Durham Mining Museum - Newspaper Articles (original) (raw)

20th August 1903

Fatal Accident At William Pit

Colliers Prefer The Dangerous Way

A fatal accident occurred at William Pit, Whitehaven, on Tuesday afternoon. William Spence, a single man, 73 years of age, who lodged with George Chapelhow at Harras Moor, was found killed, on the rope-haulage-way. He was a shiftman who had been employed in the Whitehaven Colliery for very many years, and he had been coming out of the pit alone, after ceasing work at one o'clock in the afternoon; and John Shepherd and John Miers, who were going in, discovered his dead body on the Delaval brow. A full set and three light sets had passed shortly before, and he had been run over and killed by them. He was quite dead, but his body was warm. His left arm was torn off, his right arm was broken, and his body was injured. The two men raised an alarm, and the sets were stopped, and the body was taken to Harras Moor. The body was found near a manhole; 68 yards distant, further inbye; his lamp was found near another manhole.

An inquest was held on view of the deceased, at the Grand Hotel, by Mr. Gordon Falcon, yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. Mr. J. B. Atkinson, Government Inspector, was present; Mr. L. T. Helder, solicitor, represented the Colliery Company; and Mr. Turner, the manager of William Pit, was also present.

The jury had to go up to Harras Moor to view the body.

James Spence, dock labourer, a brother of the deceased living in Queen Street, identified the body.

John Shepherd, 11, Countess Terrace, Bransty, engine fitter, working at William Pit, said that he was travelling outward when he came across the deceased. Deceased was lying on the full line. He was an experienced man, and a careful man. He had the appearance of having been run over. They met an empty set coming in, and he knew that a full set had gone out because he heard the alarm though he did not see the full set. The full and the empty set might meet at about the place where they found Spence. He was just about a yard from a manhole. They found his lamp 68 yards inbye from where he was lying, the lamp being within two yards of another manhole. When witness and Miers were coming up they saw an object, which they first of all mistook to be a haybag that had fallen off, but when they looked again witness said, "Oh, it's a man, sure enough." Witness did not know that Spence was hard of hearing. Spence was fairly active; he was an elderly man.

By Mr. Nicholson: Deceased had worked at the colliery all his life, witness thought. Witness had known him to work there for 40 years. Deceased was a fairly active man for his years. He had been told that deceased set off before the full set. Witness and Miers only met one full set.

Robert Parkinson, haulage hand at William Pit, said he saw deceased yesterday, about 1.25. Deceased was then passing where witness worked, and was on his way out. It would be about 600 yards from where witness worked to where the accident occurred. Witness spoke to the deceased, and deceased was all right then. Witness put on the full set, made up of 16 tubs of coal and two bogies — that was the last set that went out. The rope was travelling at the right speed, and everything was as usual.

By Mr. Nicholson: You can walk quicker than the sets in an ordinary way. The rope would be going at the time about 3 miles an hour. The full set was stopped about 400 yards past the place where the body was found. During the time the full set had travelled from witness's place until it was stopped there were three empty sets turned up. It was quite possible that deceased was getting out of the way of an empty set and getting in the way of the full one.

Mr. Blair, from the colliery office, put in a plan showing where the accident occurred.

In reply to the Coroner, Mr. Turner, the pit manager, said there was a separate travelling way for the men, and it was shorter than the haulage way, but the air was hotter, and the men did not use it.

Mr. Atkinson said the only way to avoid these accidents was to use the travelling road. The haulage way was certainly not a place for an old man of 73.

Mr. McKie (one of the jury) asked if anyone should go in and out that way if there was road specially for them.

Mr. Atkinson said the men did not use it.

The Coroner said there was one thing about an old man, that generally he would be more careful than a young one.

Mr. Turner said an old man was more numb, certainly, but he was not so likely to run into danger.

Mr. Atkinson: Except that it is found as a rule that the more a man is accustomed to danger the more contempt he has for it.

Mr. Helder said the manager pointed out to him that there was no evidence as to how the occurrence happened. The man might have had a fit.

Mr. Atkinson said the bulk of these accidents at the Whitehaven Colliery were through men travelling the haulage way. There had been quite a dozen at Whitehaven in his time. The other way — the proper travelling way — was no use so long as the men were allowed to use the other.

Mr. Joseph Cannell (a juryman) said the deceased would have been in the habit of travelling that way frequently for the last 25 years, and he would be less likely to have an accident than a young man.

Mr. Atkinson: Quite so. The only way is to have a separate road.

The Coroner: There is a separate road.

Mr. Atkinson: Yes, but the men refuse to use it.

The jury returned a verdict that the deceased met his death by a pure accident.

Newspaper transcript kindly provided by
West Cumbria Mines Research.