Llanbradach Memorial 1914-1923

Llanbradach colliery deaths 1914-1923

1914

  • John C Morris, 44, was widening a double parting when a timber dislodged and the roof fell on him on 11 January.
  • David Griffiths, 38, a collier, was setting a post at the coal face on 20 February when the roof fell and killed him.
  • Robert Milsom, 55, a collier, was injured by a roof fall on 14 March and died on 15 November.
  • Henry Morgan, 25, a labourer, died on the 27 March. As a horse was backing two trams of muck for him to unload, the open door of one tram pushed out of place a pair of timbers (supporting the roof in a mine, consisting of two arms or uprights and a collar or headpiece). This caused the roof to fall and kill him. He had been working underground c.10 months and was married with two children.
  • Alfred Reed, 56, a labourer was sitting at the side of a stall road on 6 May when a stone fell. After striking his foot it rolled over on to his side. He died from his injuries on 5 September.
  • Henry Reynolds, 43, a fan engineman, was crossing the colliery railway sidings on 18 May when he was knocked down by a locomotive and died of his injuries the next day.                        
  • John Jones, 40, died on 21 October. As he was following up behind a full journey of trams so as to attach the “tail” rope, the “main” rope broke and the trams running back caught and killed him.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 377
Manpower: 221,545

1915

  • William Thomas Edwards, 62, an underground colliery mason, was run over and killed by a journey of trams as he was leaving work on 6 August. He lived in Caerphilly.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 331
Manpower: 202,147   

1916

  • Wyndham Morgan, 17, a collier’s boy, was crushed to death when a stone fell from the roof on 24 August. He lived in Nantgarw Road, Caerphilly.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 322
Manpower: 213,674

1917

No recorded deaths at the colliery.
Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 366
Manpower: 219,225

1918

  • Thomas Roles of 23 St Fagans Street, Caerphilly, died at Pontypridd Infirmary on 9 December from a serious spinal injury he had suffered in an underground accident at Llanbradach colliery 12 months previously, according to a report in the Caerphilly Journal.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 340
Manpower: 218,554  

1919

No recorded deaths at the colliery.                             

1920

No recorded deaths at the colliery.
Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 287
Manpower: 271,161

1921

  • William Charles Williams, 23, a haulier, was killed by a fall of roof on 8 February. A tram left the rails and dislodged four “pair of timbers” (supporting the roof in a mine, consisting of two arms or uprights and a collar or headpiece). This brought down eight tons of debris. Although caught by the fall, he initially conversed with his rescuers. When finally released he was found to be dead.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 180
Manpower: 232,215

1922

  • William Hanson, 18, a collier’s helper, was standing in front of a loaded tram on 28 April when a stone fell on him. He died of his injuries the next day
  • William Anderson, 17, died at King Edward VII Hospital, Cardiff, on 29 April after being buried under a roof fall the previous day. One of the pieces that had struck him weighed two hundredweight (101kg).
  • George Lethbridge, 23, a rider, was killed on 7 December when two trams of coal were being hauled up a steep gradient (1 in 4) and the wire rope broke. The trams ran back and caught him. He died shortly afterwards.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 270
Manpower: 243,303

In his annual report, the divisional Inspector of Mines made special mention of the award of the Edward medal to Llanbradach fireman Robert Handford. The medal was conferred personally by the King. The report said a collier had been partially buried under a fall. Two other falls occurred while rescuers tried to free him. The third fall consisted of 45 tons of debris. “At very great personal risk the fireman of the district, Robert Handford, continued to attempt to free the buried man, and for four hours was under the much disturbed and very dangerous roof, eventually succeeding in his efforts. Those acquainted with similar circumstances will appreciate the noble bravery of this fireman, whose valour was rewarded by His Majesty.”          

1923

  • William Phelps, 23, a collier, was making room for a pair of timbers on his stall road on 11 January when the roof and sides collapsed, killing him.
  • George Williams, 56, was attending to a compressed-air-driven conveyor engine on 16 February when his left leg was struck by the crosshead and badly injured. He died shortly after the accident.
  • James Evans, 45, a fitter, was underground on 7 September attending to a joint on the compressed air main. He walked up an incline which had a gradient of 1 in 8 to 1 in 3 and was caught by a set of loaded trams lowered by a main haulage rope. Probably the noise from the escaping compressed air prevented him from hearing the trams coming. He died from his injuries the next day.

Fatalities in the South Wales Division: 337
Manpower: 252,909