MineArchiveCortonwood Colliery explosion, 1932
Just before midnight on 9 December 1932 a flash ran along a machine-cut face in Cortonwood's Silkstone seam, where shots had been fired. Four men were killed outright and three more died of burns in Beckett Hospital, Barnsley; the deputy in charge, Alphonso Allen, was among the dead.
| Date | 1932 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Cortonwood Colliery |
| Region | South Yorkshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 7 (Four killed outright and three died in hospital; NMRS's county index gives eight dead, and its account says one of the injured, John W. Eccles, died soon after.) |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
Firedamp, thought to have come from the waste, ignited by shotfiring on the face.
Contributing factors
A low face, 2 feet 10 inches high, in a seam opened only four years earlier.
What happened
The Silkstone seam was reached by a mile-long drift from the Parkgate pit bottom, and the face where the explosion happened, about 100 yards from the drift, was a 60-yard machine-cut face only 2 ft 10 in high. At about 11.50 p.m. a flash went some 50 to 60 yards along it; men elsewhere in the seam felt a bump and a draught of warm air, and one half a mile off heard nothing. Nine men were caught, all badly burned. Walter Nutter, Royal Outram, William Landles and the deputy Alphonso Allen died at once; Albert Windle, Fred Humphries and Norman Scargill died in hospital. The general manager said it was the first serious accident the colliery had had.
Rescue & recovery
Colliery officials and men from the seam carried the dead and injured out on stretchers through smoke; the rescue team with breathing apparatus was not needed.
Investigation & inquiry
The Divisional Inspectors E. H. Frazer and C. W. Scott attended. A minister told the House of Commons, from a preliminary report, that the explosion had been caused by shotfiring.
Legal & regulatory aftermath
Unknown.
Changes to practice & legislation
Unknown.
Memorials & commemoration
Unknown.
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's county index gives 8 died and 2 injured. (disputed) 2
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On 9 December 1932 an explosion in the Silkstone seam killed four men immediately and three more died later. 1,2
- NMRS's county index gives 8 died and 2 injured. (disputed) 2
- The flash, about 50 or 60 yards along the face, was believed due to shotfiring; the manager thought gas may have come from the waste. 2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Breathing Apparatus (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…and injured out on stretchers through smoke; the rescue team with breathing apparatus was not needed.” - Deputy (contextual relationship)
The deputy in charge was killed. - Drift (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “The Silkstone seam was reached by a mile-long drift from the Parkgate pit bottom, and the face where the explosion…” - Firedamp (direct cause)
Thought to have come from the waste. - Shot-firing (direct cause)
Shots were being fired on the face.
Sources
- (secondary) Cortonwood — Wikipedia
- (secondary) Cortonwood Colliery Explosion - Barnsley - 1932 — Northern Mine Research Society
Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026