Etna Colliery inrush, 1911

On Friday 24 March 1911 Evan Lewis, 44, and his son Thomas John, 14, were drowned when they tapped waterlogged old workings at the end of a heading in the Dulas Isaf (Dylas Isha) level, later Etna Colliery, at Gilfach Goch. Strikers from the Cambrian Combine dispute and soldiers stationed in the village joined the rescue.

Cause

The heading being driven off the main drift holed into old waterlogged workings.

What happened

Father and son were working at the end of a heading being driven off the main drift. Evan Lewis is thought to have holed into old, waterlogged workings, and the sudden inrush carried both off their feet. Their bruised bodies were later found some distance down the heading, and several other workmen had narrow escapes.

Gilfach Goch was then in the middle of the Cambrian Combine strike, with a hundred men of the Munster Fusiliers stationed there to keep order. Hundreds of strikers went to the drift with the soldiers to help. Police and strikers, led by Bowen Jones, manager of the Combine's Britannic pit, worked at the rescue. Thomas Lewis was still alive when Tom Griffiths, a former Penygraig footballer, carried him out, but he died an hour and a half later despite artificial respiration.

Evan Lewis left a widow, Mary Ann, and eleven children, the youngest five days old. The funeral procession was headed by the children of Evanstown Schools.

Rescue & recovery

Strikers, soldiers of the Munster Fusiliers and police, led by the Britannic manager Bowen Jones, searched the flooded heading; the boy was carried out alive but could not be revived.

Investigation & inquiry

David Rees, the district coroner, opened the inquest on Monday 27 March and adjourned it for a fortnight because the inspector of mines had not finished his preliminary investigation. W. P. Nicholas represented the relatives for the miners' agent Tom Lucas; Fred Lewis, managing director of the mine, attended.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

£370 compensation was paid into court for Evan Lewis's widow and children; in September 1911 the court allowed part of it to clear an £80 mortgage on the family house and £18 for funeral expenses.

Recorded claims

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

• On 24 March 1911 Evan Lewis (44) and his son Thomas (14) were killed by an inrush of water at the Dyllas Isha level, Gilfach Goch. ^1,2
• The inrush came from old workings tapped at the end of a heading off the main drift. ^3,2
• Strikers and soldiers of the Munster Fusiliers stationed at Gilfach Goch joined the rescue; the boy was brought out alive but died. ^1,2
• The inquest was opened by the district coroner, David Rees, and adjourned for the inspector of mines. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…end of a heading in the Dulas Isaf (Dylas Isha) level, later Etna Colliery, at Gilfach Goch. Strikers from the Cambrian Combine dispute and…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “The heading being driven off the main drift holed into old waterlogged workings.”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…on Monday 27 March and adjourned it for a fortnight because the inspector of mines had not finished his preliminary investigation. W. P. Nicholas…”
• Inrush (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…thought to have holed into old, waterlogged workings, and the sudden inrush carried both off their feet. Their bruised bodies were later found…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…old workings at the end of a heading in the Dulas Isaf (Dylas Isha) level, later Etna Colliery, at Gilfach Goch. Strikers from the Cambrian…”

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) Etna Colliery, Glynogwr Colliery - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026