North Elswick Colliery explosion, 1919

A shot fired in the Brockwell seam at North Elswick Pit, Newcastle, on 10 January 1919 ignited firedamp that had gathered behind roof falls; the chargeman and the man with him died of their burns.

Cause

A shot in the stone of a gateway ignited firedamp that had accumulated where roof falls had impeded the ventilation.

Contributing factors

Falls of roof along the face that cut off the air; a shot that may have been overcharged and acted almost like a blown-out shot because of a parting behind the hole.

What happened

North Elswick Pit was 259 yards deep to the Brockwell seam, where a new longwall district had been set away some 2,500 yards from the shafts. No shots were fired in the thin coal, but in the gateways a two-foot bottom canch of stone was blasted up to give height for hand-putting, and shot-firing was confined to the night shift, when only the stonemen were down. For about 30 yards back from the face the strong sandstone roof had given way to a blue shale that was hard to keep up, and falls along the face had choked the ventilation.

On 10 January 1919 the chargeman, Thomas Barratt, fired one shot at about 6 p.m., set his men to work, and then joined Frank Blair, who was drilling in the bottom canch of a gateway just turned away near the first shot. They charged the hole, retired about 28 yards and fired. Flame enveloped them both. Badly burned, they made their way 100 yards out-bye in the dark and were taken to the infirmary, where Blair died two days later and Barratt, 51, seven days later.

The shot had done its work, but a parting in the stone behind the hole made it act almost like a blown-out shot, and it may have been slightly overcharged. Coked dust showed the flame had travelled about 70 yards both with and against the air, without real violence. Gas was found in two of the gate faces the next day, and two days after the explosion the roof of the gate collapsed.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector of mines described the accident in his report for 1919. He considered the chargeman a careful and experienced man and could only surmise that he had not examined the place for firedamp before firing the last shot.

Recorded claims

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

• On the evening of 10 January 1919 a shot fired in the Brockwell seam at North Elswick Pit, Newcastle upon Tyne, ignited firedamp; the two men who fired it were badly burned and both died. ^1,2,3
• Frank Blair died on 12 January and the chargeman, the shot firer Thomas Barratt, 51, on 17 January. ^4,2,3
• The shot was fired in a hole drilled in the bottom canch of a newly turned gateway, which was being blasted to give height for hand-putting. ¹
• The inspector found that falls of roof along the face had impeded the ventilation and probably let firedamp gather, and surmised that the chargeman had not examined the place for gas before firing. ¹
• There were no marks of real violence; the flame carried about 70 yards each way along the roads. ¹
• The pit belonged to the Elswick Coal Co. Ltd. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…seam at North Elswick Pit, Newcastle, on 10 January 1919 ignited firedamp that had gathered behind roof falls; the chargeman and the man with…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “The inspector of mines described the accident in his report for 1919. He considered the…”
• Longwall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Elswick Pit was 259 yards deep to the Brockwell seam, where a new longwall district had been set away some 2,500 yards from the shafts. No…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…on 10 January 1919 ignited firedamp that had gathered behind roof falls; the chargeman and the man with him died of their burns.”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…canch of stone was blasted up to give height for hand-putting, and shot-firing was confined to the night shift, when only the stonemen were down.…”

Sources

1. (primary) Colliery accident, 10 January 1919: North Elswick (1919 Mines Inspector's report, Cmd 925) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Accident record: Thomas Barratt, North Elswick Pit, 1919 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Accident record: Frank Blair, North Elswick Pit, 1919 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Elswick Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026