Carberry Colliery fall of coal, 1924

On 6 August 1924 three miners were killed by a fall of coal in the Jewel seam at Carberry Colliery, in Midlothian.

Cause

A fall of coal in the Jewel seam. The inspector describes a fall of over 200 tons that extended a fall of three days before 52 ft farther up the face, beneath a roof of weak fireclay and inferior coal.

Contributing factors

The inspector judged that the timber could have been set with more care, the props set more uphill at their heads and better straps provided. The lower end of the face had not been advancing fast enough while the other end was extended, and there should have been several 'dummy' roads with packs along the face line, since chocks alone could not carry the roof in such conditions.

What happened

At half past one in the afternoon, in the seventh hour of the shift, John Morrison (33), William Purvis (38) and James Urquart (58) were killed by a fall of coal in the Jewel seam. The pit was the Edinburgh Collieries Company's Carberry Old Pit, near Musselburgh, and the fall came on No. 11 Bench of the seam, shortly before the early shift was due to finish. The seam there was 2 ft 9 in to 3 ft thick and dipped at 1 in 4, with 3 ft of weak fireclay and inferior coal between it and a very strong rock above. It was worked longwall, cut by machine and filled onto a conveyor, and seven men were filling out the cut coal on a face worked across the hill. Three days earlier a large fall at the rise side of the loading road had left a loose end of roof 22 ft up the face. Without warning a further fall, reaching 52 ft farther up the face and well back into the waste, buried four men. It weighed over 200 tons and broke many props, though most were swung downhill. One man, John Shaw, was got out alive with a fractured pelvis and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary; the other three were killed outright.

What's uncertain

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

• The Durham Mining Museum gives John Morrison, William Purvis and James Urquart; the Scottish Mining Website gives James Morrison, William Purves and James Urquhart. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• Three miners were killed by a fall of coal in the Jewel seam at Carberry Colliery at 1.30 p.m. on 6 August 1924, in the seventh hour of the shift: John Morrison, 33, William Purvis, 38, and James Urquart, 58. ¹
• The Scottish Mining Website's 1924 index lists James Urquhart, James Morrison and William Purves killed at Carberry on 6 August 1924. ²
• The Durham Mining Museum gives John Morrison, William Purvis and James Urquart; the Scottish Mining Website gives James Morrison, William Purves and James Urquhart. (disputed) ^1,2
• A fall of over 200 tons, extending an earlier fall 52 ft farther up the face, buried four men; one was got out alive with a fractured pelvis. ³
• The injured man, John Shaw, was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. ⁴
• The inspector judged that the timbering could have been better and that 'dummy' roads with packs were needed along the face. ³

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…of 6 August 1924, in the seventh hour of the shift, a fall of coal in the Jewel seam at Carberry Colliery near Musselburgh killed three…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…hour of the shift, a fall of coal in the Jewel seam at Carberry Colliery near Musselburgh killed three miners, John (or James) Morrison,…”

Sources

1. (primary) Carberry Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Fatal accidents in mines in Scotland, 1924 — Scottish Mining Website
3. (primary) William Purvis, Carberry Colliery, 6 August 1924: inspector's account of the fall — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Accidents 1921-1930 — Scottish Mining Website
5. (primary) John Morrison, Carberry Colliery, 6 August 1924 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 October 2026