Newton Colliery explosion, 1912

A jobber and a fireman carried naked lights into a safety-lamp district of Newton Colliery, Cambuslang, early on 11 May 1912 and fired gas; two men died, one of them overcome by afterdamp as he fled.

Cause

Naked lights taken into a safety-lamp district ignited accumulated gas.

Contributing factors

The men fleeing to the pit bottom passed through the afterdamp.

What happened

Shortly after one in the morning of 11 May 1912 the jobber James Robb and the fireman went down to the bottom lye of the Splint Coal Dook in Newton No. 1 Pit, a district to be worked only with safety lamps, wearing naked lights on their caps. They fired gas that had gathered there.

The explosion was not a violent one, and the wet roadway kept coal dust out of it, but the brusher John Duffy and his mates, working in the section, heard it and ran for the pit bottom through the afterdamp, and all of them were overcome. Robb and Duffy died.

Recorded claims

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

• At about 1.30 a.m. on 11 May 1912 gas exploded in Newton No. 1 Pit, Cambuslang, and two men died: the jobber James Robb, 35, and the brusher John Duffy, 42. ^1,2
• Robb and the fireman had taken naked lights on their caps into the bottom lye of the Splint Coal Dook, a safety-lamp district, and fired accumulated gas. ^1,2
• Duffy and his mates ran for the pit bottom through the afterdamp and were all overcome. ^1,2
• The explosion was not violent and coal dust played no part, the roadway being very wet. ^1,2
• The pit belonged to James Dunlop and Co. Ltd. ²

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…on 11 May 1912 and fired gas; two men died, one of them overcome by afterdamp as he fled.”
• Dook (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Robb and the fireman went down to the bottom lye of the Splint Coal Dook in Newton No. 1 Pit, a district to be worked only with safety lamps,…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A jobber and a fireman carried naked lights into a safety-lamp district of Newton Colliery, Cambuslang, early on…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…a violent one, and the wet roadway kept coal dust out of it, but the brusher John Duffy and his mates, working in the section, heard it and ran…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A jobber and a fireman carried naked lights into a safety-lamp district of Newton Colliery, Cambuslang, early on 11 May 1912 and…”

Sources

1. (primary) Newton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Accident record: James Robb, Newton No. 1 Pit, 1912 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026