Llanerch Colliery roof fall, 1908

About fifteen tons of rock fell in Llanerch Colliery's main slope on 21 January 1908 as the men were walking in to work, killing two young colliers.

Cause

A fall of about fifteen tons of hard rock from an unseen slip and cross joint in the main slope.

What happened

On the morning of 21 January 1908 the workforce at Llanerch Colliery, above Abersychan, was walking down the main slope on the way into work. A stone in the roadway had already resisted two or three attempts to bring it down and widen the road. Thomas Flynn and James James tried again; the stone fell from the side, and a further fall of about fifteen tons followed from an unseen slip and cross joint, killing them both. Others in the drift narrowly escaped.

Recorded claims

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

• On 21 January 1908 a fall of about fifteen tons in the main slope at Llanerch Colliery, Abersychan, killed two colliers, Thomas Flynn, 18, and James James, 23, as the shift walked in to work. ^1,2,3
• The fall came from an unseen slip and cross joint in a very hard bastard rock which had resisted two or three earlier attempts to bring it down to widen the road. ^2,3
• The colliery belonged to Partridge, Jones and Co. Ltd. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “About fifteen tons of rock fell in Llanerch Colliery's main slope on 21 January 1908 as the men were walking in to work,…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…an unseen slip and cross joint, killing them both. Others in the drift narrowly escaped.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1908 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) 1900s F2: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames J, part 1 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026