Mexborough and Swinton Times March 31, 1906
Fatal Accident at Denaby Main Colliery
A Well Known Conisborough Man Killed
Mr F Allen, the deputy coroner for the Doncaster district, held an enquiry at the Co-operative Reading Room, West Street, Conisborough on Tuesday afternoon, touching the death of William Martin (59) a miner of Conisborough, well-known in the district, who was fatally injured at the Denaby Main Colliery on Saturday afternoon. The deceased was a familiar figure in the district, having some years ago held a licence of the Eagle and Child Hotel.
There were present Mr A.H.Barnard (Agent), Mr C Bury (Manager) representing the colliery company and Mr W Wilson (Assistant Inspector of Mines)
Mary Martin, deceased’s wife, gave evidence of identification. Husband was 59 years of age, I was a coal mine. She saw him last July will Saturday morning at a 3:45 o’clock, and he was brought home dead about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
George Turner, a coal miner who was working with the deceased in Stall number 71, in the Denaby Mine, on Saturday morning, said when the accident happened, they were engaged in drawing timber. They had drawn five props from the back row of the pack and the deceased had just started on the sixth. He was uncapping it and had given it a knock at the top and was on the point of giving it another when witness saw the roof lowering and he shouted. They both started to run, but the disease was caught and buried. He could only account for the disease been caught in one way and that, when running to get out of the way he collided with a prop which knocked him back. If he had not come into collision with the prop he would probably have escaped. They were drawing the timber in the usual way.
In answer to Mr Elson, the witness said the room on the law side was very treacherous and when it starts to give they did not know where it was going to finish. In this case they did not think it was necessary to set a covering prop.
William Wright, a deputy, said the accident was reported to him about 12 o’clock, and when he arrived at the scene he found the deceased buried. He agreed with the previous witness that the disease collided with a prop. Witness ordered the men earlier in the day to draw the timber.
The jury returned a verdict that the deceased was “accidentally killed.”