Boldon Colliery overwind, 1906

An overwind at the Harton Coal Company's Boldon Colliery, County Durham, on 24 June 1906 killed two shaftmen and a boiler fireman.

Cause

An overwind of the cage in the shaft.

What happened

On 24 June 1906 an overwind at Boldon Colliery killed three men: two shaftmen, Matthew Marshall and George Ranson, and a boiler fireman, John Thomas Olmer. The two sites that record it differ over some names and one age: Ranson appears also as George Ranson Coxon, Olmer as Oliver, and Marshall's age is given as 33 and as 53. Marshall was buried in Boldon Cemetery.

Recorded claims

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

• On 24 June 1906 an overwind at Boldon Colliery killed three men. ^1,2,3,4
• The dead were the shaftmen Matthew Marshall and George Ranson and the boiler fireman John Thomas Olmer (or Oliver). ^1,2,3,4
• The colliery was owned by the Harton Coal Company Limited. ^2,3,4
• The deaths were caused by overwinding. ^2,3,4

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “An overwind of the cage in the shaft.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “An overwind at the Harton Coal Company's Boldon Colliery, County Durham, on 24 June 1906 killed two shaftmen and a boiler…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…County Durham, on 24 June 1906 killed two shaftmen and a boiler fireman.”
• Overwind (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “An overwind at the Harton Coal Company's Boldon Colliery, County Durham, on 24…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “An overwind of the cage in the shaft.”

Sources

1. (primary) Boldon Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Matthew Marshall, Boldon, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: George Ranson, Boldon, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Thomas Olmer, Boldon, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026