Dyffryn Main Colliery roof fall, 1919

A collier and his son were killed together by a fall of roof in the Graigola seam at the Main (Bryncoch) Colliery near Neath on 8 April 1919.

Cause

A heavy stone came away along a hidden slip in the roof of the heading.

What happened

On the morning of Tuesday 8 April 1919 Abel Jones and his son Benjamin, colliers of long standing at the Main Colliery at Bryncoch, near Neath, were working in the main north heading of the Graigola seam when a haulier bringing in a journey heard a crash. He called both men and got no answer, and found a fall at the face with part of Benjamin's body showing beneath it. Workmen cleared it, one stone needing six men to shift, but father and son were both dead. Their fellow colliers stopped work and walked with the bodies to their homes. At the inquest in Neath Town Hall it emerged that there had been a break in the coal behind the rib and another in the face; the coroner said the evidence pointed to a slip that could not have been seen until the stone came down, and the jury returned accidental death.

What's uncertain

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

• Abel Jones was 65. (uncertain) ¹
• Abel Jones was 64. (uncertain) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

• On Tuesday 8 April 1919 a fall of roof at the Main (Bryncoch) Colliery near Neath killed a collier, Abel Jones, and his son Benjamin Jones. ^1,2,3
• They were working in the main north heading of the Graigola seam. ^1,2
• A haulier heard a crash and called them without reply; when the fall was cleared both were dead. ^1,2,3
• At the inquest the coroner said the evidence pointed to a slip in the stone that could not have been seen until it fell; the jury returned accidental death. ²
• Abel Jones was 65. (uncertain) ¹
• Abel Jones was 64. (uncertain) ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…in Neath Town Hall it emerged that there had been a break in the coal behind the rib and another in the face; the coroner said the…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…by a fall of roof in the Graigola seam at the Main (Bryncoch) Colliery near Neath on 8 April 1919.”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…were working in the main north heading of the Graigola seam when a haulier bringing in a journey heard a crash. He called both men and got no…”
• Journey (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…main north heading of the Graigola seam when a haulier bringing in a journey heard a crash. He called both men and got no answer, and found a…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “A collier and his son were killed together by a fall of roof in the Graigola seam at the Main (Bryncoch) Colliery near Neath on 8…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1919 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Father and son: inquiry into double Bryncoch fatality (South Wales Weekly Post, 12 April 1919) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Father and son killed together at Bryncoch pit (South Wales Weekly Post, 12 April 1919) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

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