| Disasters - Names |
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Disasters - Names | ||
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| Date: | 29th May 1951 |
| Colliery: | Easington |
| Cause: | Explosion, firedamp propagated by coal dust, ignition caused by sparks from cutter picks striking pyrites |
| Lives Lost: | 83 |
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| Description | |
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The text of the report from the Mines Inspector into this disaster is available in the Disaster Reports section of this website.
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| Fatalities | |
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 | Anson, John, aged 64, Shifter, address: 8 Thomas Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Armstrong, William, aged 55, Datal, address: 6 Barwick Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Bedding, Mark Smart, aged 38, Filler, address: 84 Wordsworth Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Blevins, Matthew, aged 27, Filler, address: 28 Inchcape Terrace, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Brenkley, George, aged 20, Filler, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Brenkley, Thomas, aged 32, Filler, address: 24 Dean Avenue, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Brennan, Louis, aged 49, Stoneman, address: 3 Cuba Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Brown, George Miller, aged 50, Datal, address: 14 Cook Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Burdess, Henry, aged 43, Deputy, Rescue Worker from Brancepeth Colliery, overcome by noxious gas 1st June 1951 |
| | Burn, Bertram, aged 25, Filler, address: 12 Thorpe Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Cain, Emmerson, aged 63, Stoneman, address: 22 Ashton Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Cairns, Frederick, aged 23, Filler, address: 72 Station Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Calvert, George, aged 50, Stoneman, address: 5 Clifton Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Calvin, James, aged 51, Conveyor Maintenance, address: 1 Laburnum Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Carr, Frederick, aged 50, Electrician, address: 5 Leachmere Terrace, Ryhope, Buried: St. Matthew's Churchyard, Silksworth |
| | Carr, George William, aged 45, Timber Drawer, address: 5 Cook Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Carr, James, aged 38, Timber Drawer, address: 7 Vincent Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Challoner, John Edwin (Teddy), aged 53, Deputy, address: 10 Boston Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Champley, Richard, aged 43, Cutter, address: 29 Hazel Terrace, Shotton |
| | Chapman, Albert Kerr, aged 44, Stoneman, address: 48 Attlee Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Charlton, Joseph, aged 42, Master Shifter, address: 15 Baldwin Street, Easington Colliery, brother in law of John Lamb, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Clough, John, aged 57, Shifter, address: 2 West Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Dryden, William Arthur, aged 27, Filler, address: 13 Tower Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Ellison, John, aged 19, Datal, address: 2 Wear Terrace, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Fishburn, Charles, aged 54, Shifter, address: 7 Cardiff Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Fishburn, Henry, aged 23, Filler, address: 111 Station Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Garside, Thomas, aged 20, Datal, address: 49 Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Godsman, Joseph, aged 41, Cutter, address: 41 North Road, Wingate |
| | Goulburn, George, aged 57, Mason's Labourer, address: 54 Station Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Gowland, Albert, aged 51, Deputy, address: 20 Bradley Street, Easington Colliery, leaves a widow and three boys, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Goyns, Ernest, aged 60, Stoneman, address: 20 Stokoe Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Wheatley Hill Cemetery |
| | Goyns, Herbert, aged 56, Stoneman, address: 1 Fifteenth Street, Wheatley Hill, Buried: Thornley Cemetery |
| | Harker, John, aged 53, Shifter, address: 30 Glebe Avenue, Easington Colliery, Buried: Easington Village Cemetery |
| | Henderson, John William, aged 56, Shifter, address: The Cottage, Hawthorne |
| | Hepple, Thomas, aged 31, Filler, address: 16 Easington Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Hunt, Daniel, aged 54, Datal, address: 8 Castle Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Hunt, Stephen, aged 24, Filler, address: 5 The Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Hunt, William, aged 43, Datal, address: 29 West Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Hutton, Arthur Chambers, aged 42, Filler, address: 72 Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Jepson, Frederick Ernest, aged 68, Shifter, address: 11 Abbot Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Jones, Lawrence, aged 36, Filler, address: 1 Attlee Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Jones, Thomas Edward, aged 35, Deputy, address: 62 