MineArchiveBlaenhirwaun Colliery explosion, 1955
| Date | 6 September 1955 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Blaenhirwaun Colliery |
| Region | Carmarthenshire |
| Primary type | Explosion |
| Associated types | Collapse / Roof Fall |
| Fatalities | 6 (Killed: John Eleazer Davies, 57; Norris Tegwen Howells, 46; Richard Morris, 40; William Henry Richards, 54. Died of injuries: David Pennington and Albert Garfield Phillips, 34. The Welsh Coal Mines colliery page gives five.) |
| Injuries | Thirteen injured in the first count; nine of the most serious were transferred to the plastic surgery unit at St Lawrence Hospital, Chepstow. |
| Context | During active mining (The day shift on the Q face in the Lower Pumpquart seam at the National Coal Board's Blaenhirwaun anthracite colliery, Cross Hands, with 28 men in the district.) |
At about 1 p.m. on 6 September 1955 a sudden blower of firedamp from the roof of the Q face at Blaenhirwaun Colliery near Cross Hands was drawn through a small compressed-air fan ventilating a ripping lip, and sparks from its blades striking pieces of stone set it off. Flame swept the face and supply gate. Four men were killed and two more died of their burns later that month; thirteen were injured, nine badly burned.
Cause
A blower of firedamp from the roof about 20 yards down the face, ignited by sparks from friction between the trailing edges of the blades of a Meco compressed-air turbine fan and pieces of stone thrown into its outlet ducting by the ripping shots.
Contributing factors
The fan, a 12-inch Meco turbine suggested by the deputies, had been installed after traces of gas at the supply-gate ripping in May and June 1955; stones from the ripping shots had lodged in its ducting and fouled the blades. The face was in disturbed, faulted ground and had thickened from three to seven feet at the return end where a fault was exposed.
What happened
The Q face, about 80 yards long, advanced to the rise on steep gradients, its coal got by pneumatic picks and shots and ventilated in series after the P face by about 8,000 cubic feet of air a minute. The deputy, on his third inspection with the overman, had found no gas when nine men at the supply gate roadhead were enveloped in flame and blown off their feet. The blast displaced the face supports and brought down the roof on two colliers 25 yards down the face; men further down were killed by the blast, and a man carrying timber was found burned 90 yards outbye. A fall that followed the explosion choked the airway and kept the gas above its explosive limit until the fan was stopped.
Rescue & recovery
The uninjured raised the alarm, first aid men and stretchers came quickly, and an emergency dressing station was set up in the district, where Dr Ivor Evans of Penygroes and Dr Sheeman of Cross Hands went within half an hour. The injured were taken to Morriston General Hospital, the last ambulance leaving about 5 p.m. It took until the next day to clear the fall enough to recover the two men beneath it.
Investigation & inquiry
T. A. Jones, H.M. Divisional Inspector of Mines, held an inquiry at which all interested parties were represented; safety lamps, compressed-air hoses, frictional heat and shot firing were ruled out, and tests at the Mines Research Establishment showed the damaged fan could strike igniting sparks. His report reached Lord Mills, Minister of Power, in October 1957. The inquest before W. Locke Smith, coroner, on 23 November 1955 returned that the six died accidentally in a gas explosion whose cause was not yet ascertained.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On 6 September 1955 an explosion of firedamp occurred, the ignition caused by sparks produced by friction between the blades of a compressed-air turbine fan and pieces of stone. 1
- Four men were killed in the explosion and two of the injured died later in September, making six. (disputed) 2,3
- The Welsh Coal Mines colliery page gives five: four killed and David Pennington, who died some weeks later. (disputed) 4
- A blower of firedamp issuing about 400 cubic feet a minute broke from the roof some 20 yards down the Q face from the supply gate a minute or so before the explosion. 2
- The inquiry report by T. A. Jones, H.M. Divisional Inspector of Mines, went to the Minister of Power in October 1957; the inquest jury on 23 November 1955 found the men died accidentally in a gas explosion whose cause had yet to be ascertained. 2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Blower (direct cause)
A roof blower issued about 400 cubic feet a minute. - Firedamp (direct cause)
A blower of firedamp fired. - Overman (contextual relationship)
The overman accompanied the deputy's inspection. - Ripping (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Hands was drawn through a small compressed-air fan ventilating a ripping lip, and sparks from its blades striking pieces of stone set it off.…” - Shot-firing (contributing factor)
Stones from ripping shots fouled the fan blades.
Sources
- (secondary) Blaenhirwaun Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Blaenhirwaun Colliery Explosion - Cross Hands - 1955 — Northern Mine Research Society (information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre)
- (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1955 — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Blaenhirwaun — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 13 September 2026