Margaret Ann
Skelly,
17,
Screener.

Ernest Clark,
22,
Screen engineman.

Sept. 26

Allhallows,
Cumberland.

Allerdale Coal Co,
Ltd.

John Parker
Cowen.
38,

Nov. 2

Kibblesworth,
Durham.

John Bowes and
Partners, Ltd.

Joiner.

Screener.

about half revolution and broke the plank. Deceased seemed to escape one of the first arms on the centre boss, but was
caught by the second and knocked into the drum pit below, a distance of nearly 16 feet; the man who was injured was
lifting at the other side and he did not leave go in time and was carried round and then fell off into the pit when the drum
stopped revolving. The Local Inspectors in their report simply described the accident.

Died July 27. New screens erected in connection with the sinking and fitting-up of the Ladysmith Pit, close to the Croft Pit,
had been in operation for about 7 weeks and new work was still being added. The manager had given instructions to fence
all the more dangerous parts, and this had been accomplished, and men were busy completing the fencing. Deceased was
employed picking stones from the coal passing along on a travelling belt, and occasionally she shovelled the refuse down
a shoot, where it fell into wagons below. On the floor on which she worked there was a space of 16 feet 3 inches from the
belt to the side of the building, and within 1 foot 9 inches of the side and 1 foot 6 inches from the floor, a shaft 3 inches in
diameter revolved 70 times per minute, and within about 3 feet of one of the shoots there was a carriage for the shaft, and
on each side of it a ring was placed round the shaft secured by two set screws, the square end of which projected inch;
the rings were fixed on the shaft to prevent longitudinal movement. Deceased was standing near the carriage, and her
skirts, which were about 6 inches from the floor, were caught by a set screw of one of the rings, and she was drawn in and
carried round several times before the machinery was stopped. The nearly plain shaft did not look particularly dangerous,
but where girls and women are working anything revolving is always a source of danger, and should be carefully fenced.
Deceased had taken the place for two or three weeks of the regular screen engineman, who was ill. He oiled the machinery in
connection with the screens and belts before work started, and on the day of the accident was directed as usual to attend to
this by the enginewright at 5.45 a.m., and he was seen oiling some rollers about 6.30 a.m. About 6.50 a.m., when the screen
engine had been running about 20 minutes, it stopped, and on an examination being made, it was found that deceased had
been caught by bevel wheels placed above the floor line and below the level of the belts, and his body had stopped the
engine. An oil can was found on the top of a journal in which one of the bevel wheels worked. The wheels were well
fenced and oiling machinery in motion is forbidden. He may have left the oil can where it was found and gone back for it
when he was caught. The Local Inspectors made no report on the case.

Died September 28. A circular saw had been provided some years ago with a Taylor's saw guard; a smaller saw was afterwards
erected but no separate guard provided for it; there was not sufficient steam to work the saws together and it was thought
one guard would do for both as it could be transferred one saw to the other in less than five minutes. Neither saw had been
used since the 22nd September, when the guard had been left on the larger one. On the 26th September deceased was
using the smaller saw to cut a six-inch log into 1 inch planks for lofting. He had cut off two planks and was busy with
the remaining three inches when, although no one saw the accident, it is probable one of the planks already cut had been
caught by the saw and he had noticed this and leaned forward and stopped the saw, but not in time to prevent the plank
being thrown against his face. He was found unconscious with the saw standing and the plank marked with blood near
him. He was taken to Carlisle Infirmary and was operated on twice, but died from inflammation of the lungs following
wounds on the nose and throat. The jury recommended that a guard and fence be provided for both saws.

