South Yorkshire Times – Saturday 02 May 1942
Epic Rescue after Pit Catastrophe
Earth Tremor Cuts Off District at Barnburgh Main
Seventeen Men Entombed : Thirteen Dug Out Safe
Indomitable Drive to Free Trapped Miners
A violent underground upheaval in the 800 yards deep No. 6 Pit of the Barburgh Main Colliery, thought to have been due to an earth tremor, entombed 17 men in a district on the north-west side of the workings shortly after six o’clock on Friday evening. There were 18 men In the district, but one managed to scramble free himself.
Rescue work, which was started immediately, was almost miraculously rewarded 43 hours later on Sunday, when eight of the men were discovered alive and unhurt.
Eight or nine hours later five more of the men were found alive, and by Mon-day morning had been transferred to the Montagu Hospital, Mexborough, though only one of them was more than superficially injured. Four bodies were recovered, one on Sunday, one on Monday, and the last two yesterday (Thursday) morning.
The force of the subterranean disturbance created terrible havoc in the affected district. Singularly enough most of this appears to have been caused by the forcing up of the floor, rather than the caving in of the roof. The height of the workings was so much reduced in this way that the entombed men, some of whom were able to crawl considerable distances, had to do so through spaces only a few inches high where before these had been high enough for workmen to stand upright.
The Men Concerned
The first man to come out was:
M Fairhurst (42), 14, Whitworth Building, Thurnscoe.
He was treated at the Montagu Hospital on Friday night for cuts and abrasions and was then sent home. The following eight men were got out safely on Sunday afternoon and sent to their homes:-
J Humphries (39), 107, Queen Street, Swinton.
H Wood, 209, Queen Street, Swinton.
C Chambers, 18, Princess Bond, Goldthorpe.
F Love, 18, Princess Road, Goldthorpe.
R H Stocks, 43, Straight Lane, Goldthorpe.
J W Atkin., 40, Bolton Road, Highgate.
E Hall, 92, Main Street, Goldthorpe.
T Atkinson, 38, Schofield Street, Mexborough.
The five men brought out of the pit and taken to the Montagu Hospital on Monday morning were:
W Fudge, 119, Main Street, Goldthorpe.
G Mackenzie. 34, Victoria Street, Goldthorpe.
W Cruise, 44, Doncaster Road, Goldthorpe.
L E. Thompson (17 ½ ) 55, Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough.
W Winder, deputy, 38, Thurnscoe Road, Bolton.
The four bodies extricated Were those of:
C W Cope (40), 73, Windhlll Crescent, Mexborough
A Lackenby, 7, Princess Road. Goldthorpe.
W J Rodgers (26), 73, Frederick Street, Mexborough.
G F Southwell (30), 147, lngsfield Lane, Bolton.
Cope, a married man with two Children, is understood to have been working in another part of the pit previously and only to have gone back to the district where he lost his life on Friday.
Progress of the Rescue
Magnificent Team Work
Within a radius of several miles of the pit the tremor was distinctly felt, though those who noticed it knew nothing of the underground upheaval which it had caused in the deepest part of the Barnburgh Main Colliery.
Clocks were stopped, crockery and pans rattled, loose fittings of all kinds were jolted out of place, windows rattled and walls of buildings vibrated with the shock. The “bump” was, of course, plainly felt in other parts of the colliery and workmen in No. 5 pit, 300 yards nearer the surface, felt the terrific jolt, though it had no noticeable effect on the upper workings. The Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe districts, under which the north-west district of the No. 6 Pit lies, were most heavily shaken, and in some cases chimney pots were dislodged from houses.
At a house in Edward Street, Thurnscoe, the entire chimney stack fell.
Rescue work was organised with the minimum of delay though of necessity this had to be exploratory for the first few hours while the full extent and moment of the damage was being assessed. Mr. James Bell Agent of the Manvers Main Collieries, Ltd., who own the colliery, took charge of the rescue operations which it was early realised would have to be on a scale almost unprecedented in the history of colliery disasters. The Manvers and Barnburgh rescue teams soon had the support of teams from neighbouring collieries and as the week-end wore on the pool of rescue workers steadily increased. Workmates of the trapped men also volunteered in large numbers for the arduous work, but progress was slow, despite the most vigorous efforts.
At first the rescue parties were unable to get within 200 yards of the place where it was thought the first of the men might be found, but driving through falls and past wrecked and distorted girder work they eventually reached a point where they could only advance by driving through practically solid ground. Here a tunnel just large enough to enable a man to crawl through had to be cut and as it progressed the excavated material had to be passed back from hand to hand by a chain of men lying on their faces and working with shovel blades and sometimes with their hands. Working in this fashion it was only possible for one man at a time to do the digging at the head of the tunnel.
All-In Effort
Mr. Bell, who directed this work both from above and below ground as the situation demanded, worked with a band of officials whose zeal and energy were unflagging. Mr. G. C. Payne, manager of the Barnburgh Colliery, was almost incessantly on duty throughout, and spent most of his time in the pit, while Mr. E. J. Kimmins, manager of Manvers Main Colliery, also joined wholeheartedly in the vital and complicated work of keeping the rescue going without a hitch.
Major H. J. Humphrys, H.M. Divisional Inspector for Mines, and Messrs. Houston and Stevenson, assistant inspectors, also co-operated to the utmost and Major Humphrys Mr. J. A. Hall, Y.M.A. President, accompanied some of the first parties who explored the damaged area. Mr. A. Williams and Mr. T. H. Barker i (Y.M.A. branch officials) took their part and Mr. Barker and other union colleagues spent many hours underground working with the rescuers. A host of other executives and officials unsparingly fulfilled their important tasks in the co-ordination of this life-saving effort, rightly described as an epic of organised mine rescue work. Crowds at the pithead waited patiently for news but throughout Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night nothing was found to give any indication as to what the fate of the entombed men might he.
Mine Minister’s Message
Sympathy With District
Late on Saturday night Mr. Bell stated officially that Mr. D. Grenfell, Secretary for Mines, had spoken to him during the day and had expressed his very sincere sympathy with the people of the district, particularly those who might be bereaved and had offered to come to the district personally if necessary.
It was decided that there was no technical necessity for him to make the long and awkward journey from Swansea provided Mr. Grenfell’s concern and sympathy were conveyed to the local public, together with that of the directors, management and officials.
“The occurrence,” went on Mr. Belle statement, “is connected with violent earth movements, whether due to earthquake phenomena or due to mining operations cannot yet be stated. A district in the pit has been cut off by the disturbance and the most strenuous efforts are being made to reach the 17 missing men. Until these men; are actually reached It cannot be said that hope for their safety is finally abandoned.”
The possible explanation of the catastrophe suggested in this statement subsequently received endorsement when it became known that Father Rowland, of Stoneyhurst College Lancashire had recorded on his delicate instrument at 6.04 p.m. on Friday an earth tremor. Offcials of the colliery say this was as near the time of the fall as it was possible to judge.