Malton Colliery suffocation, 1913

A father and son resetting timber in a return airway at Malton Colliery on 23 January 1913 were suffocated when the weak natural ventilation faltered and an underground oil engine's exhaust blew back onto them.

Cause

Exhaust fumes from an underground oil engine, driven back by a stall or reversal of weak natural ventilation.

Contributing factors

Natural ventilation, reversed by abnormal weather.

What happened

Malton Colliery had an oil engine underground whose exhaust was carried away along a return airway. In January 1913 abnormal weather reversed the colliery's natural ventilation, and the exhaust was turned along another road. That allowed the stonemen George Ephraim Steele, 46, and his son John William, 22, to work in the usual exhaust road resetting timber.

On 23 January the feeble ventilation stalled or reversed for a moment, the fumes backed onto the two men, and they were later found dead. Both were buried at All Saints, Lanchester.

Recorded claims

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

• On 23 January 1913 the stonemen George Ephraim Steele, 46, and his son John William Steele, 22, were suffocated at Malton Colliery, Lanchester. ^1,2
• They were resetting timber in the return airway that normally carried the exhaust of an underground oil engine, which had been diverted along another road when abnormal weather reversed the natural ventilation. ²
• A momentary stagnation or reversal of the feeble ventilation sent the exhaust fumes back onto them. ²
• The colliery belonged to Sir S. A. Sadler Ltd. ²

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 father and son resetting timber in a return airway at Malton Colliery on 23 January 1913 were suffocated when the weak natural ventilation…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A father and son resetting timber in a return airway at Malton Colliery on 23 January 1913 were suffocated when the weak…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “Exhaust fumes from an underground oil engine, driven back by a stall or reversal of weak natural ventilation.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Malton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Accident record: George E. Steele, Malton, 1913 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026