Knockshinnoch Disaster September 1950
Encyclopedia
In September 1950 one of the worst mining accidents in the history of British coal
mining occurred in the Ayrshire
village of New Cumnock
.
For several tense days the world's media descended on the small Ayrshire mining village as rescuers strove to reach the men trapped deep underground.
British Pathe News
described this as 'a truly remarkable story of how ordinary men worked tirelessly in a race against time and the forces of nature to achieve one of the most dramatic and remarkable rescues ever attempted.'.
The events are depicted in the 1952 film The Brave Don't Cry
.
New Cumnock lies 22 miles south east of Ayr and 45 miles south of Glasgow. The river Afton, made famous by Scotland’s bard Robert Burns
, ‘flows gently’ approximately 300 yards to the east of the site.
The colliery was developed by New Cumnock Collieries Ltd. The shaft was sunk in 1942 on the site of an older pit that had been abandoned almost 60 years earlier. The project brought new prosperity to what had been considered a dying area by the local mining community, attracting many miners from Lanarkshire
to the village with the promise of employment. A policy of advanced mechanisation was employed by the owners and the ‘Castle’ was one of the best equipped and most productive collieries in the Ayrshire coalfield. At the time of the disaster coal production was in the region of 4.5–5000 tons per week, extracted mainly from two seams known locally as the ‘Main Coal’ and the ‘Turf Coal’. Before the accident Knockshinnoch employed approximately 700 men.
By 1950 Knockshinnoch Castle was operated by the recently formed National Coal Board
(NCB), Scottish Division, who had taken control from the New Cumnock Collieries Ltd following nationalisation of the coal industry by Clement Attlee’s Labour Government in 1947. The NCB continued to invest in the development of modern mechanised techniques at the pit. The colliery also boasted great welfare for employees including a new canteen and pithead baths, which were opened amidst a blaze of publicity during the first week of September 1950.
The inrush occurred at the point where the No. 5 Heading was being driven towards the surface at a gradient of 1 in 2, breaching the outcrop of the seam directly beneath superficial deposits and a glaciated lake filled with liquid peat or moss. The liquid matter burst into the pit, rushing down the steeply inclined heading, filling miles of underground workings and sealing off all escape routes to the surface.
There were 135 men working underground at the time – six working close to the pit bottom managed to escape, reaching the surface by way of the shaft before the inrush sealed their exit. 116 men found themselves cut off from the pit bottom, finding refuge from the encroaching sludge deep within the extensive mine workings. A further 13 men who were working in the No. 5 Heading at the time of the inrush were unaccounted for.
It was a race against time, as the men remained trapped underground for two tense, traumatic days under constant threat from the encroaching liquid peat, rapidly deteriorating air quality and gas.
Fortunately a telephone link to the surface remained intact, allowing the men to provide those on the surface with details of their location. This delicate lifeline proved crucial. The men were eventually reached, being rescued through the old disused Bank No. 6 Mine workings which ran close to Knockshinnoch. Siebe Gorman Salvus
oxygen rebreathers (87 sets in all, mainly from fire station
s) were used so they could be led out through gas-filled workings.
The 13 men trapped close to No. 5 Heading could not be reached. Their bodies were recovered many months later.
references: HMI Official Inquiry, HMSO 1950
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining occurred in the Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
village of New Cumnock
New Cumnock
New Cumnock is a place in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal mining era but, like so many others, suffered after the deep shaft pits closed in the 1980's...
.
For several tense days the world's media descended on the small Ayrshire mining village as rescuers strove to reach the men trapped deep underground.
British Pathe News
Pathe News
Pathé Newsreels were produced from 1910 until the 1970s, when production of newsreels was in general stopped. Pathé News today is known as British Pathé and its archive of over 90,000 reels is fully digitised and online.-History:...
described this as 'a truly remarkable story of how ordinary men worked tirelessly in a race against time and the forces of nature to achieve one of the most dramatic and remarkable rescues ever attempted.'.
The events are depicted in the 1952 film The Brave Don't Cry
The Brave Don't Cry
The Brave Don't Cry is a 1952 British drama film directed by Philip Leacock and starring John Gregson, Meg Buchanan and John Rae. The film depitcts the events of September 1950 at the Knockshinnoch Castle colliery in Scotland, where 129 men were trapped by a landslide...
.
Background
Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery was situated in the Parish of New Cumnock in East Ayrshire.New Cumnock lies 22 miles south east of Ayr and 45 miles south of Glasgow. The river Afton, made famous by Scotland’s bard Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, ‘flows gently’ approximately 300 yards to the east of the site.
The colliery was developed by New Cumnock Collieries Ltd. The shaft was sunk in 1942 on the site of an older pit that had been abandoned almost 60 years earlier. The project brought new prosperity to what had been considered a dying area by the local mining community, attracting many miners from Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
to the village with the promise of employment. A policy of advanced mechanisation was employed by the owners and the ‘Castle’ was one of the best equipped and most productive collieries in the Ayrshire coalfield. At the time of the disaster coal production was in the region of 4.5–5000 tons per week, extracted mainly from two seams known locally as the ‘Main Coal’ and the ‘Turf Coal’. Before the accident Knockshinnoch employed approximately 700 men.
By 1950 Knockshinnoch Castle was operated by the recently formed National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
(NCB), Scottish Division, who had taken control from the New Cumnock Collieries Ltd following nationalisation of the coal industry by Clement Attlee’s Labour Government in 1947. The NCB continued to invest in the development of modern mechanised techniques at the pit. The colliery also boasted great welfare for employees including a new canteen and pithead baths, which were opened amidst a blaze of publicity during the first week of September 1950.
Event
The accident occurred on Thursday, 7 September 1950 at approximately 7.30 pm. It was during the afternoon shift when a large volume of liquid peat or moss broke through from the surface into the No. 5 Heading section of the main coal seam in the South Boig district of the mine.The inrush occurred at the point where the No. 5 Heading was being driven towards the surface at a gradient of 1 in 2, breaching the outcrop of the seam directly beneath superficial deposits and a glaciated lake filled with liquid peat or moss. The liquid matter burst into the pit, rushing down the steeply inclined heading, filling miles of underground workings and sealing off all escape routes to the surface.
There were 135 men working underground at the time – six working close to the pit bottom managed to escape, reaching the surface by way of the shaft before the inrush sealed their exit. 116 men found themselves cut off from the pit bottom, finding refuge from the encroaching sludge deep within the extensive mine workings. A further 13 men who were working in the No. 5 Heading at the time of the inrush were unaccounted for.
It was a race against time, as the men remained trapped underground for two tense, traumatic days under constant threat from the encroaching liquid peat, rapidly deteriorating air quality and gas.
Fortunately a telephone link to the surface remained intact, allowing the men to provide those on the surface with details of their location. This delicate lifeline proved crucial. The men were eventually reached, being rescued through the old disused Bank No. 6 Mine workings which ran close to Knockshinnoch. Siebe Gorman Salvus
Siebe Gorman Salvus
The Siebe Gorman Salvus is a light oxygen rebreather for industrial use or in shallow diving. Its duration on a filling is 30 to 40 minutes. It was very common in Britain during World War II and for a long time afterwards...
oxygen rebreathers (87 sets in all, mainly from fire station
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s) were used so they could be led out through gas-filled workings.
The 13 men trapped close to No. 5 Heading could not be reached. Their bodies were recovered many months later.
External links
For further details visit www.knockshinnoch.co.uk/mining_disaster/Welcome.htmlreferences: HMI Official Inquiry, HMSO 1950