Cramlington Colliery cage accident, 1904

Two Cramlington hewers who jumped from a loaded cage in a panic at the end of their shift on 21 March 1904 were caught between the rising cage and the shaft staging and killed.

Cause

Men jumping from a cage as it began to rise, after an alarm about runaway tubs.

What happened

On Monday 21 March 1904 men finishing their shift in the main pit at Cramlington had crowded into the cage, and the signal to raise it had been given, when the attendant at the shaft foot shouted that a set of loaded tubs had broken loose on the way and was running towards the cage. In the panic five men jumped out. Three got clear, but William Wonnacott, 48, and William Reed, 33, jumped just as the cage began to move and were caught between its frame and the beams of the shaft staging. The engineman was signalled at once, but the cage had risen about twenty-five feet before it stopped, and both men were dead when they were freed.

Recorded claims

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

• William Wonnacott and William Reed, hewers, were killed at Cramlington Colliery on Monday 21 March 1904. ^1,2,3
• A shout that loaded tubs had broken loose towards the shaft caused a panic in the cage at the end of the shift; five men jumped out, and the two who jumped last were caught between the rising cage and the shaft staging. ^2,3
• The cage rose about 25 feet before it could be stopped. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 7 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two Cramlington hewers who jumped from a loaded cage in a panic at the end of their shift on 21 March 1904 were caught…”
• Hewer (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “Two Cramlington hewers who jumped from a loaded cage in a panic at the end of their shift…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…shift on 21 March 1904 were caught between the rising cage and the shaft staging and killed.”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…from a cage as it began to rise, after an alarm about runaway tubs.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Cramlington Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Crushed to death (Rhyl Record and Advertiser, 26 March 1904) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Leaped to death: terrible fate of miners seized with panic (County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser, 26 March 1904) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026