Caradog Vale Colliery inundation, 1906

On the afternoon of Tuesday 26 June 1906 the face of a stall at Caradog Vale Colliery, a small level near Gilfach Goch, broke through into flooded old workings. Four colliers drowned, and two more survived six days trapped in the dark before rescuers reached them. The agent and manager were tried for manslaughter and acquitted.

Cause

Working approached flooded old workings too closely: the barrier between the new stall and the abandoned, water-filled workings gave way.

Contributing factors

The manager relied on an old survey plan that later proved inaccurate, judged the head of water in the old deeps at about six feet, and drove the Stephens heading without boring ahead. The barrier was estimated at 20 to 30 yards of coal and shale.

What happened

Caradog Vale was a drift worked by pillar and stall with naked lights, owned since about 1905 by South Wales United Collieries Ltd, a French-owned company. Its new workings were being driven towards old ones that had been closed and flooded for some seven years.

At about three in the afternoon on 26 June 1906 Edward Hathway and his mate John Cox saw water spouting between the roof and the side of their stall. The thin barrier between the new and old workings gave way, and the inrush grew as the coal crumbled, driving the men towards higher ground. Edward Manley (30) and John Morris (47), both married men of Tonyrefail, Thomas Edwards (22) and Edward Hathway (22), both of Gilfach Goch, were drowned.

Pumping and searching went on day and night, watched by large crowds at the drift mouth. Manley and Edwards were found on Friday 29 June, Manley standing against a pair of timbers where the water had overtaken him, and Morris that night. On the Sunday evening searchers found David John Stephens (32) and Richard Richards (27) alive after six days without food in foul air. Hathway's body was found on the Monday in the sump of the old workings, after a barrier of coal had been cut to drain them.

Rescue & recovery

Pumps lowered the water, and exploring parties led by W. W. Hood of the Glamorgan Collieries, with the chief inspector F. A. Gray and the assistant inspector Trump, waded through three or four feet of water to reach the cross-headings. Two survivors were brought out on the sixth day; the last body was recovered the day after.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner's jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against the agent, Ernest Quinton, and the manager, Jacob Kingdom. The magistrates dismissed the charge, but the case went before the grand jury at the Glamorgan Assizes in Swansea in July 1906.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

At the trial Mr Justice Jelf directed the jury to acquit Quinton, finding no evidence that the agent had neglected any duty, and the jury found Kingdom not guilty after a few minutes. The South Wales Miners' Federation then sued the company at common law. In November 1906 it settled, paying £500 to each of the widows of Manley and Morris, £200 more than the Workmen's Compensation Act allowed, and £200 each to the parents of Hathway and Edwards.

Recorded claims

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

• On 26 June 1906 an inundation drowned four colliers; two others were trapped for six days and rescued alive. ^1,2
• The men had worked too close to flooded old workings, and the narrow barrier between them gave way. ^1,3
• The coroner's jury found manslaughter against the agent and manager; at the Glamorgan Assizes the agent was directed acquitted and the manager found not guilty. ^4,3
• The South Wales Miners' Federation's common-law claims were settled for £500 to each widow and £200 to each set of parents. ⁵

Related terminology

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

• Inrush (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…The thin barrier between the new and old workings gave way, and the inrush grew as the coal crumbled, driving the men towards higher ground.…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “Caradog Vale was a drift worked by pillar and stall with naked lights, owned since about 1905 by South Wales United Collieries Ltd, a…”
• Room and Pillar (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “Caradog Vale was a drift worked by pillar and stall with naked lights, owned since about 1905 by South Wales United…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On the afternoon of Tuesday 26 June 1906 the face of a stall at Caradog Vale Colliery, a small level near Gilfach Goch, broke…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…food in foul air. Hathway's body was found on the Monday in the sump of the old workings, after a barrier of coal had been cut to drain…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Etna Colliery, Glynogwr Colliery - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Caradog Vale Disaster: three of the bodies recovered (Evening Express, 30 June 1906) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Mr Quinton found not guilty (The Cardiff Times, 4 August 1906) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) Caradog Vale Disaster: Assize judge on the charge of manslaughter (Evening Express, 24 July 1906) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
5. (primary) Caradog Vale Disaster: widows' claims settled (The Cardiff Times, 24 November 1906) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
6. (primary) Entombed in Caradog Pit (The Cambrian, 17 August 1906) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026