Article from the West Cumberland Times, 27^th April 1901

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The Pit Shaft Disaster at Whitehaven

Adjourned Inquest

Survivor's Story
An Awful Experience

Yesterday (Friday) afternoon the adjourned inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of John Beastall, otherwise known as John Else, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottingham; Patrick Kinsella, Barney Gribbons, and James Currie, Cleator Moor, the victims of the recent accident in Ladysmith shaft, Croft Pit, was held in the Magistrate's Court, Whitehaven, by Mr. Gordon Falcon, coroner for West Cumberland.

There were present :— Mr. J. L. Hedley, chief inspector of mines for the Newcastle District; Mr. A. D. Nicholson, assistant inspector; Mr. T. H. Brockbank, representing the Whitehaven Colliery Company; Mr. W. Redshaw, manager of Croft Pit; Mr. Andrew Sharp, miners' agent; Mr. Jas. Flynn, agent to the West Cumberland Workmen's Association; Mr. Martin, West Cumberland Coalowners' Association ; and Mr. W. H. Chapman, who appeared on behalf of the relatives of two of the deceased men.

J. Shanks, surveyor for the Whitehaven Colliery Company, produced a plan of the shaft 30 feet above and 30 feet below the place where the fall took place. Mr. Shanks stated that they had got down about 145 fathoms and the bricking stopped at 125 fathoms. The iron rings which were placed in the shaft were from 4 feet to 5 feet apart. There were upright irons as well. The rings were put in in segments of 6 feet long and the cross sections of 3½ by inches. Behind these were packing deals from 6 feet to 7 feet long and about an inch and three-quarters thick. The men had bricked up from the bottom about 35 feet. The top of the bricking was about 2 feet from the fault. It would be necessary when they got within 2 feet to remove the ring to put in the bricking. They took out one row of deals at a time. He had examined the place where this fall took place from and found there was a fault across the shaft at an angle of about 60 degrees — that was about one in four. The debris which came away consisted of soft cliff metal and pieces of sandstone. Some of the pieces would take two men to put into the kibble. Most of it was small stuff and could be shovelled. In his opinion it could not come away while the iron was standing. There were two faults. One came out into the shaft and the other was at the edge of the shaft.

By Mr. Hedley The plan showed them the shaft before and after the accident. It was made before the bodies were recovered.

In reply to Mr. Sharp, witness said the distance between the top of the walling and where they were finishing at would be from 55 feet to 60 feet. The extent of the fall was 14 feet.

Wm. Rickerby said: I live at St. Bees and am a sinker. I belong to this district and have been a good few years at this kind of job. I have been working at this shaft since the commencement of the sinking, it was bricked so far down and that part is finished. Then we go so far down, put our "crib" on and start "to brick up again." We had got bricked up about 30 feet when this job happened. It happened about half-past nine on Tuesday, the 16th. There were seven of us on the scaffold and we went down at two o'clock in the afternoon with the intention of working till six o'clock. There were three shifts going. John Else was in charge on the Tuesday night. Mr. Risby was in the habit of visiting us occasionally, but he was not down on Tuesday night. We saw him on the surface at six o'clock. The scaffold was a wooden one with four wings to fold up. It made a circle of the shaft. There was no fault to find with the scaffold, It was a good scaffold to work on. Before the accident occurred we had bricked up about 4 feet above the scaffold. There were three of us on the south side of the shaft, and tour on the other. We were taking the ring out when the fall took place. I said to Else "Don't make it loose, there is too much weight. Don't be in too big a hurry, Jack." Else said he would make it loose, and of course he made the matching piece loose. He was then on the north side of the scaffold. The ring all came right into the shaft then, and the thing all stood just in a quiver before the side gave way. When it gave way it knocked me against the side of the kibble. It knocked the bucket over the shaft and I got hold of the rope — how I can't tell. When I came to myself my brother was up above me on the rope. We always keep the kibble "tight rope" on the scaffold. I looked down the pit and everything had gone, and someone was moaning below. Nolan was on the side of the kibble. We steadied ourselves and I looked down — hearing this man moaning I felt that I should like to get him up with us if possible. We have not had any trouble before since I went to work at this shaft. The ground was a little bit tender, but I did not consider there was anything unusually dangerous. This was the proper way of working up so long as we used care. I knew nothing about Else before I came to this job.

By the Coroner: In my opinion every care had previously been used, and if this (the loosening of the ring) had been done carefully at the time this accident would not have happened.

By Mr. Lamb (a juror): If more timber had been used he believed that the accident would not have happened.

By Mr. Hedley : The ground was softer than that we had formerly worked on

Do you think the proper precautions had been taken to make the shaft safe? — Yes, I do. The shaft was in pretty good order until we began to make this ring loose. Else told me to get a spanner and make the ring loose, and I said there was too much weight.

