Elliot Colliery roof fall, 1915

A small fall at the East Elliot Colliery pinned a fireman on 30 December 1915, and a much bigger one buried the men who went to free him, killing four.

Cause

A large fall of roof, possibly from a pillar crushing up, came while men were freeing a fireman trapped by a smaller one.

What happened

A few days after a minor fall in Samuel Elliot's Road, in the Lower Four Feet seam of the East Elliot Colliery, two timbermen, Walter Davies, 52, and Lewis Williams, 32, were putting up new timbers there under the fireman David Jones, 31. At about three on the morning of Thursday 30 December 1915 a small fall caught Jones by the leg. Others came to help, including William Chilcott, known as Bishop, a ripper, and as they threw back the stones a second, far larger fall came down without warning and buried them.

Only the young William Henry Price and Rees Phillips were outside it. Price took the only lit lamp to fetch help; Phillips, in the dark, scraped away the stones from the haulier James Price and freed him with a broken thigh, which the manager agreed at the inquest had probably saved his life. Davies, Williams, Chilcott and Jones were dead. Both Elliot pits, employing between two and three thousand men, stood idle for the day.

Rescue & recovery

Rees Phillips freed James Price in the dark; the four bodies were recovered over about four hours.

What's uncertain

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

• Some reports, and NMRS, give five dead. (disputed) ^4,5

Recorded claims

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

• A fall of roof at the East Elliot Colliery, New Tredegar, about 3 a.m. on 30 December 1915 killed four men and seriously injured a fifth. ^1,2,3
• A small fall pinned the fireman, David Jones, by the leg; as others tried to free him a second fall of fifteen to thirty tons came without warning and buried them. ^1,2,3
• Rees Phillips, working in the dark after the only lit lamp went for help, dug out the injured haulier James Price, which the manager agreed probably saved his life. ^1,3
• Some reports, and NMRS, give five dead. (disputed) ^4,5

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: “A small fall at the East Elliot Colliery pinned a fireman on 30 December 1915, and a much bigger one buried…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A small fall at the East Elliot Colliery pinned a fireman on 30 December 1915, and a much bigger one buried the men who went…”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…fetch help; Phillips, in the dark, scraped away the stones from the haulier James Price and freed him with a broken thigh, which the manager…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Others came to help, including William Chilcott, known as Bishop, a ripper, and as they threw back the stones a second, far larger fall came…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “A large fall of roof, possibly from a pillar crushing up, came while men were freeing a…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1915 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Shocking accident at New Tredegar: four men killed, an act of heroism (Monmouth Guardian, 31 December 1915) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Toll of the mine: the East Elliot inquest (Monmouth Guardian, 7 January 1916) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
4. (secondary) Elliot Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Welsh colliery accident: five men killed by roof fall (North Wales Chronicle, 31 December 1915) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

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