Naval Colliery Ely Pit cage accident, 1909

On the morning of 27 August 1909 a double-deck cage carrying 26 men down the Ely Pit of the Naval Colliery at Penygraig ran out of control when the reversing gear of the winding engine broke. It crashed into the sump, the ascending cage was pulled into the headgear, and the rope fell 525 yards down the shaft onto the wrecked cage.

Cause

A cracked reversing spanner on the winding engine, repaired three days earlier by shrinking a hot iron clamp round the crack, broke as the engineman put steam against the engine about thirty yards from the bottom; the foot brake would not hold the cage.

Contributing factors

There were no safety catches or detaching hooks at the pit. The engineman said he had complained for years that the foot brake was inadequate, particularly since double-deck cages came in; a 'vice' brake lay unfitted in the colliery yard. The man who examined the machinery had been a timekeeper and was not a trained mechanic.

What happened

David Davis had been winding at the pit for 25 years and began lowering men at 5.25 a.m. On the Tuesday night he had found a lamp hung by the reversing spanner and been told it had cracked and been mended; he was uneasy but made no complaint, since the mechanic had reported it. The fourteenth or fifteenth cage of the morning was nearly down when the spanner snapped and then the lifting lever of the reversing gear broke. John Fry, in the bottom deck, thought the rope had gone as the cage dropped. Thomas Brown, Alfred Watkins, Morgan Evans and Gideon Chapman were killed at once.

Rescue & recovery

Unknown.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest opened on 3 September in the vestry of Nazareth Chapel, Williamstown, before two coroners, with the Superintendent Inspector of Mines, the Chief Inspector F. A. Gray and an assistant inspector present. Gray judged the fracture a continuation of the repaired crack and said the part should have been replaced. The jury found that the men died because the spanner broke, that it was not reasonable to go on winding men with the engine in that state, that the spanner should have been replaced, that supervision of the machinery was unsatisfactory and the brake inadequate, and that the engineman had raised it; they exonerated him.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Unknown.

Changes to practice & legislation

Gray said he favoured steam brakes and detaching hooks, which were not then compulsory.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

What's uncertain

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

• Four were killed in the initial impact and three more died of their injuries. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• A cage full of men fell part way down the shaft at the Ely pit on 27 August 1909, killing 5 miners and injuring 23. ¹
• Four were killed in the initial impact and three more died of their injuries. (disputed) ²
• The reversing spanner had cracked and been repaired by shrinking a hot iron clamp round the crack; the Inspector judged the fracture a continuation of it. ²
• The jury found the brake power inadequate and exonerated the engineman. ²

Related terminology

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

• Cage (hazard involved)
  The cage ran out of control.
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…Chapel, Williamstown, before two coroners, with the Superintendent Inspector of Mines, the Chief Inspector F. A. Gray and an assistant inspector present.…”
• Headgear (contextual relationship)
  The ascending cage was pulled into the headgear.
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  The cage crashed into the sump.
• Winding Engine (direct cause)
  The engine's reversing gear broke.

Sources

1. (secondary) Naval Colliery Penygraig — welshcoalmines.co.uk
2. (secondary) Naval Colliery Ely Pit Shaft Accident - Penycraig - 1909 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 22 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026