Blaenclydach Colliery spake runaway, 1941

At about seven on the morning of 25 November 1941 the spake, the man-riding train of seated drams carrying about ninety men and boys into the 500-yard Abergorchy drift at Blaenclydach Colliery, ran out of control and careered two hundred yards before it was stopped. Men who jumped were thrown back under it in the narrow drift. Seven were killed, two of them fifteen-year-olds, and many more injured.

Cause

The man-riding journey ran away down the drift; the mechanical or human failure behind the runaway is not stated in the sources read.

What happened

The spake was a journey of flat-bottomed drams fitted with seats, used only for carrying workmen. It was taking the last load of men underground when it began to gather speed; one survivor said 'we had not gone 100 yards into the drift when our drams started to gather speed'. Some men jumped off safely and some clung on and escaped injury, but others were killed or hurt jumping. None of the carriages overturned, though a few were derailed.

Rescue & recovery

Families in the Bush Houses, a row of miners' cottages overlooking the pithead, brought hot drinks, food and blankets. Ambulances came from other collieries in the group and a nearby Mission Hall was turned into an emergency dressing station.

Memorials & commemoration

A poem, 'Blaenclydach Disaster', is reproduced on the Welsh Coal Mines poems page.

Recorded claims

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

• On 25 November 1941 the man-rider train, known locally as the spake, ran out of control down the steep drift, killing seven and injuring twenty-five. The accident happened at about seven in the morning on the five-hundred-yard Abergorchy drift as the last load of men were being taken underground, about ninety of them riding a journey of flat-bottomed drams fitted with seats and used solely for workmen; the spake ran wild for two hundred yards before it was stopped. Some men jumped off safely and others clung on and escaped injury. ^1,2
• The seven killed were Kenneth Francis, 15, an engine boy; William Gregory, 15; Len Hatcher, 19, and Dennis Humphries, 19, assistant colliers; Elias Price, 18; Robert Williams, 43, a borer; and Kenneth Owen. ^3,1,2
• The Welsh Coal Mines colliery page gives twenty-five injured. (disputed) ¹
• The Welsh Coal Mines 1941 fatality list gives 27 seriously injured and 26 with minor injuries. (disputed) ³
• People from the Bush Houses overlooking the pithead brought hot drinks, food and blankets; ambulances came from other collieries in the group, and a nearby Mission Hall became an emergency dressing station. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…men and boys into the 500-yard Abergorchy drift at Blaenclydach Colliery, ran out of control and careered two hundred yards before it was…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  The accident happened on the Abergorchy drift.
• Journey (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “The man-riding journey ran away down the drift; the mechanical or human failure behind the…”
• Man-riding (relevant method/equipment)
  The spake was a man-riding train.
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…of 25 November 1941 the spake, the man-riding train of seated drams carrying about ninety men and boys into the 500-yard Abergorchy…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Blaenclydach — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Blaenclydach Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1941 — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 13 September 2026