South Kirkby Colliery roof fall, 1906

A bump knocked out the temporary props under a great slab of stone on a horse road in the Haigh Moor seam at South Kirkby Colliery on 16 August 1906, ten minutes after a deputy had judged the place safe; two datallers were killed.

Cause

A bump displaced the temporary props under a large stone while girders were being drawn to heighten a horse road.

What happened

On 16 August 1906 two datallers, John Thompson Glover, 29, and John James Reynolds, 25, were taking girders out of a horse road in the Haigh Moor seam at South Kirkby Colliery with an experienced chargeman, to make height. A deputy came to the place, found two girders already out, stayed while another was got down and saw three temporary props set under the stone, and, thinking all was safe, left them. Within ten minutes a bump displaced the props, and a stone 10 feet 8 inches long by 7 feet 7 inches wide, 10 inches thick at one end and running to nothing at the other, fell and killed both datallers and injured the chargeman.

Recorded claims

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

• On 16 August 1906 a fall of stone killed two datallers at South Kirkby Colliery. ^1,2,3
• The dead were John Thompson Glover, 29, and John James Reynolds, 25, datallers. ^1,2,3
• A bump displaced three temporary props, and a stone 10 ft 8 in by 7 ft 7 in fell on the men drawing girders in the Haigh Moor seam. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by the South Kirkby Colliery Co. Ltd. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…slab of stone on a horse road in the Haigh Moor seam at South Kirkby Colliery on 16 August 1906, ten minutes after a deputy had judged the place…”
• Dataller (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1906, ten minutes after a deputy had judged the place safe; two datallers were killed.”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…seam at South Kirkby Colliery on 16 August 1906, ten minutes after a deputy had judged the place safe; two datallers were killed.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - South Kirkby Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Thompson Glover, South Kirkby, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John James Reynolds, South Kirkby, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 18 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026