Chilton Colliery gassing, 1947

Two men were gassed and killed together at Chilton Colliery, County Durham, on 28 May 1947, in the National Coal Board's first year of running the pit.

Cause

Gassed.

What happened

On 28 May 1947 two men at Chilton Colliery, Studley Foster, a pumpman, and W. J. Ratcliffe, a 31-year-old waggonwayman, were gassed and killed together. The colliery had passed to the National Coal Board on nationalisation at the start of that year.

Recorded claims

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

• On 28 May 1947 two men were gassed and killed at Chilton Colliery. ^1,2,3,4
• The dead were Studley Foster, pumpman, and W. J. Ratcliffe, 31, waggonwayman. ^1,3,4
• The colliery was owned by the National Coal Board. ^2,3,4

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: “Two men were gassed and killed together at Chilton Colliery, County Durham, on 28 May 1947, in the National Coal Board's first…”
• National Coal Board (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…were gassed and killed together. The colliery had passed to the National Coal Board on nationalisation at the start of that year.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Chilton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Chilton, 28 May 1947 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Studley Foster, Chilton, 1947 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: W. J. Ratcliffe, Chilton, 1947 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026