Abercynon Colliery Haulage Accident, 1906

On the afternoon of Saturday 28 April 1906, about fifteen minutes before the end of the shift, a journey of twenty-four full trams of coal ran away underground at Abercynon Colliery and into the men waiting at the pit bottom to go up. Five were killed and at least six seriously injured.

Cause

A journey of twenty-four full trams of coal ran away down the incline into the men gathered at the pit bottom.

Contributing factors

The men were caught in the worst possible place and at the worst possible moment: gathered at the pit bottom in numbers, fifteen minutes before the end of the shift, waiting their turn to be wound to the surface, with a loaded journey standing above them.

What happened

It was a Saturday afternoon and about fifteen minutes before finishing time. A number of workmen had congregated at the pit bottom, waiting to go up after their day's work. In the Aberdare Leader's account there was 'suddenly a roar and a crash, and before they had time to collect their thoughts 24 full trams of coal were upon them, scattering them in all directions'. Many were caught under the trams and were got out only with considerable difficulty. Three men were killed on the spot and two more died afterwards of their injuries. Among the dead was Morgan Richards, an airwayman who kept the Royal Oak Inn at Incline Top and was well known in the district — twenty-one years on the Taff Vale Railway, first as a porter and then fifteen as a signalman, before going underground at Abercynon three years earlier. He had been late leaving the house that morning and had run most of the way from the bottom of the canal to reach the colliery in time to descend. Henry Campbell Jones had worked at Abercynon only since the previous August; he had served six or seven years with the 21st Regiment, mostly at Malta, and volunteered again for South Africa, serving twenty months in the Boer War. Herbert Moon, a native of Canton in Cardiff, was also an old soldier, having served with the Dorsetshire Regiment in South Africa.

Rescue & recovery

Help was obtained at once. Bruce Jones, the colliery manager, sent messengers for medical aid, and Dr Griffith, Dr Morris, Dr Proctor of Abercynon and other medical men were quickly at the scene. Dunn and Morris were taken straight to Cardiff Infirmary for operations.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest opened before the coroner, Mr Rhys, at Abercynon Police Court on 1 May 1906, with all interested parties represented: F. A. Gray, chief inspector of mines, and Mr Trump, assistant inspector, for the Home Office; Tom Richards MP, general secretary of the Miners' Federation, with Ben Davies, miners' agent, and A. T. James, solicitor, for the men; and for Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds H. W. Martin of Dowlais, Bruce Jones, the manager of the Dowlais-Cardiff Colliery, and F. P. Charles, solicitor, of Merthyr.

Memorials & commemoration

Morgan Richards left a wife and five children, Alfred Harpur a widow and seven, and Ernest Watts a wife and two.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Five men were killed: Morgan Richards (39), Henry Campbell Jones (38), Herbert Moon (31), Ernest Watts (31) and Alfred Alexander Harpur (37). Three died on the spot, and the others two hours, four hours and a day after the accident. ^1,2
• Twenty-four full trams of coal ran down onto the men gathered at the pit bottom about fifteen minutes before the end of the shift on Saturday 28 April 1906. ²
• At least six men were severely injured, Jeremiah Dunn requiring the amputation of a leg and he and the rider Joseph Morris being taken to Cardiff Infirmary for operations. ²
• The inquest opened before the coroner Mr Rhys at Abercynon Police Court on 1 May 1906, attended by the chief inspector of mines F. A. Gray for the Home Office, Tom Richards MP for the Miners' Federation, and representatives of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. ²
• The mechanism of the runaway is not established by the sources read here. The Northern Mine Research Society's account attributes it to the breaking of the big link of the chain attaching the haulage rope to the journey, but that page could not be retrieved and has not been read. (uncertain) ²

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…before the end of the shift, a journey of twenty-four full trams of coal ran away underground at Abercynon Colliery and into the men waiting…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…of twenty-four full trams of coal ran away underground at Abercynon Colliery and into the men waiting at the pit bottom to go up. Five were…”
• Incline (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A journey of twenty-four full trams of coal ran away down the incline into the men gathered at the pit bottom.”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Abercynon Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) 'Abercynon Disaster: Five Men Killed — Several Injured', The Aberdare Leader, 5 May 1906 — Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026