Dyllas Isaf Drift inrush, 1911

On Friday 24 March 1911 water from old workings burst into a heading at the Dyllas Isaf drift, Gilfach Goch, drowning the collier Evan Lewis, 44, and his fourteen-year-old son Thomas John Lewis.

Cause

An inrush of water from old waterlogged workings, holed by the heading the two were driving.

What happened

Evan Lewis, of High Street, Gilfach Goch, and his son Thomas John were working at the end of a heading being driven off the main drift when, it was assumed, the father tapped old waterlogged workings. The sudden inrush carried them off their feet, and their bodies were found some distance down the heading. Several other workmen had narrow escapes.

The accident came during the Cambrian Combine strike, with a hundred men of the Munster Fusiliers stationed at Gilfach Goch to keep order. Hundreds of strikers went to the drift to help, with the soldiers, the police and Bowen Jones, manager of the Cambrian Combine's Britannic Pit. The boy was carried out alive by Tom Griffiths, a former Penygraig footballer, but despite artificial respiration by Drs Naunton Morgan and McCaughy he died an hour and a half later.

Evan Lewis left a widow, Mary Ann, and eleven children, the eldest 21 and the youngest born five days before. The funeral on the following Tuesday was headed by the children of Evanstown Schools.

Rescue & recovery

Strikers, soldiers of the Munster Fusiliers and police, led by Bowen Jones of the Britannic Pit, went to the rescue. The boy was brought out alive and given artificial respiration but died an hour and a half later; his father's body was recovered from further down the heading.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner David Rees opened the inquest on Monday 27 March, with Fred Lewis, managing director of the mine, present and W. P. Nicholas appearing for the family, and adjourned it for a fortnight while the Inspector of Mines completed his preliminary investigation.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

£370 compensation was paid into court for the family. In September 1911 Mary Ann Lewis applied for part of it to pay off an £80 mortgage on the house, and the court consented, also allowing £18 for funeral expenses.

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 deaths are listed under Dyllas Colliery, Aberdare. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Evan Lewis, 44, and his son Thomas John, 14, were drowned by an inrush of water on 24 March 1911. ^1,2,3
• The inrush was at the Dyllas Isha (Dyllas Isaf) level or drift at Gilfach Goch. ^1,4,2
• Water broke in from old waterlogged workings tapped by the heading. ^4,2
• Strikers and soldiers of the Munster Fusiliers went to the rescue; the boy was brought out alive and died an hour and a half later. ^1,2
• The inquest was opened by the coroner David Rees and adjourned for the Inspector of Mines. ²
• The deaths are listed under Dyllas Colliery, Aberdare. (disputed) ³

Related terminology

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

• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1911 water from old workings burst into a heading at the Dyllas Isaf drift, Gilfach Goch, drowning the collier Evan Lewis, 44, and his…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…appearing for the family, and adjourned it for a fortnight while the Inspector of Mines completed his preliminary investigation.”
• Inrush (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “An inrush of water from old waterlogged workings, holed by the heading the two…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1911 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Drift flooded at Gilfach Goch: father and son perish (The Rhondda Leader, 1 April 1911) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (secondary) Dyllas Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Etna Colliery, Glynogwr Colliery - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 7 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026