IV Narrative of the Occurrence of the Two Explosions
The Second Explosion
Shortly after Springthorpe had got to the 14 level end the Inspectors arrived, and Springthorpe asked Prince, the assistant deputy, who was with him at the moment, to take them to Mr. Bury, which he did, and returned again for something, Springthorpe does not remember what. An hour and a half or two hours after the Inspectors had passed him the second explosion happened. Springthorpe was then standing “about 8 or 10 yards the topside of 14’s level end, and Littlewood would then be ten or a dozen yards top side of where I was, and we were waiting while another stretcher party brought a body so that we could send it up the plane, and suddenly I heard a rushing noise . . . I says `Listen, look out Herbert,´ and then in a second after that time was “such a crash at 14´s level, and it knocked my lamp out of my hand and knocked me about.”
Q.-” That was the fall, I suppose the crash?-A.-” The force of the explosion coming up against 14, the far side of 14´s level end, the plane side. It came straight off 14´s level, and went straight at the far side of the plane. A man called Charlie Prince, assistant deputy to me, he had been off about three minutes previous to that talking, and he had gone on again . . . . I think, from what I have heard since it (the explosion) blew him back to the level end again where the fall was.”
When the explosion happened he felt a ” kind of scorching ; it caught me a little bit across the forehead, it took a bit of this eyebrow off, but it was only a scorch.” He could just discern a dull flame at the level end, but the flame did not extend any further than the level, and the force of the explosion was lessened after it struck the level end, otherwise I should not have been here.”
Springthorpe then struggled out in the dark, the air was very bad, he thinks it would probably be ” three or four or five” minutes before the ventilating current assumed its normal course, “coming back down the plane again, Sir, and then it was full of dust, as I may say, of clogging dust.”
Shortly after 11 o´clock Mr. Witty received a telephone message-from Captain Brook, at Wentworth to deliver to Mr. Pickering-a question to ask him- so he telephoned down the pit asking to be put into communication with Mr. Pickering. The reply he received was: “I cannot get Mr. Pickering, and it has gone off again, and the men are all imprisoned behind a fall.”
Mr. Witty at once went down the pit, accompanied, by another man. He said: “I met several men who had been slightly injured; Springthorpe was one of them, and Harold Booth . . . the others were only slightly touched._ … I met others coming …. from where the explosion had been. I went down (i.e., down the plane) and met Mr. Wilson and Mr. Hudspeth, or rather I met Mr. Hudspeth first, and we examined the return (33 level) and found the stuff coming off there very foul; it smelt strongly of gasoline or benzoline or something of that sort. I saw the doors were uninjured. We went lower down and found a road had been made over the fall. I went through there, and found Mr. Wilson paying attention to some of the injured who were beyond the fall. I went then on 14´s level, and part of the way on there I found Mr. Edwin Chambers who had just come off, and he told me where he had found his son. He said, `Straight on there,´ so I went to 121´s cross-gate, but I did not find him; the air was very foul there.”
“I returned to the bottom of 19´s cross-gate and then went up to the cross-gate through the door. The door was slightly ajar…. I went higher up, very nearly to 19´s landing, and I found bodies in a cluster; I should think twenty yards below the landing on the cross-gate. I saw first Mr. Douglas Chambers, and then in front of him was Mr. Pickering, and, on his right, Mr. Hewitt and Mr. Tickle. Just slightly in the rear of Mr. Tickle was Farmery and another I did not recognise. In front of Mr. Pickering,”with his feet under Mr. Pickering´s head, was Mr. Bury, and two bodies in front of Mr. Bury whom I did not recognise.” The bodies were all facing inbye. The only signs of force in the neighbourhood (i.e., inbye side of the door) were a tub on end and a slight fall. The bodies were somewhat discoloured by dirt, but there was no sign of burning about them. Bury and Farmery were found alive but both were breathing, badly.**
The atmosphere had the appearance of “not smoke exactly but” of white steam, and this caused the eyes to smart. Bury and Farmery were carried out into the fresh air, and were attended to by Sergt. Winch, who had a pulmotor with him, and the carriers Messrs. Wilson and Witty rested at the junction between 19´s cross-gate and 14 level, and after a while, came out of the pit. When Mr. Witty was up the straight-on road in 14 level he had found a waistcoat on fire “about thirty yards short of 121 cross-gate end”; a “lid” was burning, and dust also. There were no signs of great violence along 14´s up to this point. He extinguished the fire. A prop was also on fire somewhere near the same place, which someone put out. At the point where 14 level and the 19´s cross-gate meet there were signs of considerable violence, and bodies ,”in allsorts of positions,” and badly maimed.
