Bilsthorpe Colliery Explosions (1934)

Two separate firedamp explosions three hours apart in the North West No. 6 district killed nine men and injured a further forty.

Cause

A shotfiring operation in the loader gate ignited accumulated firedamp, causing the first explosion; a second explosion followed roughly three hours later, likely from continued gas accumulation after ventilation was altered in response to the first.

What happened

On 26 July 1934, a shotfiring operation in the loader gate of Bilsthorpe Colliery's North West No. 6 district, worked across three shifts, ignited accumulated firedamp, causing an explosion that killed six men: T. W. Crowder, E. Warsop, Walter Hardy, Enoch Reeves, William Burrows and William J. Wright. A second explosion followed roughly three hours later, likely caused by continued gas accumulation after ventilation arrangements were altered in response to the first blast, killing a further three men: Arthur Woodcock, John William Jones and William Preater. A further eighteen people were injured in the first explosion and twenty-two in the second.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquest jury concluded the deaths resulted from toxaemia and shock following burns, and returned a verdict of accidental death, finding both explosions were caused by circumstances that could not have been foreseen; the official report's recommendations included keeping water under pressure and chemical fire extinguishers at the pit.

Recorded claims

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

• A shotfiring operation ignited firedamp in the North West No. 6 district on 26 July 1934, killing six men outright; a second explosion around three hours later killed three more, with a further forty people injured across both blasts. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…July 1934, a shotfiring operation in the loader gate of Bilsthorpe Colliery's North West No. 6 district, worked across three shifts, ignited…”
• Filler (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A shotfiring operation in the loader gate ignited accumulated firedamp, causing the first explosion; a…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two separate firedamp explosions three hours apart in the North West No. 6 district killed…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Bilsthorpe Colliery Explosions - Mansfield - 1934 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Bilsthorpe Colliery — Wikipedia

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026