Troubled Colliery's
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Contents
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Chapter 1 -	Hartley	(Durham)
Chapter 2 -	Royal Oak	(Barnsley)
Chapter 3 -	Senghenydd	(Wales)
Chapter 4 -	Tudhoe	(Durham)
Chapter 5 -	West Stanley	(Durham)
Chapter 6 -	Sacriston Victoria	(Durham)
Chapter 7 -	Felling Colliery	(Gateshead)
Chapter 8 -	Trimdon Grange	(Durham)
Chapter 9 -	Easington Colliery	(Durham)
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Preface
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During the eighteenth century hundreds of miners lost their lives by explosion, roof falls and other accidents in order to develop the coal industry in England, as being a major power source in the Country; as well as a major export commodity to gain precious currency abroad. In the Colliery's, which I have noted and wrote about the total, was in excess of, 1200 deaths. Other men lost their lives as normal day-to-day operation of the Colliery's. At Durham Big Meeting every year banners were draped in black for this reason and onlookers made special note of the pits. Each Colliery disaster made coal owners re-think safety but they did not always implement change; except after Hartley when, with the help of William Coulson the one shaft system was outlawed. For years experts pointed to coal dust as being the major factor in the travel of the blast, in an explosion; the force of the blast died out where there was no coal dust, especially near to shafts, and explosions never occurred in wet or damp seams. On trying to find books to research mining disasters I found nearly all were out of print; even in public libraries they were in short supply. I have attempted to redress this situation in a small way by writing this book; like the men who lost their lives in the two main world wars, and are remembered each year, it is only right and proper that the men who lost their lives in the mines, should also be remembered. Without them we would not have been able to survive as a Country, during these trying times; as we needed the coal industry for the power to run the factories, and to supply the heat for the home front. These brave men should be fresh in our thoughts and memories, for the debt we owe them, for our present prosperity. As the years went by, the industry was taken over by the 'National Coal Board', workers and families in the industry sighed a sigh of relief, thinking that the safe running of the pits would be paramount and that unsafe working conditions would not be tolerated; this alas was not the case and on 29th. May 1951 there was a terrible explosion at 'Easington Colliery', Co. Durham, when 81 miners and two rescuers lost their lives.This explosion could have been prevented if the powers that be had observed and acted on, the danger signs that were obvious at the time. The Duckbill District, part of the 'Five Quarter Seam' was known to be dusty; the coal being transported by belts. In the days prior to the disaster a check had been made when a high percentage of gas had been observed, and reported. Spiral Alarms could not be carried as they constantly sounded off. It was obvious that even with the National Coal Board, they had not learnt the lesson on the travel of explosions, because of the presence of gas and Coal dust in the air!! In this millennium year coal dust has left another major problem when thousand's of ex-miners are dying from emphysema and other related lung diseases, when the present Labour Government has delayed the compensation payout. If it had been compulsory to wear masks when working in dusty seams this problem would not have arisen: