In all "344 men and boys" were killed in an underground explosion. The working classes were seen but never heard, and standing up to the boss was unthinkable. Of those, only four survived to be brought to the surface. There was a final fatality that day, William Turton, who died while fighting a fire in No. A Gannett Company. It was incredibly dangerous to venture down the pit after such an enormous and devastating blast, but someone had to find out what had happened to the men. Almost every house had its curtains drawn as a sign of respect for the dead as the community mourned together. And 100 years later, it is still the third worst British mining disaster. It was the first time, worldwide, that a rescue team had been used on such a large scale. The ventilation of the workings in the Nos. In the Downbrow District, 140 died, including 48 who were struggling back to the shafts along the east level. THE Hulton Colliery Company, established by William Hulton in 1858, owned four collieries in Westhoughton, employing about 2,500 people. Was I locked in the mine? December, 1910. [4] On the way down to the next shaft the team encountered obstacles, broken signal wires and bearers, and they were concerned the cage would break. Where great force was required to get the coal down, a hydraulic wedge was used and the only blasting in the mine had been for ripping and tunnelling. She died three years later and was buried along with her loved ones in Wingates Churchyard. In about March 1911, dependants received letters requiring their attendance at court in Bolton where officials sat to hear the pleas of each family and decide whether to give them any compensation. The coal in all these districts was worked on the longwall system and the total number of persons working in the No.3 Pit on the day of the explosion was 344 and 545 in the No.4 pit. No horses or ponies were employed in the mine. The Nos. 3, Pretoria Pit : 344 : Explosion, firedamp propagated by coal dust, ignition caused by safety lamp On March 6, 1911, the Bolton Evening News reported that “work is still being pushed forward for the recovery of the remaining body in the Pretoria Pit. The districts were under the general control of manager Alfred Tonge, but he did not go down the pit every day. Of the 11 firemen in the Yard seam where the explosion occurred, six were in the day shift, four in the night shift and one in the afternoon shift. 3 pit. In number four pit there were 109 in Trencherbone, 306 in Arley and 130 in Three Quarters. The Hulton colliery was owned by the Hulton Colliery Company and was close to Atherton about 11 miles to the west of Manchester and comprised four different and distinct collieries. This page was last edited on 30 August 2020, at 09:54. [3] The fund was dissolved in 1975 and the remaining assets transferred to other miners' relief funds. The fact that it was Christmas was forgotten by grieving families. A ventilation fan extracted used air from number three shaft, while other fans pushed air into the working districts. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Historic research has found that of the 344 victims, nine per cent died from the blast and the remainder were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. Atherton, Lancashire. As the smell of coal permeated the air, men hurried to the pit, eager to get the day over so they could return to their families and wind down for the festive break. Only one cage in the shaft was operable, the ventilation was wrecked and poisonous afterdamp gas was accumulating. Compensation was awarded through three sources: the mayor’s relief fund, miners’ relief societies and the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1906. The mines were under the general control of Mr. Tonge who was also the agent and lived at the colliery and acted as manager but he did not go underground everyday. A relief fund was established for the families and dependants and a total of £145,000 was raised. The Trencherbone coal was raised from a mouthing in that seam in the No.4 shaft. CHRISTMAS was only four days away and families across Westhoughton were busy preparing for the festive celebrations. At that time, only six men were trained and there was a limited supply of apparatus at the station. 1 and 2 faces of the North plodder. The location of the coalfields helped to make Lancashire a prosperous part of the UK. There is a memorial to the victims in Westhoughton cemetery. Of the Yard mine victims, 23 were killed in the East Jig district and 42 in the Top Yard district — most from gas poisoning. During the rescue operation, he was found near the top of the Downbrow roadway and taken to Bolton Infirmary. There were approximately 2,400 workers employed by the Hulton Colliery Company in 1910. There were two separate cables down the No.4 shaft and two cables down the No.3 shaft to the Yard Seam. The forcing fan was used in the No.3 Pit workings and this means of ventilation was used due to the fact that the coal was brought up the shaft at the Yard seam level and wound up the upcast shaft. all the cutting was carried out on the night shift and the breaking down and filling of the coal was done during the morning shift when the conveyor which was also electrically driven was used. The mine was pitch black. The Pretoria Disaster was one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters occurring on 21st December 1910 at Over Hulton near Bolton. THE first body to be brought up the shaft was that of 52-year-old Richard Clayton, from Cheshire. The workings at this level were divided into five which were known as:-. We found after starting it up that we were only getting one half of the air underground that we were getting through the fan.". She lost her husband, four sons and two brothers in the blast. (Number one on the map) The shafts were 18ft wide and about 75 yards apart, with number four as the downcast shaft and three as the upcast. More commonly known as Pretoria Pit, the colliery lay