Station Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Jopling, Herbert Jeffrey, aged 57, Shifter, address: 11 Ashton Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Kelly, John, aged 57, Datal, father of William, address: 11 Clifton Street, Easington, leaves a widow and two sons, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Kelly, William (Billy), aged 28, Filler, son of John, address: 11 Clifton Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Lamb, John Edward Armstrong, aged 43, Datal, address: 15 Butler Street, Easington Colliery, brother in law of Joseph Charlton, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Link, Jesse Stephenson, aged 44, Datal, address: 6 Anthony Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Lippeatt, Joseph Fairless, aged 37, Filler, address: Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Lynch, Peter, aged 20, Filler, address: 4 Stephenson Square, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | McRoy, Denis, aged 23, Filler, address: 22 Bolam Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | McRoy, William James, aged 31, Filler, address: 9 Tower Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Milburn, Robert William, aged 26, Filler, address: 37 George Avenue, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Nelson, Harold, aged 49, Stoneman, address: 27 Bradley Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Newcombe, Albert, aged 67, Stoneman, address: 13 Beatty Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Nicholson, Norman, aged 29, Filler, address: 51 Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Noble, Robert, aged 45, Shifter, address: 24 Austin Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Parkin, William, aged 24, Filler, address: 31 Thorntree Gill, Peterlee, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Parks, William Edward Forbes, aged 62, Shifter, address: 7 Raby Avenue, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Pase, Robert, aged 63, Shifter, address: 16 The Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Peaceful, Stanley, aged 37, Stoneman, address: 6 South Street, Thornley, Buried: Thornley Cemetery |
| | Penman, Alexander, aged 42, Cutter, address: 71 Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Porter, James, aged 32, Filler, address: 51 George Avenue, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Porter, John Thomas, aged 23, Filler, address: 3 Alnwick Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Rice, Thomas Valentine, aged 53, Shifter, address: 2 Beaty Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Robinson, John, aged 50, Stoneman, address: 5 Carol Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Robson, John George, aged 25, Filler, address: East View, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Scott, George, aged 53, Datal, address: 1 Burns Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Seymour, Albert, aged 64, Datal, address: 32 Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Sillito, Frederick, aged 52, Shifter, address: 10 Angus Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Stubbs, George Henry, aged 60, Shifter, address: 21 Alma Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Surtees, Hugh Bell, aged 36, Datal, address: 4 Bevan Crescent, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Surtees, Matthew White, aged 61, Shifter, address: 22 Alma Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Thompson, Laurence, aged 54, Datal, address: 2 Boyd Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Thompson, Thomas, aged 28, Underground Bricklayer, address: 2 Wickham Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Trisnan, Thomas, aged 43, Stoneman, address: 56 Oak Road, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Turnbull, Robert, aged 64, Master Wasteman, address: 29 Ascot Street, Easington Colliery, leaves a wife, one son and two daughters (was due to retire in 3 months), Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Wallace, John (Jack) Young, aged 26, Back Overman, Rescue Worker, overcome by noxious gas same day, address: Deneside, Seaham, Buried: Murton Cemetery |
| | Wilkie, George, aged 63, Shifter, address: 16 Argent Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Wilkinson, Reginald, aged 40, Stoneman, address: 33 Hart Lane, West Hartlepool, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Williams, Matthew, aged 18, Datal, fatally injured and died the same day, address: 6 Ashton Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Willins, Robert, aged 45, Fore Overman, address: 11 Byron Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Wilson, John, aged 62, Hauling Engineman, address: 23 Baldwin Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Garden of Remembrance at Easington Colliery Cemetery |
| | Wilson, Stephen, aged 60, Shifter, address: 9 Anthony Street, Easington Colliery, Buried: Easington Village Cemetery |
All names found | |
Youngest: 18 years old ; Oldest: 68 ; Average: 43 | |
Those names marked with |
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| Poems | |
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The Black HeroesBy Unknown
Let us not forget them
As we pass along life’s way,
The men of Easington Colliery
Who died that fatal day.
