Crown Colliery sinking accident, 1911

On 31 July 1911 the rope holding a 30-hundredweight sinking pump above the sinkers in the new shaft at Crown Colliery, Pwll, near Llanelli, snapped at its clamp, and the pump fell on the men walling the shaft below, killing four.

Cause

The wire rope suspending the sinking pump parted at or near its wooden clamp at the surface; the strength of the clamp and the working of the engine were questioned at the inquest.

What happened

Nine men were walling, or bricking, the shaft as it was sunk. Above them hung a water pump weighing 30 hundredweight, suspended on a wire rope held by a wooden clamp at the surface and worked by a steam engine. The rope parted at or about the clamp and the pump crashed down the shaft onto the men. Only one escaped without injury.

The dead were James Aitken Angus, a married man from Newcastle; John Power, a single man from Ireland; John Jones of Burry Port, who left a widow and three children and was on only his fourth turn at the colliery; and David Rees of Pwll, who left a widow and two children and had started his first shift at two o'clock that afternoon.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest jury returned accidental death with no negligence attached to anyone, adding a rider that clamps of this kind should be better supervised, should be made of steel for such work, and should be examined every 24 hours or oftener. The coroner called it 'very proper'.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Four men were injured. (uncertain) ¹
• Two men, Thomas Phillip and William Owen, were injured. (uncertain) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• Four sinkers were killed at Crown Colliery, Pwll, on 31 July 1911. ^1,2,3
• A 30 cwt sinking pump suspended above the men fell down the shaft when its rope snapped at the clamp. ^1,3
• The jury returned accidental death, with a rider that such clamps should be of steel and examined every 24 hours. ¹
• Four men were injured. (uncertain) ¹
• Two men, Thomas Phillip and William Owen, were injured. (uncertain) ⁴
• The colliery belonged to the Crown Colliery Co. ³

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…sinking pump above the sinkers in the new shaft at Crown Colliery, Pwll, near Llanelli, snapped at its clamp, and the pump fell on the…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…holding a 30-hundredweight sinking pump above the sinkers in the new shaft at Crown Colliery, Pwll, near Llanelli, snapped at its clamp, and…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 31 July 1911 the rope holding a 30-hundredweight sinking pump above the sinkers in the new shaft at Crown Colliery, Pwll,…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1911 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: New Lodge colliery, Crown Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: James Angus, Crown, Lower Pwll, 31 July 1911 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: David Rees, Crown, Lower Pwll, 1911 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026