Skellyton Colliery explosion, 1937

On the afternoon of 22 October 1937 an explosion in the Clyde Head section of Skellyton Colliery, Larkhall, killed the colliery manager, David Baxter, and the fireman, Charles Laird Lyle. Gas had been found at the coal face there that morning and the men turned back; the two officials were in the section when it fired.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp in the Clyde Head section. A witness suggested a fall might have caused the accumulation; the source of ignition was not named at the inquiry.

What happened

On the morning of 22 October the oncostman Samuel Hamilton, who held a fireman's certificate, tested the Clyde Head section and found 2.5 per cent of gas at the coal face and some at the fan that ventilated it. He told the fireman, Lyle, who told the manager, Baxter; the miners were turned back and no work was done that forenoon. Lyle had the electrically driven fan stopped while the section was cleared, and it was started again about 11.30.

The under-manager, John Brown, last saw Baxter and Lyle alive at 2.30 that afternoon, and at about three o'clock warned the afternoon shift not to go into the section until Baxter said all was well. He was in the Barrier section when word came of an explosion at Clyde Head.

Rescue & recovery

Brown called for stretchers, bandages and smoke helmets, warned the rescue brigade, and went in wearing a helmet. He got as far as the fire, about 200 feet short of the men, and the rescue brigade was sent for; they brought Baxter and Lyle out dead. Dr John Parker of Larkhall, summoned about five o'clock, went down the pit and examined the bodies.

Investigation & inquiry

A Fatal Accidents Inquiry was held at Hamilton in December 1937 before Sheriff Norman Walker and a jury, with the Procurator-Fiscal, J. C. Patterson, conducting it. The Mines Department was represented by T. Ashley, Divisional Inspector for Scotland, and A. Stoker, Inspector for the Western Area; the Lanarkshire Miners' Union, the Scottish Coal Owners' Association and the Scottish Shot Firers' Association, for Lyle's relatives, were also represented. Death was found to be due to severe burning and asphyxiation; carbon monoxide in Baxter's body showed he had breathed for a time after the explosion. The jury returned a formal verdict.

Recorded claims

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

• On the afternoon of 22 October 1937 an explosion in the Clyde Head section of Skellyton Colliery, Larkhall, killed the colliery manager, David Baxter, and the fireman, Charles Laird Lyle. ^1,2,3
• That morning gas had been found at 2.5 per cent at the coal face of the Clyde Head section; the miners were turned back, the ventilating fan was stopped while the section was cleared, and it was restarted about 11.30. ¹
• The under-manager, John Brown, wearing a smoke helmet, got through as far as the fire but was still about 200 feet from the men; the rescue brigade brought them out, dead. ¹
• At the Fatal Accidents Inquiry at Hamilton, before Sheriff Norman Walker and a jury, the jury returned a formal verdict that the men died of injuries from an explosion. ¹
• The colliery was owned by the Darngavil Coal Co. Ltd. ^1,2,3
• Death was due to severe burning and asphyxiation; there was carbon monoxide in Baxter's body, showing he had breathed after the explosion. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…and the fireman, Charles Laird Lyle. Gas had been found at the coal face there that morning and the men turned back; the two officials…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…22 October 1937 an explosion in the Clyde Head section of Skellyton Colliery, Larkhall, killed the colliery manager, David Baxter, and the…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “An explosion of firedamp in the Clyde Head section. A witness suggested a fall might have…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Larkhall, killed the colliery manager, David Baxter, and the fireman, Charles Laird Lyle. Gas had been found at the coal face there that…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Lanarkshire accidents (Dalserf, Larkhall) — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Skellyton, 1937 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Skellyton, 1937 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026