Graig Fawr Colliery roof fall, 1903

A fall of stone from slips killed two colliers, William Shorthouse and Richard Battle, at the Red Ash colliery at Graig Fawr, Cwm, on the evening of 16 April 1903, after they had worked six and a half hours in the wrong place unvisited.

Cause

A fall of stone from slips while a stall was being formed out of a heading.

What happened

On the evening of Thursday 16 April 1903 William Shorthouse, 24, and Richard Battle, 17, colliers at the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company's Red Ash colliery at Graig Fawr, Cwm, near Aberbeeg, were forming a stall or putting road to the face out of a heading when stone fell on them from slips and killed both. They were said to have been working in the wrong place for six and a half hours, during which no official had visited them.

Recorded claims

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

• On 16 April 1903 William Shorthouse and Richard Battle were killed by a fall of roof at the Red Ash colliery, Graig Fawr, Cwm. ^1,2,3
• They were killed by a fall of stone from slips while forming a stall or putting road out of a heading. ^1,2
• They had worked in the wrong place for six and a half hours without an official visiting them. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company. ^4,1

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and Richard Battle, 17, colliers at the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company's Red Ash colliery at Graig Fawr, Cwm, near Aberbeeg, were…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…two colliers, William Shorthouse and Richard Battle, at the Red Ash colliery at Graig Fawr, Cwm, on the evening of 16 April 1903, after they had…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A fall of stone from slips while a stall was being formed out of a heading.”

Sources

1. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: William Shorthouse, Graig Fawr, 1903 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Richard Battle, Graig Fawr, 1903 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Evening Express, 17 April 1903: Two colliers killed: fall of roof at Cwm, Ebbw Vale — Evening Express (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
4. (secondary) Graig Fawr, Cwm — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 18 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026