Samuel Donnelly, A steam hoist, consisting of a vertical cylinder, an old pump pipe 15 inches diameter and 9 feet long, fitted with a piston and a
22,
3 way cock at the top of the cylinder and with a rope attached to a fixed point, and then passing round a pulley at the
top of the piston rod and round a pulley above the cage, to which its other end was attached, was used to raise loaded
tubs from the surface level to the pit head level. Steam was admitted to the top of the piston by pulling a chain at the
bottom of the hoist attached to the 3-way cock, but steam could only be cut off at the top of the hoist on the pit head level
where there was also an indicator to show if steam was on. At the end of a stormy day deceased first lowered five empty
tubs and then brought forward to the bottom of the hoist five tubs laden with stones from the screens to raise them to the
pit head level so that they could be emptied over the refuse heap. He appears to have pushed one tub through the cage to
the far side and then put another on the cage and turned steam on, but the cage did not move, either because there was
not sufficient steam pressure to raise the tub, which would contain from 17 cwt. to a ton of stones, or owing to water in the
pipes. He spoke to the keeker on the pit head, who shut steam off and then went to his cabin. Deceased is supposed to
have made another unsuccessful attempt to raise the tub, and shortly after the keeker came from his cabin and told him
to push the tub through the cage and leave it, as owing to the stormy day all the hands had gone home and he had no
means of dealing with any tubs. The keeker did not then notice that the indicator showed that steam was half on. Deceased
took hold of the top bar of the cage and pushed the tub out with his feet, and when it was half out the cage moved upwards,
upended the tub, and crashed him against a fixed cross beam. He was released at once but died in about half an hour.
The manager arranged to make certain alterations in the structure and mode of working the apparatus to prevent a similar
accident in future. The Local Inspectors reported-"We have come to the conclusion it was a pure accident."

On the drum shaft of the single vertical winding engine is a smaller drum projecting outside the engine-house and used to raise
and lower a subsidiary cage between the surface level and pithead level. Deceased and another lad brought timber in trams
to this cage at the surface level for elevation to the pithead level. At the surface level was a signal wire working a hammer
in the engine-house. It was usual to place a balk 11 feet long inside the cage when it was not required; when this balk
All mines are coal mines unless otherwise specified.

By Machinery-continued.

Cause of Accident and Remarks.

On Railways, Sidings, or Tramways.

70,

Screener.

was laid on the bottom of the cage it projected and rested on the flat sheets at each end, so that when the cage moved down-
wards it could only do so until its upper part rested on the balk. After work was over for the day it was usual both to put
the balk in position and also detach the chain from the cage. The cages in the shaft are double-decked, and it appeared to
be common for the lads to put the balk through the subsidiary cage while tubs were being changed at the shaft without
giving any notice to the engineman, the mere shifting of the shaft cages to change the decks not materially affecting the
position of the subsidiary cage. After work was over deceased was putting the balk in position, but had either slipped-it
was a cold snowy day-
-or misjudged the time available, and the subsidiary cage came down on him while he would probably be
striding the balk. He called to a lad below, who at once rapped to the engineman, and the engine was stopped. When it
was found what had occurred, the engine was reversed and deceased then fell back with his head and part of his body out
of the cage, and was fastened between the bottom of the cage and the underside of the pithead platform. While in
this position the engine got on to the low centre and he was not released for half-an-hour, when he was quite dead. The
Jury recommended that notice should be given to the engineman before the balk was put through the cage.

Blackett and South Joseph Clemintson, Died March 31. Deceased, who was deaf in one ear, was caught by the main rope of a main and tail surface haulage road,
Tyne Collieries,
while he was engaged in emptying stone from some tubs. The haulage road extends from a drift for about a mile along a
Ltd.
burn to the screens where deceased worked. The loaded set mounts a kip and deceased was standing on the empty road at
a point where it was 16 inches below the full road when a set of 30 loaded tubs approached. The heapkeeper was near and
warned the men of the approach of the set, but deceased may not have heard, although it was stated at the inquest that his
good ear was towards the heapkeeper and the approaching set. He was observed standing on the wrong side of the main
rope, and as it began to mount the kip he was pressed over by it on to the full road, and the first tub of the set passed over
him and the second was on his body when the set was stopped in response to signals given. The Local Inspectors
reported: "Examined the place and found the same to be quite in order."

