Ty Trist Colliery shaft accident, 1905

On 15 December 1905 two men lowered into the No. 1 shaft at Ty Trist Colliery, Tredegar, to repair a burst steam-pipe joint were overcome by the escaping steam and fell to the pit bottom. Two men who went up the shaft to find them were nearly suffocated.

Cause

A joint in the steam pipe in the shaft, repaired the day before, burst again about 110 to 120 yards from the bottom; the two men sent to repair it were overcome by the steam and fell.

What happened

At about seven o'clock on the morning of Friday 15 December 1905 a joint in the steam pipe in the No. 1 shaft at Ty Trist, a Tredegar Iron Company colliery, was found to have burst some 110 to 120 yards from the bottom; it had been repaired the day before but had come apart again. Samuel Henry Brooking, the chargeman in charge of the engines, and Peter Watkins, a fitter, were lowered in the cage to a landing to repair it. What followed is not known: men in the shaft heard shouting, and then saw Watkins's body fall to the bottom. George Morgan and William John Harris were raised from the bottom to the landing to find out what had happened, but the steam blinded and almost suffocated them, and they only just escaped to the surface. Brooking's body was later found in the sump at the bottom of the pit. Both men were thought to have been overcome by the steam.

Rescue & recovery

George Morgan and William John Harris were raised to the landing but were driven back by the steam and barely reached the surface; both bodies were recovered from the pit bottom, Brooking's from the sump.

Recorded claims

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

• Samuel Henry Brooking and Peter Watkins were killed at Ty Trist Colliery on 15 December 1905. ^1,2,3
• They were repairing a burst steam pipe in the shaft when they were overcome by steam and fell to the bottom. ^1,2,3
• Two men who went up the shaft to find them were almost suffocated by the steam and barely escaped. ^1,3

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…of the engines, and Peter Watkins, a fitter, were lowered in the cage to a landing to repair it. What followed is not known: men in the…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 15 December 1905 two men lowered into the No. 1 shaft at Ty Trist Colliery, Tredegar, to repair a burst steam-pipe joint were overcome by the…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 15 December 1905 two men lowered into the No. 1 shaft at Ty Trist Colliery, Tredegar, to repair a burst steam-pipe joint…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…just escaped to the surface. Brooking's body was later found in the sump at the bottom of the pit. Both men were thought to have been…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh colliery fatalities, 1905 (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines website
2. (primary) 'Two men killed at Tredegar', The Cambrian, 22 December 1905 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) 'Tredegar: colli dau o fywydau', Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 20 December 1905 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)

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