Dunraven Colliery cage collision, 1918

Two cages collided in the Tydraw Colliery shaft at Treherbert on 10 March 1918, throwing a fireman and an ostler some 150 yards to the bottom.

Cause

A cage shoe apparently failed in the shaft, so that the ascending and descending cages collided.

What happened

On the morning of Sunday 10 March 1918 the fireman Charles Thomas Martin and the ostler George Maddern were riding the two cages of the Tydraw Colliery at Tynewydd, Treherbert, one going up and one coming down, when the cages collided in the shaft. Both men were thrown out and fell about 150 yards to the pit bottom, where another fireman found their bodies. The banksman said the cages had run three times that morning before the accident, and the pitman had examined the shaft, guides and cages in the days before. Afterwards four shoes of one cage were found broken. A mechanic and the Inspector of Mines, Mr Parry, both thought something had gone wrong with a cage shoe before the cages passed, and the inquest jury returned accidental death.

Recorded claims

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

• On Sunday 10 March 1918 two men were killed in a cage accident at the Tydraw Colliery, Tynewydd, Treherbert: the fireman Charles Thomas Martin and the ostler George Maddern. ^1,2,3,4
• The ascending and descending cages collided in the shaft and both men were thrown to the bottom, about 150 yards. ^1,2
• After the accident four shoes of one cage were found broken; a mechanic and the Inspector of Mines both thought something had gone wrong with a cage shoe before the cages passed, and the jury returned accidental death. ²

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…to the pit bottom, where another fireman found their bodies. The banksman said the cages had run three times that morning before the accident,…”
• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 10 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two cages collided in the Tydraw Colliery shaft at Treherbert on 10 March…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the Tydraw Colliery shaft at Treherbert on 10 March 1918, throwing a fireman and an ostler some 150 yards to the bottom.”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…four shoes of one cage were found broken. A mechanic and the Inspector of Mines, Mr Parry, both thought something had gone wrong with a cage shoe…”
• Horsekeeper (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…shaft at Treherbert on 10 March 1918, throwing a fireman and an ostler some 150 yards to the bottom.”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1918 (Welsh mining fatalities by date) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Treherbert: inquiry into the Tydraw cage accident (The Rhondda Leader, 30 March 1918) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Treherbert: two men killed at the Tydraw Colliery (The Rhondda Leader, 23 March 1918) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) To-day's news in brief (The Cambria Daily Leader, 11 March 1918) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

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