Kirkford Colliery roof fall, 1925

On the afternoon of 2 February 1925 a heavy fall in the Glassee section of Kirkford Pit, Cowdenbeath, buried three miners resting at the end of a roadway; two were dead when a rescue party reached them about three hours later.

Cause

A heavy fall of material from the roof; the local paper understood that a girder had fallen and the beams it supported came loose.

What happened

Kirkford Pit, the Fife Coal Company's No. 10 at Cowdenbeath, had two accidents on the afternoon of Monday 2 February 1925. First, gunpowder exploded in the 'diamond' section and burned John Easson and David Clark. Then, at about five o'clock in the Glassee section, a heavy fall came away without warning on three miners resting at the end of the roadway. The manager, John Alexander, stopped the pit and a rescue party went in. Peter Anderson, caught by the edge of the fall, was freed alive, and the rescuers could hear Robert Sharp calling 'Are you there?' as they worked. It was nearly eight o'clock when they reached Sharp and William McArthur, both dead. McArthur's father, Archibald, was among the rescuers.

Rescue & recovery

The pit was stopped and a rescue party dug through the fall. Anderson was brought out, treated by Drs Veitch and Macdonald and taken home by ambulance; the two dead were reached at about eight o'clock.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• So far as was known, the accident was due to the fall of a girder, the beams it supported becoming loose and the roof caving in. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• William M'Arthur, 17, and Robert Sharp, 36, were killed and Peter Anderson escaped when a heavy fall took place without warning in the 'glassee' section of Kirkford Pit, where the three had been resting at the end of the roadway. ¹
• Earlier the same afternoon John Easson and David Clark were burned by an explosion of gunpowder in the 'diamond' section. ¹
• The manager, John Alexander, stopped the pit and a rescue party worked until nearly eight o'clock to reach the two men, who were dead; Archibald McArthur, father of William, was among the rescuers. ²
• So far as was known, the accident was due to the fall of a girder, the beams it supported becoming loose and the roof caving in. (uncertain) ²

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: “Kirkford Pit, the Fife Coal Company's No. 10 at Cowdenbeath, had two accidents on the afternoon…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Accidents post-1915 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) Fife Pits: Cowdenbeath No. 10 (Kirkford) Pit — Fife Pits

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026