Let us remember the folks they have left,
Their sweethearts and their wives,
Remember, when you are burning the coal
That cost these men their lives.
Let us remember also the rescue team
Who went into that Black Hell,
Let us not forget these few,
Who braved the gas and the smell.
Remember, yes remember,
At the closing of the day,
Remember that they died for you,
Remember, kneel and pray.
The Easington DisasterBy Fred Ramsey
At the pithead, in the dawn,
rescue teams look old and drawn.
Sickened by the last vain search,
where two men died to save a corpse.
Weeping women, mangled men,
can we face it all again?
Yet, we must, for, if we strive
perhaps we'll find just one alive.
Down this grim, blast-shattered mine,
bodies sprawl where our lamps shine.
Once strong men, once eager boys,
lie broken like discarded toys.
Our hopes have gone, our tears we've shed,
there's nothing down here but the dead.
Eighty three's the final toll;
the endless, bloody, price of coal.
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| Newspaper Articles | |
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| 29 May 1951 | Pit Explosion Traps 78, One Man Rescued, Eight Bodies Found in Easington Disaster, Bishop At Pit-Head (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 29 May 1951 | Editorial, Pit Disaster (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 30 May 1951 | Miners Trapped After Pit Explosion, 14 Bodies Found : Over 60 Men Missing (The Times) |
| 30 May 1951 | 63 Are Still Missing in Pit, Lord Hyndley and Mr. Shinwell at Easington Pit-head, 'Won't Give Up Hope' (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 30 May 1951 | Relations Keep Night-long Vigil at Pit Head (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 30 May 1951 | Miner Listed as Missing Was Safe Home in Bed (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 30 May 1951 | Trapped Men Listed (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 30 May 1951 | Editorial, Easington Pit Disaster (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 31 May 1951 | No Hope For 60 Miners, Lord Hyndley's Statement (The Times) |
| 31 May 1951 | 400 Yards from coal face, No Hope for 58 Missing Men : 23 Bodies Found at Easington, ‘Working Tirelessly’ (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 31 May 1951 | Disaster Fund Opened (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 31 May 1951 | Stricken Village is told there is no hope for miners, Women Break Down as News is Given (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 31 May 1951 | Two Were Safe (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 01 Jun 1951 | Distress Fund For Miners, Broadcast To-Day By Mr. Shinwell (The Times) |
| 02 Jun 1951 | Easington Pit Inquiry Ordered, Mr. Shinwell's Appeal For Fund (The Times) |
| 02 Jun 1951 | Mr. Atlee Sends Message (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 02 Jun 1951 | Silent Village Lays Pit Disaster Victims To Rest (Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
| 31 Oct 1951 | Easington Colliery Explosion, Miners’ Evidence At Inquiry (The Times) |
| 01 Nov 1951 | Easington Colliery Explosion, Inquiry Told Of Rescue Workers’ Deaths (The Times) |
| 02 Nov 1951 | Colliery Explosion Inquiry, Evidence Of Sparking from Machinery (The Times) |
| 03 Nov 1951 | Stone Dusting At Easington, Evidence At Inquiry Into Explosion (The Times) |
| 06 Nov 1951 | Shot Firing In Coal Face, Evidence At Easington Inquiry (The Times) |
| 07 Nov 1951 | Miner's Evidence Of Gas In Pit, Easington Inquiry (The Times) |
| 16 Nov 1951 | Colliery Explosion Inquiry Ended, Union Criticism Of Management (The Times) |
| 09 Apr 1952 | Easington Colliery Memorial (The Times) |
| 20 Sep 1952 | Cause Of Mine Disaster, Firedamp Ignition, Inspector On "Bad Practices" (The Times) |
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| Further Reading | |
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- Mines Inspectors Report into the 1951 Explosion (Cmd. 8646)
- Explosion at Easington - A Durham Mine Disaster Remembered by Gavin Purdon, Published by Pit Lamp Press
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