. 1,2
- The men had been sent to pull down a low bridge of cliff on the engine plane, 11 feet long, 7 feet wide and 17 inches thick, where gradual squeeze had lowered the height. 2
- As they loosened the cliff they released a mass of the rock bed above from a concealed slant along one side of the road; the place was untimbered. 2
- The colliery belonged to the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company. 2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Three men died after a fall of roof at Powell Duffryn's Aberaman Colliery on 3 May 1908 while they were pulling down a low bridge of ground on…” - Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “Three men died after a fall of roof at Powell Duffryn's Aberaman Colliery on 3 May 1908 while they were…” - Slant (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “Loosening a bridge of cliff released a mass of rock from a concealed slant above the road.”
Sources
- (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1908 — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames L, part 3 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026