Dawdon Colliery shaft accident, 1907

Three men sinking the Londonderry family's new Dawdon Colliery at Seaham were thrown from their cradle to the bottom of the pit on 11 September 1907.

Cause

The men were thrown from the sinking cradle on which they were standing.

What happened

Dawdon Colliery was still being sunk by Londonderry Collieries in 1907. On 11 September three of the sinking crew, the chargeman Robert Wallace Briggs and the sinkers Thomas W. Glithro and George R. Smith, were thrown from the cradle on which they were standing to the bottom of the pit, and all three were killed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 11 September 1907 three men sinking Dawdon Colliery were thrown from the cradle on which they were standing to the bottom of the pit and killed. ^1,2,3
• They were the chargeman Robert Wallace Briggs, 30, and the sinkers Thomas W. Glithro, 25, and George R. Smith, 23. ^1,2,3
• The colliery belonged to Londonderry Collieries Ltd. ^1,3

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: “Three men sinking the Londonderry family's new Dawdon Colliery at Seaham were thrown from their cradle to the bottom of the pit on…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “Three men sinking the Londonderry family's new Dawdon Colliery at Seaham were thrown…”

Sources

1. (primary) Dawdon Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) 1900s B7: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero
3. (secondary) 1900s G2: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero

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