Water Haigh Colliery shaft collapse, November 1910

Six months after the shaft disaster of May 1910, the sides of No. 1 shaft at Water Haigh gave way again on 17 November 1910. Four of the ten men at the bottom were caught by the falling shale, timber and iron rings: one was killed outright and another died of his injuries in Leeds Infirmary.

Cause

The sides of No. 1 shaft collapsed during sinking. A mass of shale fell from above the brickwork and brought down the timbering and the iron rings supporting it onto the men at the bottom.

Contributing factors

As in May, a long length of shaft below the brickwork was carried on scaffolding and iron rings; the coroner asked whether too much of the wall had again been left unsupported.

What happened

On Thursday 17 November 1910 ten men were working at the bottom of No. 1 shaft, then 255 yards deep with the permanent brickwork carried down to 240 yards and the rest held by scaffolding and iron rings. The chargeman, James Cannon, saw shale falling from the sides, shouted to the men to come to the centre of the shaft and signalled for the hoppit to be lowered. He and five others jumped clear; four were caught by the falling earth, rings and timber. Patrick Joseph Berine, a sinker of twenty-four from County Roscommon, was killed instantly, and the three others were trapped and seriously injured. Two of the rescued men were taken to Leeds Infirmary, where James Phelan, thirty-nine, died several days later. It was the second of three fatal accidents in the sinking: six men had been killed in May 1910 and the joiner Herbert Pickersgill, one of the rescuers on this day, fell to his death in the same shaft in February 1911. The first coal was not wound until 20 April 1911.

Rescue & recovery

Cannon went to the surface with the uninjured men and returned at once with Joseph Artis, George Silkstone, Percy Asquith and the foreman joiner Herbert Pickersgill. The thick oak baulks of the scaffolding had to be sawn through, and freeing all three injured men took many hours with loose shale and rock falling down the shaft on the rescuers. Silkstone had to come up after about half an hour; Artis was struck by a piece of shale after two hours and had to go up; Asquith was also hit by debris; Cannon stayed down for six hours. Recovering Berine's body took two days, the sides of the shaft having to be made safe first.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest the coroner put it that the second accident appeared to have happened in exactly the same way as the first, and asked whether too much of the shaft wall had been left unsupported by brickwork. The contractors and colliery officials held that they had done all they could to prevent a further collapse; the jury accepted it, finding nothing to prove neglect and calling the affair a pure accident.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Edward Medals followed in April 1911: a first-class medal to James Cannon, an additional bar to George Silkstone's existing medal from the May rescue, and second-class medals to Percy Asquith, Joseph Artis and, posthumously, Herbert Pickersgill, whose widow collected it two months after he was killed in the same shaft.

Recorded claims

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

• The collapse happened on 17 November 1910; Patrick Joseph Berine was killed outright and James Phelan died of his injuries in Leeds Infirmary several days later. ¹
• A mass of shale fell from the sides of No. 1 shaft above the brickwork and brought the timbering and iron rings down on the men at the bottom, 255 yards down. ¹
• The chargeman James Cannon saw the shale falling, called the men to the centre of the shaft and signalled for the hoppit; six of the ten got clear and four were caught. ¹
• The jury found nothing to prove neglect and returned the accident as a pure accident, after the coroner asked whether too much of the shaft had again been left unsupported by brickwork. ¹
• Edward Medals were awarded in April 1911 for the rescue, first class to James Cannon and second class to Percy Asquith, Joseph Artis and, posthumously, Herbert Pickersgill. ¹
• One man, James Phelan, died of his injuries after the November accident. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…day, fell to his death in the same shaft in February 1911. The first coal was not wound until 20 April 1911.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…wall had been left unsupported by brickwork. The contractors and colliery officials held that they had done all they could to prevent a…”
• Kibble (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…to the men to come to the centre of the shaft and signalled for the hoppit to be lowered. He and five others jumped clear; four were caught by…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 11 times in this record, first in the summary: “Six months after the shaft disaster of May 1910, the sides of No. 1 shaft at Water Haigh gave…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “The sides of No. 1 shaft collapsed during sinking. A mass of shale fell from above the brickwork and brought down the…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Water Haigh Colliery: the 1910 Disaster — Woodlesford Station Local History
2. (secondary) Water Haigh Colliery Sinking Accident, 1910 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 24 September 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026