45

July 19

Stargate, Durham

Stella Coal Co., Ltd.

John Ogden,
68,
Labourer.

A bridge was being built by a contractor, paid by the Stella Coal Co., Ltd., across the Stargate Colliery railway close to the
pit. The bridge is to be used in connection with a tramway to the Stargate A pit. A block of stone, 4 feet by 3 feet by
1 feet was being lifted by a hand crane from a truck that stood on the temporary bridge, and while suspended some stone
splintered off at the dog hole, and it fell from the clips on to the battery side, and rolled down to where deceased was
standing in a hole about 2 feet deep in the concrete foundation of the bridge, and fastened him, The stone was removed
by the crane, and deceased, whose leg was broken, was sent to Newcastle Infirmary, but he died about an hour after
admission.
The branch horseman took three empty trucks, used for bringing chopped hay to the Dudley pit, along a nearly level siding to
a point about 200 yards north of the pit and adjacent to the North-Eastern Railway. He unhooked his horse and came
back past the west side of the trucks. The brakes were on the east side with the handles at the north end, and deceased
walked alongside the trucks on the east side with a view to put down the brakes. The horseman heard or saw nothing of
the accident, but found deceased lying alongside the first truck clear of the rails, except that one foot was on the east-side
rail between the wheels. He was unconscious, and died in a few minutes. The brake of the leading truck was down, and
as deceased's right arm was broken and his chest crushed it is probable that in using the brake he had slipped before the
wheel. There were a number of loose bricks lying within 2 or 3 feet of the rails, and he may have tripped over one of
them. The Local Inspectors reported, "We are of opinion that it was purely accidental."

