| Disasters - Names |
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Disasters - Names | ||
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| Date: | 29th March 1900 |
| Colliery: | Walkmill |
| Cause: | Fall of stone |
| Lives Lost: | 1 |
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| Description | |
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No. 133. This accident occurred at Walkmill Colliery, Cumberland, and is referred to here in illustration of the vexed question of systematic timbering.
A youth and his father were working together at the face, when a fall of roof occurred, killing the son and injuring the father.
The working face was about 20 yards distant from the main waggon-way, for the first 11 yards it was thickly timbered, as the roof was bad, but beyond that point the roof appeared to be stronger, and the timbering was relaxed accordingly, with the result that a fall of roof occurred, as stated above.
Had the timbering been systematically continued, in all human probability this life would have been saved.
The despatch to all the coal owners of the United Kingdom of the extract from the Annual General Report describing the system of timbering adopted at the Courrieres Collieries, France, has had the effect of concentrating attention on the general subject of timbering.
The extract referred to has been discussed at length at several important representative meetings of both coal owners and colliery managers in this district.
I have attended these meetings by special request, and taken part in the discussion.
The general trend of opinion seemed to be to the effect that, whilst those responsible for the safety of the workmen were prepared to welcome and adopt any reasonable and practicable suggestion which would tend to increased security, they considered that the experience of a single group of collieries was not sufficient basis for any drastic change.
| Source: | 1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian. |
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| Fatalities | |
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Quinn, Nicholas, aged 15, Putter, [Inspection made & inquest attended] | |
All names found |
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| Newspaper Articles | |
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| Mar 1900 | A Sad Fatality at Walk Mill Colliery, Son Killed and Father Injured (Whitehaven News) |
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