underneath the south edge of Hulton Park on the lands of Sir William Hulton. This pointed to a great deal of leakage underground. The two survivors were Joseph Staveley and William Davenport. — Report of a formal investigation under Section 45 of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887, into the Causes and Circumstances of the Explosion, by. The coal from the larger area of the There-Quarter mine was brought to the Arley Mine level and was drawn to the surface at the No.4 shaft from a mouthing in the No.3 shaft at the Yard Mine level, the coal from the Yard, Plodder and the small area of the Three-Quarter was raised. There were heartbreaking scenes at the pit head as children, wives, mothers and sisters waited anxiously in the cold to see whether their loved ones would be pulled out alive. The definitive study of the disaster. “I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep. Mining was exclusive to specific areas of the country and was often the biggest employer of men. HULTON No. Mr Tonge arrived within about 20 minutes, leading a team of rescuers into the pit. Many of the fatalities were from the same family. A number of badly mutilated bodies were retrieved from the bottom of the shaft on January 4, 1911. It was a cold, dark, damp morning, typical for that time of the month, which seemed no different from any other. The Hulton Colliery Explosion Relief Fund was set up by the Mayor of Bolton and immediately raised £138,000 to help bereaved families. “At first I thought I was in my bed. Despite strenuous efforts by rescuers, only 343 bodies were recovered and the same number of deaths registered. Incredibly, by today’s standards — and despite the scenes of sorrow—work at Pretoria Pit resumed on January 11, 1911, more than a month before the last body was pulled from the rubble on Valentine’s Day. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here. [6], Coordinates: 53°32′11″N 2°29′13″W / 53.5364°N 2.4869°W / 53.5364; -2.4869, The Westhoughton Journal, 26 January 1973, "HULTON No. The repairing and mechanical coal cutting shift which carried out work in the North Plodder only, was from 10.30 to 6 30 a.m. and comprised about 150 persons. If an exhausting fan had been used it would have placed an obstruction in the mouthing and impeded with the drawing of the coal. The blasting was done in the afternoon when the coal getting shift had gone. GENERAL manager of Hulton Colliery, Alfred Tonge, lived almost two miles away from the pit head. William was given a job with the company, working in the Pretoria Pit along with his eldest son, John. On the morning of December 21, 1910, William kissed Mary and their seven children goodbye and went to work as usual, but John was feeling sick so he stayed at home. However, for 344 of them — some of whom are pictured at the top and bottom of these pages — the day and their lives would tragically be cut short. These give an insight into the latest technology employed at the time, specifically the widespread use of electrical power above and below ground. In addition one man died in the Arley Mine of No. John was given a place in one of the pits owned by the Hulton Colliery Company and the family rented a house in Brancker Street, near Chequerbent roundabout. This was done by the night shift firemen. 3. The site is about 300 yards from the No.4 shaft from which the survivors and bodies were raised. Mr. Rushton who was killed in the explosion, was the undermanager for the Nos.3 and 4 Pits and held a first class certificate. Five seams — known in Lancashire at that time rather confusingly as mines—were worked from Pretoria Pit: the Trencherbone and Arley from the number four pit; and the Plodder, Three Quarters and Yard from number three where an explosion on December 21, 1910, would claim 344 lives and rip communities apart. The undertakers found it hard to cope with the amount of coffins needed and supplies were brought from out of town. Excited children were singing carols, putting up handmade decorations and hanging out their stockings, as women everywhere wrapped gifts and prepared the bird for roasting. The industry provided a stable life for the locals and families even travelled from out of town to live in purpose-built miners’ terrace cottages and work in one of the recently opened collieries. Of these smaller districts, there were two rise workings, the North and South Plodder Districts. A large fault cut through the minerals worked from the Nos 3 and 4 (Bank Pit) shafts, east and west and another almost at right angles to the same made it necessary for an arrangement of cross-measure drifts and coal roads which allowed the three seams to be worked from one level in the No.3 shaft. If any copyright of anyone else's material is unintentionally breached, please email me, Pretoria Pit at Westhoughton, Lancashire. However, it is not known what happened to Mr Sharples and his name does not appear among the list of witnesses at the inquest. Samuel Pope, Barrister-At-Law. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. A nearby joiner’s shop became a temporary morgue where girls washed and cleaned the bodies and coffins were quickly thrown together. One of the cages was made free by about 9am and five men went down to the Trencherbone mine to begin the search. William died on September 24, 1951, aged 60, and he was buried in Atherton Cemetery. Disaster 1910. Atherton, Lancashire. Information and photographs submitted by subscribers are posted in good faith. A shout for survivors was bellowed out and the miners, although slightly affected by fumes, responded that they were okay. Pretoria Pit. ©Copyright 2001-2020. On the morning of 21 December, approximately 900 workers arrived for the day shift. The Yard seam particularly in the area known as the Top Yard was particularly gassy specially when it approached the fault the traversed the mine from east to west and gas was not uncommon in the Plodder seam.

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