About 6 miles from the Cramlington Colleries on the private railway leading to the Tyne, and Edward Diery died October 30. where it runs parallel to a mineral railway owned by the North Eastern Railway Company, both lines are crossed by a bridge carrying the private railway for Backworth Colleries. This bridge is kept good by the Cramlington Coal Company, and on Friday night, on the 26th October, a staff of their men were sent to renew the girders of the bridge. A hand crane running on rails, capable of lifting 8 tons, was borrowed from the Tyne Commissioners, and by its means two old girders had been replaced by two new compound girders, 33 feet long, each weighing 5 tons, which were lifted and carried by the crane for 30 yards. About 6 a.m., on 27th October, one of the old girders was being lifted to place in position parallel to the new girders to carry the footway by the side of the rails when the crane and girder fell over the side of the bridge down an embankment on to the North Eastern Railway, 16 feet below, carrying with them the two deceased men and another man who was seriously injured. The crane was provided with three interchangeable clips, but only one had been used and that on the rail next the load. The work was in charge of the wagonwright of the Cramlington Colleries, and he was present. The inquest on P. H. Diery, who was killed on the spot, was held by the County Coroner, and his jury in their verdict said "sufficient care had not been taken in clipping or fastening to the rails of the said bridge upon which the crane was resting." The inquest on E. Diery, who was taken to Newcastle Infirmary where he died, was held by the City Coroner, and his jury added to their verdict "the Jury are of opinion the crane was not sufficiently clipped and that guy ropes should have been used to prevent the girder from swinging.' Deceased, who was sometimes rather deaf, left the screens about 6.30 a.m. to relieve himself, and while crossing the sidings was caught by a 15-ton loaded truck which was being pushed by a locomotive; no one saw or was aware of any accident until his dead body was found. Died 2nd January, 1907. Between 9 and 10 p.m. a locomotive, going funnel first, was pulling 20 empty trucks from the top of a self-acting incline to Chopwell Colliery, on a private railway which crosses a road, leading from Rowlands Gill to Chopwell, by means of a level crossing close to Garesfield Colliery. There were two gates worked by hand which alternately closed the railway and the road, and on the gate nearest the direction in which the locomotive was coming was a lighted red lamp which could ordinarily be seen from the locomotive when the gates blocked the railway. Just beyond the gates is a curve with an ascent, and it was usual to run over the crossing at a considerable speed so as to ascend the rise. Deceased, who had a deformed foot, and had had a paralytic stroke some time ago, attended to the gates, and was provided with a cabin within a few yards of them. The engineman gave the usual signal by whistling that he was approaching when 300 yards away, and then came forward at the usual speed. He was in the cab, and could not see the gates, but his fireman stood outside and, as he stated at the inquest, his view was so obscured by steam that he did not observe the gates were closed until nearly on them, when he called to the driver who stopped the train when the locomotive and 4 of the trucks had passed the crossing. Both gates were carried away, and deceased, who appears to have been in the act of opening the first gate when the locomotive struck it, was dashed against one of the posts of the other gate and suffered concussion of the brain. He never recovered consciousness. The loaded tubs of coal from the Riding drift are brought by endless rope to Bewick Main pit to be screened and loaded into After leaving the endless rope they pass over a weighing table and then over a short curved length of rails waggons. having at first an inclination of inch per yard in favour of the load increasing to 1 inch per yard and terminating at a tippler. Often the tubs will not run ronnd the curve and require to be pushed forward, but if the rails are wet, as was the case when the accident happened, owing to a water tub having passed over them shortly before, they run more freely. Deceased, who acted as token boy and assisted generally, was examining a tub of coal in the tippler, when a loaded tub ran forward and crushed him against it. He was not thought to be seriously injured but was told to go home. He left the pit but was not able to reach home without assistance, and died the same day from a ruptured bladder. The Jury added a recommendation to their verdict that chocks should be provided to prevent tubs running forward unexpectedly, and the manager promised to give effect to it. The Local Inspectors reported, "Found it to have been a pure accident." The loaded tubs from Seaton Moor Colliery are led by horses in sets of six or seven from the bottom of a self acting incline along a road which crosses by a wooden bridge the pit pond close to Robin Hood pit. This bridge is about 50 yards long and 7 feet wide, and is laid with single way; it is 10 feet above the water, which is 13 feet deep about the centre; a post and single rail fence is fixed on each side of the bridge; the single rail at the top of the posts was 3 feet from the floor of the bridge. One of the two regular drivers had gone after the horse that had run away and the other was arranging a set at the foot of the incline and a lad who worked a small engine at Robin Hood pit was driving a set of loaded tubs across the bridge with the other horse, the third tub of the set appears to have been off the way from the points at the far side of the bridge. The set was stopped about the middle of the bridge, and deceased came to help to put it on the rails, and while doing so his feet slipped-he wore clogs-and he fell under the fence into the pond and was drowned. He was quickly got out and subjected to artificial respiration without avail. The Jury recommended an additional rail to the fence.

* All mines are coal mines unless otherwise specified

of Accident.

Registered No.

LIST of FATALITIES in and about MINES UNDER THE COAL MINES REGULATION ACTS, not comprised during the

year 1906.

Died 17th September, 1906. On 25th July, 1901, while deceased was pushing a tub, a piece of stone fell from the roof and
crushed his hand against it, and two of his fingers were afterwards amputated. He returned to work and was employed as
a helper-up, then at shift work, then at stone work, and lastly started to hew. In March, 1905, he was suspended from
work owing to some mental derangement. He emigrated to Canada in April, 1905. In February, 1906, his parents learned
that he had returned to England and was in Liverpool. From there he was removed to Sedgefield Asylum in Durham,
where he died from phthisis. An inquest was held, at which the medical officer of the Asylum stated that death was due
to phthisis but that mental derangement made this a more dangerous disease than in the case of sane persons, and that the
accident might have been the cause of the lunacy. The Jury found that death was due to phthisis and that the accident
had caused the mental derangement.

Died 6th January, 1906. He was hewing at the face of a long wall gateway in Ten Quarters band 3 feet thick, when a stone 5
feet by 3 feet by 16 inches fell from slips and a glassy uneven parting between the props and the coal face. The place was
closely timbered as the roof was known to be bad and there were loose props lying near. His spine was injured and he never
was able to work again. No inquest was held.

