MineArchiveGurnos Colliery Explosion, 1909
| Date | 17 December 1909 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Gurnos Colliery |
| Region | Powys |
| Primary type | Explosion |
| Associated types | Gas / Asphyxiation |
| Fatalities | 2 (William Belton, 24, collier (left a widow and two children); John Maloney (or Moloney), 24, repairer, single.) |
| Injuries | Three seriously burnt, including the fireman David Enoch Jones and Morgan Mainwaring; Thomas Lewis Jones, 18, slightly burnt. |
| Context | During active mining |
A shot fired at the face just before 5 am ignited gas and engulfed the men nearby in flames, fatally burning the collier who had prepared it and burning the fireman. A repairer working further off, unhurt by the blast, set off towards the return airway rather than out of the mine and was later found a few yards away, overcome by gas.
Cause
A shotfiring accident: the shot ignited gas at the face.
Contributing factors
Unknown; the sources give no finding on the gas or the shotfiring practice.
What happened
William Belton prepared a shot and the fireman, David Enoch Jones, fired it; at once the men near the face were enveloped in flames. Belton, stripped to the waist, was burnt from head to foot; the fireman saved his face and hands by throwing himself flat. Further along the heading the repairer John Maloney and an 18-year-old, Thomas Lewis Jones, felt the blast. Jones asked Maloney to come out with him, but Maloney went the other way, towards the return airway.
Rescue & recovery
Jones found his own way to the surface and, without treatment for his burns, went to Glantawe Road for help. Maloney's body was found only a few yards from where they had parted. Belton was carried home on a stretcher; the fireman and Morgan Mainwaring walked home despite serious burns.
Investigation & inquiry
Unknown; no inquest report was found.
Legal & regulatory aftermath
None recorded.
Changes to practice & legislation
None recorded.
Memorials & commemoration
Unknown.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- At 4.45 am on 17 December 1909 two miners, John Moloney and William Belton, both 24, were killed and three injured in an explosion. 1,2
- A shot prepared by the collier William Belton and fired by the fireman David Enoch Jones enveloped the men near the face in flames; the repairer John Maloney, working some distance away, went towards the return airway instead of out and was found overcome by gas. 3
- Belton was burnt from head to foot; the fireman David Jones and Morgan Mainwaring were seriously burnt but walked home, and Thomas Lewis Jones, 18, slightly burnt, found his way out and went to Glantawe Road for help. 3
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Fireman (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…fatally burning the collier who had prepared it and burning the fireman. A repairer working further off, unhurt by the blast, set off…” - Return Airway (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…working further off, unhurt by the blast, set off towards the return airway rather than out of the mine and was later found a few yards away,…”
Photographs & further reading
This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.
Detailed account of the shotfiring explosion and how the two men died.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Gurnos Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society (Ray Lawrence)
- (secondary) Gurnos, Ystradgynlais (with Gwaunclawdd, Diamond and Ystradgynlais collieries) — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) 1909 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 16 September 2026 · Last researched: 16 September 2026