Caerau Colliery roof fall, 1925

A second fall buried an overman and a repairer clearing a roof fall at Caerau Colliery, Maesteg, on 5 October 1925; both suffocated before they could be freed.

Cause

A second fall of roof while an earlier fall was being cleared.

What happened

On 5 October 1925 Stephen Davies, 58, and others were clearing a fall at the double parting at Caerau Colliery, with the overman David Thomas, 46, there to supervise and a haulier taking the rubbish away. After they had been at work for some time the roof fell again. One man jumped clear; Davies and Thomas were buried. Rescuers reached them and could talk to them for about an hour, but it took some three hours more to free them, and by then both had suffocated. Davies had worked at the colliery for thirty years; Thomas had been an official there for eight.

Rescue & recovery

The buried men were reached and spoken to for about an hour but took a further three hours to free; both had suffocated.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• NMRS records Davies as a repairer; Welsh Coal Mines calls him a fireman. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• The overman David Thomas, 46, and Stephen Davies, 58, were killed by a fall of roof at Caerau Colliery on 5 October 1925. ^1,2
• They were clearing an earlier fall at the double parting when a second fall buried them; another man jumped clear. ¹
• Rescuers could talk to the buried men for an hour, but it took about three more hours to free them, by which time both had suffocated. ¹
• NMRS records Davies as a repairer; Welsh Coal Mines calls him a fireman. (disputed) ^1,2

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: “…fall buried an overman and a repairer clearing a roof fall at Caerau Colliery, Maesteg, on 5 October 1925; both suffocated before they could be…”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…with the overman David Thomas, 46, there to supervise and a haulier taking the rubbish away. After they had been at work for some time…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A second fall buried an overman and a repairer clearing a roof fall at Caerau Colliery, Maesteg, on…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A second fall buried an overman and a repairer clearing a roof fall at Caerau Colliery, Maesteg, on 5 October 1925; both suffocated…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines fatalities, 1925 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Caerau Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 7 October 2026 · Last researched: 7 October 2026