Died July 26, 1906. While deceased was timbering in a long wall face, in the Low Main seam, in front of a coal-cutting
machine, a stone, 4 feet by 2 feet, and 8 inches thick, fell from the roof upon his back. He was taken home on a stretcher,
never worked again, and received compensation up to the time of his death. He was found to be suffering from injury to
the spine. One doctor, when he thought he had recovered from this, refused to give further certificates entitling him to
compensation, but he appears to have obtained the necessary certificates from another doctor. A post-mortem examination
showed that the spinous processes had been fractured but had re-united, but the heart was found to be diseased. An
inquest was held, and the jury found that death was due to heart failure consequent on degeneration of the spinal cord,
the result of injury received in the pit.

Died 5th March, 1906. On 9th November, 1904, while deceased was walking out-bye on the engine plane his head came in
contact with the roof and he never worked again. Three days previous to this he had complained of straining himself
while lifting a stone. He was paid compensation for some time both from the Colliery Owners and the Permanent Relief
Fund, but after a time his medical attendant came to the conclusion that deceased was suffering from kidney disease and
that his condition was not due to any accident and refused to give certificates entitling him to compensation any longer.
When he died an inquest was held, after a post mortem examination, and medical evidence given to the effect that death
was due to kidney disease not the result of any accident, and so the jury found.

Died 5th March, 1906. On 20th September, 1905, deceased while engaged at the granary went up a ladder to get some hay down
when he either fell off the ladder or it was displaced and caused his fall; he was not seriously hurt and the accident was
not reported to me but on his death it was thought that it might have some connection; an inquest was held after a post-
mortem examination when medical evidence showed that death was due to cancer of the bowels and so the jury found.
Died October 25, 1906. On 4th October, 1905, deceased, while acting as deputy, was firing by battery shots of bellite for hewers.
He made some complaint of being affected by the fumes and seemed unwell in the pit. After he came to the surface
at the end of his shift, he was assisted home by the under manager and others. He told the under manager that he
was troubled with wind on the stomach, but made no reference then to the fumes. He was off work two or three
days and was attended by a doctor. He resumed his former work of deputy, but in a few days was given lighter
work as a chargeman in the night shift as he was too slow in his movements to get through a deputy's duties.
chargeman he continued to fire bellite shots. After 12th September, 1906, he worked no more. On 20th September, 1906,
a medical certificate was given that he was suffering from heart trouble and that his condition "had probably been
detrimentally affected by inhalation of fumes from explosives." An inquest was held after a post-mortem examination
which did not bear out the certificate, as the doctor's report contained the following: "extensive disease of the heart
and blood vessels of many years' duration, and it was the unanimous opinion of the medical men present that the disease

As

was independent of any accident whatever, but was entirely due to natural causes." The Jury found in accordance with this opinion.

Several boys were playing in a waggon with side doors owned by the Furness Railway Company which was standing in a siding
at a pit called Kells pit not far from the Croft pit. The side doors were left securely fastened but some of the boys withdrew
the pins holding one of them up and it fell and caught deceased on the head.

Died May 28. Deceased was consumptive and was troubled with a tumour in the neck. On January 9th he appears to have suffered
some pain from this tumour while following his work, and although he continued working for six days afterwards was, when
he put in a claim on the Permanent Relief Fund, allowed compensation. He afterwards complained of the same pain and the
doctor who examined him found the tumour enlarged and painted it. He was subsequently sent to Newcastle Infirmary
where the tumour was removed, but on his return home phthisis developed and he died from it. The doctor at the inquest
said phthisis was the immediate cause of death, but it was perhaps called into activity prematurely by some injury and the
subsequent operation, and that any extra exertion would have caused pain. The jury found that he died from phthisis
accelerated by an injury received whilst employed as a landing lad.

