Cefn Parc Arlais Colliery explosion, 1964

An explosion of firedamp at Cefn Parc Arlais Colliery, Bryn, killed three men on the morning of 15 June 1964; the deputy's safety lamp was found with its gauze rusted and partly burned away.

Cause

The Mines Inspector, John David Tankard, found the deputy's flame safety lamp with its inner gauze rusted or burned away and its outer gauze partly defective; it was thought that gas was ignited by the lamp as the deputy, Jones, crawled out of the stall. Jones had started at the mine only two weeks earlier and would have had no way of knowing the lamp he carried was faulty.

What happened

The explosion struck at the coalface shortly after the morning shift began. A survivor, collier David Vincent Jenkins, had just filled the first dram of the morning when he felt 'great pressure and hot air and then a ball of fire shooting along the main heading'; the air filled with dust, his trousers caught fire and his hair was singed. He shouted to a workmate to leave the stall, was told he could not make it, and went back to help him. Terence Simmonds, a collier who had worked at the mine since he was fifteen, died of asphyxiation; his wife, aged 19, was expecting their second child. Richard Morgan died of multiple injuries. The deputy, Gwilym Treharne Jones, who had just finished 24 years as a collier at the Garth Colliery before starting at Cefn Parc Arlais a fortnight earlier, died of asphyxiation caused by his burns.

Investigation & inquiry

After the three bodies were recovered, Mines Inspector John David Tankard went into the workings carrying a canary and located the deputy's flame lamp, finding its gauze rusted and partly burned away. The mine employed 18 men and produced 200 tons of coal a week at the time of the explosion.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial has been found for this disaster.

Related terminology

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

• Canary (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…Mines Inspector John David Tankard went into the workings carrying a canary and located the deputy's flame lamp, finding its gauze rusted and…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, Bryn, killed three men on the morning of 15 June 1964; the deputy's safety lamp was found with its gauze rusted and partly burned away.”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Bryn, killed three men on the morning of 15 June 1964; the deputy's safety lamp was found with its gauze rusted and partly burned away.”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…gas was ignited by the lamp as the deputy, Jones, crawled out of the stall. Jones had started at the mine only two weeks earlier and would have…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…A survivor, collier David Vincent Jenkins, had just filled the first dram of the morning when he felt 'great pressure and hot air and then a…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1964 Fatalities (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Small Collieries of the Llynfi Valley — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) West Glamorgan Small Mines (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026