Safety Research is his Hobby – Conisbrough Man’s offering to Mining

August 1946

South Yorkshire Times August 31, 1946

Safety Research is his Hobby
Conisbrough Man’s offering to Mining

Interesting experiments at Denaby and Cadeby Main Collieries in the use of miner’s Lamps were revealed to a “South Yorkshire Times” reporter this week by Mr AG Gulliford, ‘Lyndhurst’ Doncaster Road, Conisbrough, for the past 30 years head lamp man at the two pits.

Mr Gulliford, whose inventions in the field on mine safety are well known in the mining world, stated that for the past few years he has carried out research on miners alkaline Lamps. These lamps have been used in British mines for 10 years or so, but it is only with the advent of machine mining and the introduction of machine cutting and joy loaders and the like in recent years that they are become popular with the underground worker.

The alkaline Lamp is put to strenuous use, and cases have occurred which the liquid has leaked out.

Many experiments

Mr Gulliford has concentrated on remedying this position, and he stated: “as there was no known method of solidifying the liquid I spent many hours undertaking numerous experiments with various materials, to discover a satisfactory means of absorbing the liquid inside the lamp battery, thereby keeping the active plates moist and preventing liquid from escaping.

Finally I discovered that specially prepared asbestos would do this, and I approach Messrs Bell’s Asbestos Company, Slough (Bucks) with a view to getting a sample made up, and every help was forthcoming. Immediately the samples arrived, they were fitted to a number of well-known lamps and permission was granted by the Mines department to me and Amalgamated Denaby Collieries Ltd, for a number to be used in Denaby and Cadeby Colliery.”

First use was made in December 1944, and the trials continued until last December, and throughout the exhaustive tests the lamps were given to men on the most important work. From time to time the men submitted a report to the management upon the value of the invention, reports which were full of praise for the lamps.

Management and Men

In these expressions of approval the management joined the men, but as government authority for an extension of the trials and an approval order for their further use after the year-end was not forthcoming, Mr Gulliford withdrew their use, but he still met with enquiries from local miners as to when they will be permitted to use the lamps again.

Although they had been taken out of use, Mr Gulliford has not yet given up hope and is still carrying out further research. Messrs Bell’s Asbestos company are giving every material help.

Mr Gulliford has had 45 years’ experience with both flame and electric lamps: he has made the safety of the miner his creed, and he spends most of his spare time and money on various research work, mostly on lamps and gas detection.

A native of Shepton Mallet (Somerset) he began work at Grimethorpe colliery at 15. Later he was appointed charge man at Monkton colliery, and was appointed head lamp man at Denaby and Cadeby Main collieries in 1916.