MineArchiveAuchengeich Colliery explosion, 1931
| Date | 22 January 1931 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Auchengeich Colliery |
| Region | North Lanarkshire |
| Primary type | Explosion |
| Associated types | Gas / Asphyxiation, Rescue |
| Fatalities | 6 (Five men were killed instantly: Edward Haughey (33), Daniel Henery (43), James O'Donnell (24), James Shearer (24) and James Smith (23), all brushers. Robert Gray (39), a mining contractor, died the following day in Glasgow Royal Infirmary of burns. Contemporary newspaper reports give slightly different ages for some of the men than the official list.) |
| Injuries | Five men were brought out suffering from gas poisoning — George Smith, David Tucker, George Brannon, Joseph Branson and Peter M'Crudden — most of them men who had gone back into the section to search for their workmates. |
| Context | During active mining (A night-shift explosion in No. 2 Pit of a working colliery, 28 years before the fire that killed 47.) |
| Status | Researched |
An explosion tore through the night shift in No. 2 Pit — the Round Pit — at Auchengeich Colliery in the early hours of 22 January 1931. Five men were killed outright and a sixth died the next day. Five others who had escaped unhurt went straight back in to look for them and were themselves overcome by gas.
Cause
The cause was not established with certainty at the time. It was presumed that an accumulation of gas exploded following the firing of a shot.
Contributing factors
The explosion burst the air tubes ventilating the section, and black damp accumulated in the workings behind it — which is what disabled the men who went back in, and what made the rescue itself dangerous. A slight roof fall near the seat of the explosion added to the obstruction.
What happened
About fifty men were in the pit when the explosion came, a little after four in the morning, and ten of them were in the section it reached — roughly a quarter of a mile in from the shaft bottom. Five were killed instantly. Five more got out unhurt, and went straight back for their workmates; the explosion had burst the air tubes, black damp was gathering, and every one of them had to be carried out in turn. One newspaper headed its report 'Air Tubes Destroyed — Miners' Sacrifice to Save Their Workmates'. George Egan, working an engine in the section, was thrown off his feet by the blast and came round not knowing how long he had lain there; he found men lying about in the dark, some trying to get up and some not moving at all. Robert Gray, badly burned, was bandaged underground by a doctor from Muirhead and died the next day. Some of the dead were unrecognisable from their burns.
Rescue & recovery
The Lanarkshire Rescue Brigade were descending the pit in gas helmets within twenty-five minutes, reinforced by day-shift men arriving for work, and the Coatbridge brigade went in after them; the St Andrew's Ambulance Association was called out from Glasgow. Rescuers worked on repairing the burst air tubes while others brought the bodies out. Crowds gathered at the pithead in the dark and the cold, waiting for news of relatives underground.
Investigation & inquiry
No detailed inquiry findings for the 1931 explosion have been located in this pass; the contemporary account records only the presumed cause, gas ignited by a shot.
Memorials & commemoration
The men killed in 1931 are remembered alongside the 47 of 1959 at the Auchengeich memorial at Bridgend, Moodiesburn.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Six men died: five killed instantly — Edward Haughey, Daniel Henery, James O'Donnell, James Shearer and James Smith, all brushers — and Robert Gray, a mining contractor, who died the following day in Glasgow Royal Infirmary of burns. 1
- The cause was not established with certainty; it was presumed that an accumulation of gas exploded following the firing of a shot. 1
- About fifty men were in the pit and ten in the affected section, some quarter of a mile from the shaft bottom; the explosion occurred about four in the morning. 1
- Five men who escaped the explosion unhurt returned to search for their workmates and were overcome by gas, having to be rescued themselves; the explosion had burst the section's air tubes and black damp had accumulated. 1
- The Lanarkshire Rescue Brigade descended in gas helmets within twenty-five minutes, followed by the Coatbridge brigade. 1
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Chokedamp (hazard involved)
Black damp gathered behind the explosion once the air tubes were burst, and is what disabled the five men who went back in. - Firedamp (direct cause)
The presumed cause was an accumulation of gas ignited by the firing of a shot. - Mines Rescue Station (rescue/recovery concept)
The Lanarkshire brigade was underground in gas helmets within twenty-five minutes, with Coatbridge following. - Shaft (contextual relationship)
Automatically linked by scripts/link_terms.py: exact-phrase match in the record's own recorded text.
Sources
- (primary) Auchengeich 1931 — Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
- (secondary) Auchengeich Colliery — site record — Scottish Cave and Mine Database
Record created: 24 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 August 2026