Penallta Colliery sinking accident, 1909

Two sinkers died at the bottom of Penallta's No. 2 shaft, then 460 yards deep, on 11 February 1909 when the winder lowered an empty bowk onto the sixteen men working there instead of stopping it above them.

Cause

The winder mistook the bowk's position and lowered it onto the men at the shaft bottom.

What happened

In February 1909 Powell Duffryn's No. 2 shaft at Penallta, near Ystrad Mynach, was being sunk by the contractor W. B. Lloyd of Bargoed and had reached 460 yards. On 11 February sixteen men were at work at the bottom when the winder lowered an empty bowk. It should have been drawn up about fifteen yards above them; instead it came down onto them. Alfred Lundy, an experienced sinker, was killed on the spot, and Thomas Sinclair died of his injuries at Cardiff Royal Infirmary. The winder, Lemuel Hughes, fifty years old and a winder for thirty, had heard a noise and been momentarily distracted. The engine and its indicator were found in perfect order.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest the jury found accidental death due to an error by the winder, attaching no blame to anyone; the winder was not allowed to wind again.

Recorded claims

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

• On 11 February 1909 two sinkers, Alfred Lundy and Thomas Sinclair, were killed when an empty bowk was lowered violently onto the men at the bottom of the No. 2 shaft being sunk at Penallta. ^1,2
• Powell Duffryn's No. 2 shaft had reached 460 yards, and sixteen men were working at its bottom. ¹
• The winding engineman mistook the bowk's position in the shaft; it failed to draw up at the usual fifteen yards above the men and crashed down onto them. ^1,2
• The engine had a proper indicator and was found in perfect order; the winder, aged 50 with over thirty years' experience, was not allowed to wind again. ^1,2
• The jury returned a verdict of accidental death due to an error by the winder, attaching no blame to anyone. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Kibble (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…460 yards deep, on 11 February 1909 when the winder lowered an empty bowk onto the sixteen men working there instead of stopping it above them.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two sinkers died at the bottom of Penallta's No. 2 shaft, then 460 yards deep, on 11 February 1909 when the winder lowered an…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two sinkers died at the bottom of Penallta's No. 2 shaft, then 460 yards deep,…”
• Winding Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named 7 times in this record, first in the summary: “…No. 2 shaft, then 460 yards deep, on 11 February 1909 when the winder lowered an empty bowk onto the sixteen men working there instead of…”

Sources

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

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