We must now take up Murgatroyd´s story in ·order to see what transpired after Hulley had left the workings.
When the “rescue” men were told that the apparatus was not required they took the apparatus off and put it in a manhole, as already mentioned. “Then several of us, I believe, stayed at the bottom of 19´s crossgate waiting orders, and I believe we were sent for, I am not quite sure, and we must have been sent for to go up 19_´s cross-gate with the apparatus to examine where the electric light was (i.e., old 121´s stopping), because nobody knew what was in there.” Murgatroyd donned his apparatus then; they examined the stoppings in these three roads and met Mr. Bury at the bottom of 19´s cross-gate at about 7.10 a.m., who said he wanted someone in the apparatus to accompany him; this Murgatroyd did, following (so far as he was able to inform me but this part of the mine was strange to him, so he was not quite clear on some points) the route indicated by Hulley when giving his evidence.
He went up to the face in 64´s. “The props showed signs of – I don´t know whether it was exactly burning or whether it was dust that had been driven on to the props, but they were all round alike. I took particular notice of that.” Meaning the dust was all round the props, not on one side only; He did not go beyond the fence which was on the left side of 64´s.
Q, “What was the face like? Any signs of burning? “-A. ” Not exactly burning, but it looked more like a stone face than a coal face, which I should say was the effect of the dust.` It was peppered with dust-grey dust. There was hardly any fall to speak of at the face; the `softs´ were down in places, and the day beds.
Having been round the face as far as 12´s they met Mr. Douglas Chambers (manager of Denaby Colliery, and a nephew of the managing director), at the bottom of 19´s cross gate that would be about 8.30. ´ Mr. Bury asked him if he would like to go round thé affected part `-` and he said yes, so we- went round, I believe, the exact places fwhere we? ” had been before.” ´ At about 9.30 they found themselves at the bottom of l9´s crossgate again. Murgatroyd was told to take his apparatus off, and Bury, Chambers, and, Cusworth consulted together “_for perhaps half an hour or ‘something like that, Murgatroyd, Farmery and a man named Thomas Flick, being despatched to remove the fall just inside the door in 19´s cross-gate, Whilst engaged in this work Mr.IBu1`y”;summoned Murgatroyd as he wanted him to go round with the apparatus. The three Inspectors having arrived, it would be then just turned ten o´clock, Mr. Pickering asked Mr. Bury what he had done, and he told him, Mr. Bury asking Mr. Pickering ” if he was doing right in removing the bodies, and he (Mr. Pickering) said it was quite right.”
Mr. Pickering and party then proceeded to make an inspection, and they went to 19´s landing and to 64´s cross-gate’. Whilst there Murgatroyd was not clear as to the exact place, but his evidence points to its having been at the far end of 64´s cross-gate, Mr. Hewitt took a temperature reading ” right at the top ends- I understand him to say it was 100°.` It was too hot for Mr. Hewitt to stand it, so `Murgatroyd took the temperature and brought the thermometer to Mr. Hewitt who was fifty yards away.
When coming down the 19´s landing Murgatroyd heard Bury remark to Mr. Pickering that he thought there was fire somewhere. They had just got into the cross-gate and were proceeding in the following order, viz.: Mr. Bury leading, then Mr. Pickering, Murgatroyd, Messrs.`Hewitt, Tickle, and Douglas Chambers in the rear (the bodies were not, however, found in this order.) when the second explosion happened. – I think what followed can best be told in Murgatroyds own words :-
Q. And you heard a second explosion? Yes Sir.
Q. What was it like-a roar? A. No, It was like a door shutting a great amount of pressure behind it, and then the roar came afterwards; that would be the pressure on the door at 19´s cross-gate.
