Cwmgwrach Colliery suffocation, 1919

A night fireman and a repairer were suffocated in fenced-off gassy workings at the Empire Colliery, Cwmgwrach, on 28 October 1919.

Cause

Gas had accumulated in a stall road through a ventilation fault, and the fireman and repairer were overcome while trying to clear it.

What happened

On the afternoon of Monday 27 October 1919 the fireman on duty at the Empire Colliery, Cwmgwrach, found gas in a stall road and crossed off two roads so that no one would go there. Between 2 and 2.30 the next morning the night fireman, Timothy Evans, called the repairer Thomas Evans away from his work to go with him, apparently to put right the ventilation fault. When the fireman did not report to his relief, the manager, David Price, led a search party; two lighted lamps stood at the entrance to the stall road, and the two men lay dead close together at the face, where gas was still lying. The inquest returned accidental death from asphyxiation. The general manager said it was only the fourth fatality at the colliery in thirteen years.

Recorded claims

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

• On 28 October 1919 the fireman Timothy Evans and the repairer Thomas Evans were found suffocated by gas at the Empire Colliery, Cwmgwrach, near Glynneath. ^1,2
• The afternoon fireman had found gas the day before and crossed off two roads so that no one would go there. ²
• Timothy Evans, the night fireman, apparently went in to clear the ventilation fault, taking the repairer with him, and both were overcome. ^1,2
• When the fireman failed to report at the change of shift, a search party led by the colliery manager found the two dead at the face of the stall road. ^1,2
• The inquest returned accidental death from asphyxiation. ²

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: “…repairer were suffocated in fenced-off gassy workings at the Empire Colliery, Cwmgwrach, on 28 October 1919.”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “A night fireman and a repairer were suffocated in fenced-off gassy workings at the…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “Gas had accumulated in a stall road through a ventilation fault, and the fireman and repairer were…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1919 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Both gassed: Glyn-Neath double colliery tragedy (The Cambria Daily Leader, 30 October 1919) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 9 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026