Bryn Navigation Colliery roof fall, 1956

In April 1956 Arthur Wanklyn and David Davies were killed under the same fall of roof at the National Coal Board's Bryn Navigation Colliery near Maesteg; it took four hours to reach them.

Cause

A fall of roof.

What happened

In April 1956, when the colliery employed about 430 men underground under the National Coal Board, Arthur Wanklyn and David Davies were caught under the same fall of roof. It took four hours for the men working to free them to reach them, and both were dead.

Rescue & recovery

It took four hours to reach the two men under the fall.

Recorded claims

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

• Arthur Wanklyn and David Davies were killed under the same fall of roof in April 1956. ^1,2
• It took four hours to reach them. ^1,2
• Arthur Wanklyn was 37 and David Davies 54. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the same fall of roof at the National Coal Board's Bryn Navigation Colliery near Maesteg; it took four hours to reach them.”
• National Coal Board (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…and David Davies were killed under the same fall of roof at the National Coal Board's Bryn Navigation Colliery near Maesteg; it took four hours to reach…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1956 Arthur Wanklyn and David Davies were killed under the same fall of roof at the National Coal Board's Bryn Navigation Colliery near Maesteg;…”

Sources

1. (secondary) NMRS: Bryn Navigation Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Bryn Navigation, Cefn-y-Bryn and Ton Hir collieries — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026