Q. First of all you heard a noise like a door shutting?-A. Yes,
Q. And then you heard a roar? Yes Sir
Q. And what then?-A. I suppose before the roar-came the ventilation would stop, I have thought that since, that it was the ventilation asserting itself, perhaps on the door.
Q. Did anybody shout out? – A.” Several, think it was Mr. Chambers and Mr. Bury shouted, I suppose they had an idea what it was; they shouted, `Down on your faces, lads.”- I think ‘they knew what it was, I think everybody obeyed them, and afterwards I think everybody would be stunned for the moment; when I came to my senses, I turned the oxygen on and got the tubes in my mouth, and I suppose went straight to the cross-gate; I think everybody had not the slightest idea where to go when it happened.
Q. Then I think we have all the rest in your evidence at the inquest before the Coroner. A. Yes
Q. Did you hear anybody at all in the part you were with make any exclamation after you came to Peel. Well, I could say I heard three, that is all I did hear, that was Ben Ward and Albert Farmery and Tom Stribley; they said, “Let´s get hold of each other´s hands, we will die together,” that is the only thing I heard.
Q Did they seem far gone when they said that?-A. (No answer.) .
Q. Well, I think you struggled on, and I think you hit your head against a girder?-A. Yes
Q. And I think you realised what was going on then the shock brought you to?-A. Yes.
Q. And you turned about and came out the other way?-A. Yes.
Q, Breathing the oxygen all the time?-A. Yes.
Q. Did you meet anybody No, Sir, when I got to the door at the bottom of 19´s cross-gate I found I could not open it, only with some difficulty, whether it was off the hinges or not I couldn´t say; perhaps would, be struggling ten minutes with the door before I got it open, I, had to clear some dirt down on the other side before I got it opened any further. I thought if It got it opened it would clear the air in the cross ate ; when I got to the bottom of the crossgate I fell, I suppose it was some bodies I fell over ; I could not see with the lamp, it was an-electric lamp.
Q. Why P;- A, It was too thick
Q. Smoke? A. I suppose there would be smoke I had lost my goggles. And had to cover my eyes with my hand.
Q. Smarting so?-A. Yes
Q Was it hot?-A. Not very. I suppose that the ventilation asserted itself and it would be pretty cool.
Q. The atmosphere was very dense? A, Yes, as thick as I have seen it at Wath and it is pretty thick there.*
Q, As thick as you have seen it in the experimental chamber Yes.
And I went to the telephone at the bottom to telephone up and I got a ring back, but could not
get an answer; the next thing I knew somebody was coming over the fall.
