Gelli Colliery roof fall, 1894

A horse knocked out the timbers as two young hauliers tried to re-rail a tram at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 6 November 1894, burying them both.

Cause

A horse dislodged roof timbers while a derailed tram was being put back on the rails.

What happened

At about nine on the morning of Tuesday 6 November 1894 a loaded tram came off the rails at Gelli Colliery. The hauliers David Reed and Edward Parlour went to put it back, and as they did so the horse gave a sudden jerk and pulled out some of the timber. The roof came down and buried both young men and the horse. Reed, the son of a local police constable, was 18 or 19; Parlour had only lately come to the district from Cilfynydd. Their bodies were brought up at about eleven o'clock.

Recorded claims

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

• Two young hauliers, David Reed and Edward Parlour, were killed by a fall at Gelli Colliery on 6 November 1894. ^1,2,3
• A loaded tram came off the rails; as they tried to put it back the horse jerked and knocked out timber, bringing down a heavy fall. ^2,3,4
• The two men and their horse were buried; the bodies were brought to the surface at about eleven o'clock. ^3,4

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: “…the timbers as two young hauliers tried to re-rail a tram at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 6 November 1894, burying them both.”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A horse knocked out the timbers as two young hauliers tried to re-rail a tram at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 6…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…knocked out the timbers as two young hauliers tried to re-rail a tram at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 6 November 1894, burying them…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Gelli Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Mining fatalities, 1894 - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) Colliers killed: buried in a fall of earth at Gelli Colliery (Evening Express, 6 November 1894) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) Colliery accident in the Rhondda: two hauliers killed (Western Mail, 7 November 1894) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

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