South Rhondda Colliery roof fall, 1916

On 4 November 1916 Thomas Perkins and Caleb Tomlin went back down the new Tynycoed drift of the South Rhondda Colliery at Llanharan to attend the pump and were buried by a fall of soft wet ground. So much debris filled the drift that their bodies were not recovered for three weeks.

Cause

A fall of soft wet earth from the roof, 'like sand in an hour glass', where a squeeze had forced down the collars 22 yards from the mouth of the drift.

What happened

Thomas Lint, Thomas Perkins and Caleb Tomlin finished their shift in the new Tynycoed drift and came up to its mouth. Perkins and Tomlin went back down to attend to the pump. Lint, left at the surface, noticed the pump's water pipes shift down the drift, went down and found the road completely blocked by a fall of soft wet earth. The drift, at an incline of 1 in 2, had a squeeze 22 yards from its mouth that had forced the collars down about a foot; posts had been set the night before, and Perkins had been told to reopen the heading above it with nine-foot timber. The debris filled the drift for a long way, and the two bodies were not found, near the pump, until the end of November.

Rescue & recovery

The fall filled the drift for a considerable distance and the bodies could not be reached until about three weeks later; they were found in the debris near the pump.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner, David Rees, opened the inquest at the United Methodist Free Church, Brynna, and adjourned it because H.M. Inspector was absent. At the resumed inquest, with Colonel Pearson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, and the miners' agent Tom Lucas present, the under-manager described the squeeze and the timbering ordered; the verdict was accidental death.

Memorials & commemoration

Both men were buried at Brynna churchyard after the opening of the inquest.

Recorded claims

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

• Thomas Perkins and Caleb Tomlin were buried by a fall in the Tynycoed drift of the South Rhondda Colliery on 4 November 1916. ^1,2,3
• The bodies were recovered about three weeks later because the debris was so great. ^2,4
• The fall was of soft wet earth where a squeeze had forced down the collars 22 yards from the mouth of the drift. ³
• The resumed inquest at Brynna returned a verdict of accidental death. ³

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: “…Tomlin went back down the new Tynycoed drift of the South Rhondda Colliery at Llanharan to attend the pump and were buried by a fall of soft…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 8 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1916 Thomas Perkins and Caleb Tomlin went back down the new Tynycoed drift of the South Rhondda Colliery at Llanharan to attend the pump and…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…was absent. At the resumed inquest, with Colonel Pearson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, and the miners' agent Tom Lucas present, the under-manager…”
• Incline (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…completely blocked by a fall of soft wet earth. The drift, at an incline of 1 in 2, had a squeeze 22 yards from its mouth that had forced the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1916 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) 'Llanharran bodies found', The Glamorgan Gazette, 1 December 1916 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) 'Llanharan miners' death: inquest at Brynna', The Glamorgan Gazette, 15 December 1916 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) 'Llanharan colliery victims: impressive funeral', The Glamorgan Gazette, 1 December 1916 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)

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