Holmewood Colliery Entombment and Rescue, 1920

A heavy fall of roof shut two men into a space fifteen yards by ten feet at Holmewood Colliery. They were known to be unhurt but it would take days to reach them, and further falls came down over the next forty-eight hours. They were fed through a pipe and freed after four days, and four of the men who dug them out were given the Edward Medal by the King.

Cause

A heavy fall of roof that cut two men off from the rest of the workings.

Contributing factors

More falls took place over the next forty-eight hours while the rescue was going on, so the men digging towards the trapped pair were working into ground that was still moving.

What happened

On 22 September 1920 a heavy fall of roof at Holmewood Colliery imprisoned two men, J. James of Clay Cross and E. Watson of Hepthorne Lane, in a space about fifteen yards long, ten feet wide and six feet high. It was known that they had not been injured, but it was equally clear that reaching them would take days. Samuel Peters, the under-manager, passed food to them using a cycle tyre enclosed in iron piping. More falls came down over the next forty-eight hours. The men were freed after four days, ninety-six hours in all, and came out little the worse for it.

Rescue & recovery

The rescue was carried out by the under-manager Samuel Peters, the deputies Thomas Calladine and Joseph Harrison and the miner Harold West, with the manager Mr Collis and other workers, digging through ground that kept falling for two days.

Investigation & inquiry

No inquiry is recorded; nobody was killed or hurt.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

None recorded.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial, but the King held an investiture at Buckingham Palace on Saturday 15 July 1922 at which the Edward Medal in bronze was bestowed on Samuel Peters, Joseph Harrison, Harold West and Thomas Calladine of Hardwick Collieries, Holmewood, for bravery at the time the two men were entombed.

Recorded claims

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

• A heavy fall imprisoned two men; they were known to be uninjured but it would take days to reach them, food was passed to them by the under-manager Samuel Peters using a cycle tyre enclosed in iron piping, more falls took place over the next forty-eight hours, and the men were freed after four days. ^1,2
• Thomas Calladine and Joseph Harrison, deputies, Samuel Peters, under-manager, and Harold West, miner, all of Holmewood Colliery, were awarded the Edward Medal in bronze for the rescue of 22 September 1920. ^1,2
• The two men were J. James of Clay Cross and E. Watson of Hepthorne Lane, cut off by a fall of roof and imprisoned for 96 hours in a space 15 yards long, 10 feet wide and 6 feet high; the King bestowed the medals at Buckingham Palace on 15 July 1922. 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: “…shut two men into a space fifteen yards by ten feet at Holmewood Colliery. They were known to be unhurt but it would take days to reach them,…”
• Deputy (rescue/recovery concept)
  Two of the four men decorated for the rescue, Thomas Calladine and Joseph Harrison, were deputies at the colliery.
• Roof Fall (direct cause)
  A heavy fall of roof cut the two men off from the rest of the workings, and further falls came down during the rescue.

Sources

1. (secondary) Edward Medal Recipients — Mines Rescue History
2. (primary) Edward Medal awards (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Heath and Holmewood collieries (oldminer.co.uk) — oldminer.co.uk (Andrew Bridgewater)

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026