Deceased, who had been a very healthy man, complained to his wife when he left his house about 4 p.m. on the 11th to go to
work, that he had a sore chest. He worked his shift out shooting up bottom stone with saxonite without any suggestion of
any accident, and parted with his marrow at the lamp cabin on the surface about 1 a.m. He was found dead on the
highway about 200 yards from the pit a quarter of an hour later. A doctor examined the body, and gave evidence at the
inquest that death was due to a sudden attack of heart disease, and so the Jury found.

Deceased, who often complained of pain in the region of his heart, and who usually carried medicine with him, took ill in the
pit about 1.30 a.m., and died at the shaft half an hour later. He had been doing ordinary shift work, and there was no
suggestion of any accident. No inquest was held.

Died Jan. 30. Deceased, who was employed as a blacksmith at Burradon Colliery, was walking home to West Moor after his
his day's work was over, on a private railway extending from Burradon Colliery to the Tyne, and having a connection with
the North-Eastern Railway at West Moor, about a mile from Burradon Colliery. This length of railway is also used for
leading coal from Seaton Burn and Dinnington Collieries, owned by the Seaton Burn Coal Co, Ltd., and also from the
Lizzie and Hazlerigg Collieries, owned by the same Company that own Burradon Colliery. No one saw the accident happen,
and the actual train that caused it was not identified, but it was supposed to be a train of mixed wagons and trucks laden
with coal from Dinnington or Seaton Burn Collieries. Deceased was found on the railway, and stated he had jumped on
to a truck or wagon, and while fastening his coat they had come together, and, as the buffers do not correspond, the buffer
of a truck crushed him. He was found to be suffering from a fractured pelvis, and was taken to Newcastle Infirmary the
day after the accident, where he died. Notice boards are placed on the railway prohibiting trespassing, but walking on the
line is universal.
Deceased descended the shaft about 4.20 a.m. and walked about 200 yards to an engine set which takes the hewers inbye; when
he arrived at the set he was taken ill and died in a few minutes. There was no suggestion of any accident. A post-mortem
examination was made and an inquest held, at which medical evidence was given to the effect that death was due to heart
disease, and so the Jury found.

Died March 2. Deceased. on his way home from work in the Throckley Coal Company's Blucher pit, travelled down a surface self-
acting incline occupied by the North Walbottle Coal Company. As he passed the bank-head the attendant there told him to
wait, as trucks were to be run, but he refused and said he would watch the sets. He walked down 157 yards, when the
attendant who had started the incline saw the three loaded 15-ton trucks that were being run pass him, and, after they had
passed, saw him lying between a fence and the line of rails on which the loaded trucks had run, where there was a space of
about 4 feet. Both his legs were cut off below the knee and one arm was nearly severed. He had been dragged 13 yards.
The incline attendant said he did not think deceased had been attempting to ride, but that, as it was a greasy day, he had
slipped. He was taken to Newcastle Infirmary, where he died next day. Notices prohibiting trespassing on the incline are
posted up, but little attention is paid to them. The Jury added to their verdict the following-" We think not sufficient
protection is afforded the public where the accident took place."

Died July 13. Deceased was cut about the head and had one of his thumbs so injured as to necessitate amputation, by a fall of
stone in the Relief pit on the 14th March, and was off work 14 weeks in consequence. On the 13th July he was found in
working place in the Forster pit very ill, and soon became unconscious and remained so until he died at his home a few
hours later. There was no suggestion of any second accident and at the inquest held after a post-mortem examination,
medical evidence was given that death was due to apoplexy and was not due to any accident, and so the Jury found.
Deceased had just started work during the back shift in a bord in the Plessey seam of the Hartford pit when his brother, who
was in the next bord, heard him make a peculiar noise, and going to him found him lying unconcious. He was taken home
but never rallied, and died the same night. There was no suggestion of any accident. An inquest was held after a
post-mortem examination, when medical svidence was given that death was due to congestion of the brain accelerated by
his diabetic condition, and so the Jury found.

All mines are coal mines unless otherwise specified,