Q. Who was that?-A. Well, I did not know then I have since got to know one was Mr. Wilson, I did not know the other. They told me the air was good and I could take my apparatus off. I took it off and I think I put the tubes into someone else´s mouth that was injured near by, after they had made a road so that I could go through; I got over the fall at 200 yards out; I saw Mr Witty and told him about Mr. Pickering and the others, where they were
Mr. Basil Pickering, Mr. Pickering´s son, having arrived at the pit and hearing Mr. Wilson ask Mr. Witty if there was anyone who could go down with him (Mr. Witty offered, to go with him but Mr. Wilson said as he was the only official available, his proper place was on the surface to superintend organisation) said he knew the district in question and might he accompany him (Mr. Basil Pickering formerly held an official position at this colliery) ; so Mr. Wilson and Mr. Hudspeth accompanied by Mr. Basil Pickering and Mr Ashwin of Wath Main Colliery, and two, workmen proceeded inbye. They had just passed ” old 37´s just at the top of the plane that is nearly half a mile from the shaft, when we suddenly met the blast of the second explosion. The blast reversed the ventilation; “and we were suddenly enveloped in white dust so that we could 11ot see what we were doing.” They turned to go out “as quickly as possible .” but had not gone far when Wilson observed that the ventilating current was taking its natural course again so they turned and went in again. Mr. Ashwin went out as quickly as possible to summon the Wath Rescue Brigade. Messrs. Wilson, Hudspeth and Basil Pickering pushed on to the end of 14 level, encountering several men coming up the plane all more or less affected by the explosion and all in the dark. Arrived at a large fall at the 14 level end, Mr. Basil Pickering was sent out to report at the pit bottom the state of affairs and say that help was urgently needed. Mr. Wilson clambered on to the fall and whilst on top of it detected “gas” on the flame of his lamp. Mr. Hudspeth found a hole through the fall underneath a girder and managed to squeeze through; and heard Murgatroyd. Mr. Wilson followed Mr. Hudspeth through. While there they were joined by Mr. Edwin Chambers (the father of Douglas Chambers). Mr. Chambers asked Mr. Wilson to keep in touch with him. He did so for a little while, but becoming affected by the afterdamp he went back to where Mr. Hudspeth was, and said he had lost touch with Mr. Chambers.
Three men besides Murgatroyd were rescued alive from Mr. Pickering´s party, I heard the evidence of two of these, viz., Birch and Farmery, but they remembered very little, and nothing that was of any assistance to me. Farmery, when rescued, although unconscious, exhibited the most extraordinary strength three times he had to be put on the stretcher, and even when strapped down he burst the straps. .”His legs were going, he was apparently running, trying to get away.” Presently Mr. E. Chambers returned, having found his son´s body.
Mr. Wilson remained underground till 4 p.m. directing operations, and on his coming to the surface a consultation was held with Mr. Chambers (the managing director) and others and a line of action agreed upon.
Before taking up the story from the” time of the arrival of Mr. Chambers the scene, I should mention that Fisher and Hulley, who” gave evidence respecting the condition of the workings after the first explosion, both returned to the mine on hearing that a second explosion had taken place, and at once proceeded to search the workings again with a view to rescuing anyone who might be alive., ` This was an action attended with considerable danger, and they must, being experienced pitmen have realised the extent of the danger they ran from the possibility of a third explosion I consider their conduct worthy of the highest commendation. Hulley remained in the pit for a very long time, being present when the third explosion happened at about 3 a.m. next morning, which he characterised as “just a puff which blew the dry stopping down.
The evidence of these two men in respect of the condition of affairs after the first and” second explosions has been of great assistance to me in helping me to determine the course followed by the two explosions, and to arrive at a definite conclusion respecting the cause of their occurrence. The value of their evidence in this respect is only exceeded by that of Senior Inspector Robinson, who rendered yeoman service in this respect.
Fisher, hearing of the occurrence of the second explosion, went down the pit at about half-past one, proceeding straight to the fall at the end of 14 level, and set its work to render what assistance he could in the way of getting bodies out, He found bodies victims of the first explosion) very much scorched along 121´s cross-gate and still more at 19`s gate, and there were signs also of considerable violence. A blanket over a body (a victim of the first explosion) in the crossgate (121´s) near to 14 level was smouldering; He noticed coked dust adhering to the inbye side of the props along the face. The violence got less as he approached 64`s. He came back, from 64’s by the same way as he had gone in. He could not get into 64´s again as it was too foul with firedamp and afterdamp, and it was warm. ` He came to the conclusion that the second explosion had originated somewhere between 64´s and 7´s, being led to this conclusion by the way it (the explosion) had travelled,” i.e. direction of force and scorching of bodies. 3It was too foul to come back by way of 64´s cross-gate. He heard that there was something (a blanket) on tire down 13´s, but does not know for certain.
* Alluding to the irrespirable atmosphere in the practising chamber at. the Wath Rescue Stations
** Birch was also alive, but Mr. Witty did not mention him in his evidence. Farmer and Birch both survived, but Bury, as has been stated, died a few days later.
V