MineArchiveCynheidre Colliery overwind, 1955
During the sinking of Cynheidre Colliery near Llanelli in late 1955 the bucket bringing three men up the shaft was overwound past the shaft-head doors, and two sinkers working for the German contractors Thyssen, Emile Sanner and Wolfgang Freiheid, fell nearly 1,900 feet to the shaft bottom. The third man in the bucket survived.
| Date | 29 November 1955 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Cynheidre Colliery |
| Region | Carmarthenshire |
| Type | Winding / Shaft Accident |
| Fatalities | 2 (Emile Sanner, 53, foreman (E. Spanner, shift deputy, in the NMRS record), and Wolfgang Freiheid, 22, grab driver (W. Franheit, sinker, in the NMRS record), of Düsseldorf, who left a wife and a four-year-old son. Both were married. Howard John Hugh Jones, a Llanelli shaft sinker, was in the bucket with them and was injured.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
The bucket was overwound: it should have stopped at the first set of trapdoors at surface level but ran on through a second open set about 24 feet higher, where rubbish was tipped, and the two men were thrown out and fell down the shaft.
Contributing factors
Both sets of trapdoors were open. The site's senior mechanical engineer, Oscar Goethler, thought the winding engineman had probably looked a moment too long at the speed indicator while slowing the bucket and missed the warning mark on the rope. The engineman, August Diegmueller, 49, said he had kept his eye on the depth indicator and then looked at the drum for the mark, could not see it, realised he had passed it and slammed on the brakes.
What happened
About two hundred Germans were working on the new shaft. Howard Jones, who had come to Cynheidre from Great Mountain Colliery a year before, said the two others were on the far side of the bucket. As it went through the first trapdoors he heard a loud bang and felt it shake, fell to his knees with his back to the side, and found his companions gone. He heard no cry. From there to the bottom of the shaft was nearly 1,900 feet.
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 accident is also dated 9 December 1955. (disputed) 3
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On 29 November 1955 two men were killed at Cynheidre Colliery when they fell down the shaft after an overwind. 1,2
- The accident is also dated 9 December 1955. (disputed) 3
- The two dead were employees of the German mining engineers Thyssen, about two hundred of whose men were working on the sinking. 3
- The bucket ran on past the surface trapdoors through a second open set about 24 feet higher, and the two men fell nearly 1,900 feet down the shaft. 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: “During the sinking of Cynheidre Colliery near Llanelli in late 1955 the bucket bringing three men up the…” - Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…near Llanelli in late 1955 the bucket bringing three men up the shaft was overwound past the shaft-head doors, and two sinkers working for…” - Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “During the sinking of Cynheidre Colliery near Llanelli in late 1955 the bucket bringing…”
Sources
- (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: E. Spanner, Cynheidre, 29 November 1955 — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: W. Franheit, Cynheidre, 29 November 1955 — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1955 — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026