By the Coroner : I was not altogether frightened, yet I had a dread on me that there was weight there.

Did you say anything to anyone in control that there was danger, or did you come out of the pit and report that there was danger? — I did not consider there was danger enough for that. More ground came away than was expected. I did not see any danger until we started to make this ring loose.

You went on working? — Yes. I was not satisfied, but I stopped down the shaft.

In reply to further questions, witness said Else was the boss, and whatever he said they had to do it. He trusted to him. If he had not done what he was told he would have had to go out of the pit. Else always went on with his work all right, and up to that time he always thought him up to his duty, and he had confidence in him. He never heard anyone say anything about Else with regard to his work. He was a man who understood his work.

By Mr. Sharp: He was not a contractor, and his wage was 6s. 3d. per day. He was not employed as a first-class sinker, and he did not know that there were any first-class sinkers on this job. He had seen Mr. Redshaw, the manager, and Mr. Risby down the shaft. They had what they called a nightshift boss who used to inspect the shaft.

John Nolan, iron ore miner, St. Bees, corroborated the evidence of the previous witness, and said he had worked at this shaft about six months.

Ralph Risby, 12, Mountain View, Whitehaven, said he had been a contracting sinker for 18 years. He had done work in different parts of the country. He had the contract for Ladysmith shaft. They worked three shifts. He was there on the Tuesday in question, at 6.30, and he saw the chargeman (Else) before he went down. Else had worked for him at different times for the last 12 years. He had charge of this particular shift, and it was witness's practice to go and see the men when they came up for their bait. He was down the shaft at 8.30 that morning. Everything seemed right so far as he could see. Else was paid at the rate of 8s. per day as a chargeman. They had a chargeman for each shift. He had every confidence in Else, who had taken charge of some of the biggest pits in England during the past 30 years. When witness was up at six he asked him how he was getting on, and he replied. "First class. I have never seen it safer." He added that there was a bit of bad ground below. Witness did not go again until he was fetched after the accident. The ground was still rushing when he got down. At the time he got there Else was alive, and could talk to them. They could not get down to him on account of the rushing. Before witness got down the men had lowered a rope to him, and had tried to get him out, but he was fast Every effort was made to rescue Else. He put some steel jumpers down on the side where the rush came in, and he told Else he should be down to him in a few minutes. Another rush then came and covered Else up. There were no more signs of life after that. He was present when Else's body was recovered. His leg was wrapped round some buried timber. Witness had no knowledge of any danger in the shaft. The shaft had appeared fairly safe before — as shafts went.

By Mr. Nicholson : When he was down before the accident he did not notice any bulging or signs of any weight. They had had rushes before, but this rush appeared to have come more suddenly.

By Mr. Sharp : There was a report-book for the men in charge to make any entries, and he himself regularly examined that book. He thought it a proper thing to "base" a ring off suddenly with a pick. He had done it and the chargeman had done it. They did it by his instructions. They were forced to break a ring to get it out, and in 19 cases out of 20 it would all hold.

Don't you think when the ring is tight pressed there is a serious danger to loose it quickly? — The timbers are already tight. The ring is put in tight before there is an ounce of weight upon it.

Would it not be better to draw the wedges? — No doubt the wedges would be loosened in several instances. If the chargeman considered the wedges too tight no doubt be would do so.

But you see when you do it in that way it is like knocking the chocks from a waggon. — But I tell you the timber does not always come with that.

Mr. Sharp : No, not always, or else it would have been stopped before now.

Witness, continuing, said he was aware they were going through bad ground. The ring in question was not 6 feet from the other. He thought it would be about 4 feet.

The report book in use at the shaft was put in, and the Coroner pointed out that it had been signed by Else. He must have signed it on the night in question, when he came up for his bait.

Mr. Nicholson said he had been down the shaft six or seven times, and he had nothing to complain of. In fact he thought the pit was going down very nicely.

The Coroner, in summing up, said no doubt it was a long way to take it down without putting in another ring, but it was probably better to take it down a little further to get a sound foundation, and so make it safe for all time. With regard to prising the rings, no doubt one was wiser after an accident than before, but Else was an experienced man, and it was clearly a want of judgment. At the same time, no doubt he thought the boards above and below would hold. Everything seemed to have been well found in the material. There was evidently some risk, but Else just ran the same risk as any of the other men, and there was no inducement whatever for him to scamp his work.

The jury retired to consider their verdict, and returned after a short absence. The Foreman then announced that they were unanimously of opinion that it was a pure accident.

A verdict of "Accidental death" was accordingly returned.