MineArchiveGellyceidrim Colliery runaway journey, 1897
| Date | 7 July 1897 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Gellyceidrim Colliery |
| Region | Carmarthenshire |
| Type | Haulage / Transport |
| Fatalities | 2 (Rees Jenkins, 29, collier; John Lloyd, 28, haulier (a collier in Welsh Coal Mines' list).) |
| Context | During active mining (The end of the shift on the steep slant of Gellyceidrim Colliery, Glanamman, where men walked up the haulage road as loaded journeys were drawn up.) |
On 7 July 1897, as a journey of twelve loaded trams was being hauled up the slant at Gellyceidrim Colliery, Glanamman, the rope broke and the trams ran back down the incline. Two men walking up after their shift, the collier Rees Jenkins and John Lloyd, could not reach a manhole in time and were killed. A runaway after another broken rope had killed a thirteen-year-old door boy on the colliery's slant the year before.
Cause
The haulage rope broke while a journey of twelve trams was being drawn up a slant rising six inches to the yard, and the trams ran back.
Contributing factors
The men were walking up the haulage road while a journey was being drawn up, and could not reach a manhole in time; a rope had broken on the colliery's slants in the same way the year before.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On 7 July 1897 a journey of twelve trams being drawn up a slant rising six inches to the yard broke its rope and ran back; Rees Jenkins, 29, collier, and John Lloyd, 28, walking up after their shift, failed to reach a manhole and were killed. 1,2
- The Durham Mining Museum gives John Lloyd as a haulier; Welsh Coal Mines' 1897 list gives him as a collier. (disputed) 1,2
- On 14 April 1896 David Williams, a door boy of thirteen, was killed walking up the return slant by a runaway journey after its rope broke; it was not the proper travelling road. 1
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…of twelve loaded trams was being hauled up the slant at Gellyceidrim Colliery, Glanamman, the rope broke and the trams ran back down the incline.…” - Incline (contextual relationship)
The slant rose six inches to the yard. - Journey (direct cause)
A journey of twelve trams ran back. - Slant (contextual relationship)
The accident happened on the slant. - Tub (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 7 July 1897, as a journey of twelve loaded trams was being hauled up the slant at Gellyceidrim Colliery, Glanamman,…”
Sources
- (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Gellyceidrim Colliery — Durham Mining Museum, from the Lists of Mines
- (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1897 — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026