Penallta Colliery crane accident, 1908

Two young fitters fell about fifty feet to their deaths in the Penallta engine house on 7 January 1908 when the plank they sat on, working on the overhead crane, broke in the middle.

Cause

A three-inch plank across the crane gantry broke under the two men.

What happened

On the morning of 7 January 1908 three men were replacing the motor shaft of the overhead electric travelling crane in the engine house at Powell Duffryn's new Penallta Colliery, near Ystrad Mynach. Richard Morgan Richards was sitting on a plank laid across the gantry rails, waiting to take the end of the shaft, when Hubert Howell Phillips joined him. The plank broke in the middle and both fell to the engine-house floor, about fifty feet below. Phillips was killed outright; Richards was alive when reached but died soon after. The break was clean, and the inspector thought the plank must have been badly strained at some earlier time.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector found the fracture clean and free of rot and judged that the plank must have been severely strained some time before, though no witness could recall it.

What's uncertain

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

• The plank had only been put across the gantry that day. (disputed) ¹
• The plank had been kept up at the crane for some months and had carried two men a few days before. (disputed) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

• On 7 January 1908 two fitters, Richard Morgan Richards and Hubert Howell Phillips, were killed at Penallta when a plank across the gantry of the engine-house crane broke and they fell about 50 feet to the floor. ^1,2,3
• They were replacing the motor shaft of the overhead electric travelling crane in the engine house. ^2,3
• The plank was 10 feet long, 9 inches wide and 3 inches thick, with an unsupported span of 6 feet 9 inches between the gantry rails, and its fracture was clean and free of rot. ^2,3
• The plank had only been put across the gantry that day. (disputed) ¹
• The plank had been kept up at the crane for some months and had carried two men a few days before. (disputed) ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…crane in the engine house at Powell Duffryn's new Penallta Colliery, near Ystrad Mynach. Richard Morgan Richards was sitting on a plank…”
• Engine House (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…young fitters fell about fifty feet to their deaths in the Penallta engine house on 7 January 1908 when the plank they sat on, working on the…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “On the morning of 7 January 1908 three men were replacing the motor shaft of the overhead electric travelling crane in the engine house at…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1908 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames P, part 3 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames R, part 3 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

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