Lletty Shenkin Colliery roof fall, 1915

A fall of roof at Lletty Shenkin Colliery, Cwmbach, on 8 June 1915 buried two young colliers; one was heard alive for hours before a second fall ended the rescue.

Cause

A sudden fall of roof as the working approached old workings; the roof was coal with seven feet of clift above.

What happened

At about 1.30 in the afternoon of Tuesday 8 June 1915 a big fall of roof at the Powell Duffryn Company's Lletty Shenkin Colliery, Cwmbach, blocked the road to the face where William Beecham, 21, and William Edwards, 18, were working in the nine-foot seam. Their place was heading towards old workings, with a barrier of about eight yards left between, and the fall measured some 13 yards by 8. The manager believed Beecham had been killed outright. Edwards was pinned against the face by a fallen collar of timber, and rescuers who climbed the first fall and set up cogs and laggings got within three feet of him and could hear him shouting. Before they could free him a second fall crushed the timber on to his neck; he had been alive for about four hours. More than 100 trams of rubbish were cleared before the bodies were recovered, Edwards's on the Wednesday morning and Beecham's on the Thursday. The inquest jury returned accidental death, and the coroner and foreman paid tribute to the rescuers.

Rescue & recovery

Rescuers built cogs and laggings on top of the first fall and came within three feet of Edwards before a second fall; over 100 trams of rubbish were removed to recover both bodies.

Recorded claims

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

• On 8 June 1915 two colliers, William Beecham, 21, and William Edwards, 18, were killed by a fall of roof at the Powell Duffryn Company's Lletty Shenkin Colliery, Cwmbach. ^1,2,3
• They were working in the nine-foot seam towards old workings, with a barrier of about eight yards left between; the fall measured about 13 yards by 8. ^1,3
• Rescuers got within three feet of Edwards and could hear him, but a second fall crushed the timber pinning him; he had been alive for about four hours. ^2,3
• More than 100 trams of rubbish were cleared before the bodies were reached, Edwards's after about 26 hours. ^2,3
• The jury returned accidental death, and the coroner and jury foreman paid tribute to the rescuers. 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 cause: “…fall of roof as the working approached old workings; the roof was coal with seven feet of clift above.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A fall of roof at Lletty Shenkin Colliery, Cwmbach, on 8 June 1915 buried two young colliers; one was heard…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A fall of roof at Lletty Shenkin Colliery, Cwmbach, on 8 June 1915 buried two young…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…to his neck; he had been alive for about four hours. More than 100 trams of rubbish were cleared before the bodies were recovered, Edwards's…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1915 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Cwmbach miners' fate: gallant rescue work (The Aberdare Leader, 19 June 1915) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Cwmbach colliery fatality: touching inquest narrative (Pioneer, 19 June 1915) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

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