Crigglestone Colliery explosion, 1941

An explosion of firedamp in No. 1 West District of the Top Haigh Moor seam at Crigglestone Colliery, near Wakefield, on the evening of 29 July 1941 killed 22 men. The Inspector concluded that firedamp in a break had been ignited by a ripping shot fired two and a half hours earlier and burned unseen until it met an explosive mixture.

Cause

Firedamp ignited in a break in the roof by a ripping shot fired in the South Loader gate two and a half hours before the explosion; it burned unseen until the flame made contact with an explosive mixture. The inquest found the men died of burns and injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning following an explosion of firedamp.

Contributing factors

H.M. Inspectors thought the ventilation of the district insufficient, with leakage through the sheets. A feeder of gas a few feet from the face had been seen by deputies and moved forward as the face advanced; a belt breaker smelt firedamp in the South Timber gate two hours before the explosion and told no one, and the day deputy's half per cent of gas at 6.25 a.m. was not entered in the report book. Only nine flame lamps were issued in the whole pit on the day, and the manager told the inquest that with 42 men working in the district it should have had six gas detectors between them, but the colliery's 15 detector lamps were not very efficient. Coal dust played no part.

What happened

Crigglestone Colliery, three and a half miles south-west of Wakefield, belonged to Messrs Benzol and By-Products, Limited; the agent and manager was Mr F. B. Howitt. The explosion occurred in No. 1 West District of the Top Haigh Moor seam, 256 yards deep. The district had been opened out with a narrow bord face from which two end faces 100 and 110 yards long were developed, first producing coal on 29 April 1941; the seam was three feet thick and almost flat. It was fully mechanised, with electricity for coal cutting, drilling, conveyors, haulage, loader and signalling. The day shift loaded coal, the afternoon shift dismantled the face conveyors, undercut the seam to 5 ft 6 in, bored shotholes and fired ripping shots, and the night shift fired the coal and re-assembled the conveyors.

The explosion came at 7.20 p.m. on Tuesday 29 July, in the sixth hour of the afternoon shift, according to the inquiry report; the Secretary for Mines told the House of Commons next day it had happened at about 6.30 p.m. It was confined to the one district. A deputy 280 yards away heard a terrific bump and raised the alarm by telephone. The four rippers in the North Loader gate and four machine men on the North side had nearly finished; the five rippers in the South Loader gate were found in a heap under the girder they were erecting, while other men a few yards away, who seem to have had a warning, were found away from their working places, overcome by afterdamp. There were only two small falls and no sign of great violence, though the timber supports had been blown out.

Rescue & recovery

The West Yorkshire Rescue Station brigade was summoned from Wakefield and arrived 15 minutes after the call. All the ventilation sheets and the door in the North Loader gate had been blown down; sheets were put up at about midnight between intake and return so that the North face could be explored without breathing apparatus. Two per cent firedamp was found in the general body of the air, and a layer of it near the roof along almost the whole length of the South Side gates. The position of each body was noted before it was sent to the surface.

Investigation & inquiry

H. J. Humphrys, H.M. Divisional Inspector of Mines, held the inquiry alongside the inquest, which was conducted by Mr C. J. Haworth, one of H.M. Coroners for the West Riding, sitting without a jury. The proceedings took seven days; 21 witnesses identified the victims and 27 gave evidence of the events. The court found that the men died of burns or injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning following an explosion of firedamp and met their deaths by misadventure. Humphrys reported to the Secretary for Mines on 3 November 1941. He concluded that the firedamp was ignited in a break by a ripping shot fired in the South Loader gate two and a half hours earlier, which had burned unseen until contact was made with an explosive mixture. Evidence was heard from Dr D. W. Phillips of the Safety in Mines Research Board on how gas could be forced through breaks in the roof into the gates.

Changes to practice & legislation

Humphrys recommended that the statutory regulations on flame lamps or detectors be rigidly complied with everywhere, especially where workings were electrified and intensively worked; that deputies and others report impurities in the air as required; that leakages be tightened and doors added where needed; that the system of packing be considered in light of Dr Phillips's evidence; that every explosion, however small and even if no one was hurt, be treated as a matter of major importance; and that management and men see that all regulations are enforced.

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 Secretary for Mines told the House of Commons that the explosion took place at about 6.30 p.m., while the inquiry report puts it at 7.20 p.m. (disputed) ^1,4

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion in No. 1 West District of the Top Haigh Moor seam at Crigglestone Colliery on 29 July 1941 killed 22 people. ^1,2,3
• The Secretary for Mines told the House of Commons that the explosion took place at about 6.30 p.m., while the inquiry report puts it at 7.20 p.m. (disputed) ^1,4
• The Inspector concluded that firedamp was ignited in a break by a ripping shot fired in the South Loader gate two and a half hours before the explosion and burned unseen until it met an explosive mixture. ¹
• H.M. Inspectors considered the district's ventilation insufficient because of leakage through the sheets, and the manager told the inquest that with 42 men working in the district it should have had six gas detectors between them. ^1,3
• The inquest, held by a coroner sitting without a jury alongside the Inspector's inquiry, found that the men died of burns and carbon monoxide poisoning following an explosion of firedamp and met their deaths by misadventure. ¹
• The Secretary for Mines, David Grenfell, told the Commons the day after that there had been five explosions since 3 June and that in one of them ignition had taken place on the surface. ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…sheets. A feeder of gas a few feet from the face had been seen by deputies and moved forward as the face advanced; a belt breaker smelt…”
• Filler (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the cause: “…ignited in a break in the roof by a ripping shot fired in the South Loader gate two and a half hours before the explosion; it burned unseen…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 8 times in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion of firedamp in No. 1 West District of the Top Haigh Moor seam at Crigglestone…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…had been blown down; sheets were put up at about midnight between intake and return so that the North face could be explored without…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Inspector concluded that firedamp in a break had been ignited by a ripping shot fired two and a half hours earlier and burned unseen until it…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Criggleston Colliery Explosion - Wakefield - 1941 (NMRS) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Crigglestone Colliery Disaster Report (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Pit Explosion Inquest, 13 September 1941 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) Mine Explosion, Crigglestone (Hansard, 30 July 1941) — UK Parliament (Hansard)

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