South Pelaw Colliery roof fall, 1926

Two young putters, Joseph Calvert and Robert Pigg, were killed by a fall of stone at South Pelaw Colliery, Chester-le-Street, on 29 April 1926.

Cause

A fall of stone.

What happened

On 29 April 1926 two putters at South Pelaw Colliery, Chester-le-Street, Joseph Calvert, 22, and Robert Pigg, 20, were killed by a fall of stone. Calvert was buried at Pelton Cemetery and Pigg at Ropery Lane Cemetery, Chester-le-Street.

Recorded claims

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

• On 29 April 1926 two putters, Joseph Calvert, 22, and Robert Pigg, 20, were killed by a fall of stone at South Pelaw Colliery, Chester-le-Street. ^1,2,3
• The colliery belonged to the Owners of South Pelaw Colliery Ltd. ^2,3
• Calvert was buried at Pelton Cemetery and Pigg at Ropery Lane Cemetery, Chester-le-Street. ¹

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: “…and Robert Pigg, were killed by a fall of stone at South Pelaw Colliery, Chester-le-Street, on 29 April 1926.”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two young putters, Joseph Calvert and Robert Pigg, were killed by a fall of stone at…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - South Pelaw Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Accident record: Robert Pigg, South Pelaw, 1926 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Accident record: J. Calvert, South Pelaw, 1926 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026