Robroyston Colliery firedamp deaths, 1926

On 3 November 1926, in the last month of the national stoppage, two miners returning to John Watson Ltd's Robroyston Colliery, Glasgow, were allowed to go to a through airway between two stone drifts to fetch tools left there in April. They did not come back; search parties found them dead among firedamp, 70 yards beyond the point where they had been told to stop.

Cause

Firedamp had gathered in the workings during the months of the stoppage. The roads had been examined up to the point the men were allowed to go, but not beyond it, and no fence had been put up there; the men went 70 yards further and were overcome.

What happened

Some miners had lately gone back to work at Robroyston, and that morning Thomson and Lawson were sent to clear a fall in another part of the workings, by the newspaper account, or to recover their tools, by the inspector's. When a considerable time passed without them, their workmates grew uneasy and search parties went in.

Rescue & recovery

The searchers found both men lying on the road in an impure atmosphere and brought them up; a doctor at the surface found them dead.

Investigation & inquiry

The Mines Inspector's report for 1926 recorded the deaths as suffocation by natural gases, noting that the men had been well warned not to go beyond the specified place but that no fence had been erected.

Recorded claims

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

• On 3 November 1926 two miners, Charles Lawson and Alexander Thomson, were found dead among firedamp in Robroyston Colliery. ^1,2,3
• Returning in the last month of the 1926 stoppage, they had been allowed to fetch tools they had left at a through airway between two stone drifts in April. ^2,3
• Their bodies lay 70 yards beyond the point they had been told not to pass; the roads had been examined only to that point and no fence had been put up. ²
• The colliery belonged to John Watson Ltd. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…stoppage, two miners returning to John Watson Ltd's Robroyston Colliery, Glasgow, were allowed to go to a through airway between two stone…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…April. They did not come back; search parties found them dead among firedamp, 70 yards beyond the point where they had been told to stop.”
• Stone Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…Glasgow, were allowed to go to a through airway between two stone drifts to fetch tools left there in April. They did not come back; search…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Accidents post-1926 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Robroyston, 1926 (Lawson) — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Robroyston, 1926 (Thomson) — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 13 October 2026