Hamstead Colliery underground fire, 1902

A deputy and his companion travelling the return airway at Hamstead Colliery, Great Barr, on 19 June 1902 were poisoned by carbonic oxide from an underground fire.

Cause

Carbonic oxide (carbon monoxide) from an underground fire, carried in the return airway.

What happened

On 19 June 1902 James Taylor, a 35-year-old deputy, and John Flavell, aged 24, his companion, were travelling the return airway of Hamstead Colliery when they were overcome and killed by carbonic oxide (carbon monoxide) given off by an underground fire. Six years later a fire at the pit bottom of the same colliery would kill 25 miners and a rescuer.

Recorded claims

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

• On 19 June 1902 two men at Hamstead Colliery were poisoned by carbonic oxide from an underground fire while travelling the return airway. ^1,2,3
• The dead were James Taylor, aged 35, a deputy, and John Flavell, aged 24, a deputy's companion. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by the Hamstead Colliery Company Limited. ^2,3

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: “A deputy and his companion travelling the return airway at Hamstead Colliery, Great Barr, on 19 June 1902 were poisoned by carbonic oxide from an…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A deputy and his companion travelling the return airway at Hamstead Colliery,…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A deputy and his companion travelling the return airway at Hamstead Colliery, Great Barr, on 19 June 1902 were poisoned by…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Hamstead Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Hamstead, 19 June 1902 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Flavell, Hamstead, 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026