 |
|
|
The Gwendraeth disaster memorial, at Pontyberem
This Gwendraeth colliery (not to be confused with the one near Pontyates) was owned by Daniel Watney. It initially worked the Gras and Dugaled seams, later the shaft was deepened to the Pumpquart seam at 150 yards.
On the 10th May 1852, 26 men and boys
lost their lives at the Gwendraeth Colliery when water flooded in and drowned
the miners on the night shift. It took a year and a half to recover all the
bodies and the tragedy affected the whole community as well as neighbouring
villages.
The dead were:-
Aubrey, David 28 married with four children Aubrey, Daniel 26 married with two children (brother of David) Davies, William 14 a boy Davies, Rees 32 married Evans, John 40 married with six children Evans, George 22 married with three children Evans, David 20 single (brother of George) Griffiths, Morgan 17 single Harris, John 13 a boy Harris, David 10 a boy (brother of John) Hughes, William 50 married with four children Hughes, John 20 (son of William) Jones, David 50 widower with six children Jones, Stephen 28 married with three children Lewis, Griffith 17 single Williams, Joseph 22 single Rees, David 32 married with two children Richards, Thomas 27 married with one child Thomas, Edward 32 married with four children Thomas, Evan 19 (brother of Edward) Thomas, David 16 a boy Thomas, William 15 a boy (brother of David) Wilkins, David 16 single lad Wilkins, Daniel 15 single lad (brother of David) Williams, John 18 single Williams, David 24 single (brother of John)
The inquest, which was held at the New Inn, Pontyberem and presided over by M.A. Bonville, Coroner brought a verdict of Accidental Death by drowning from a cause of Inundation Unknown.The colliery did reopen and in 1869 was listed as working.
It closed in the 1870's.
From The London Times, May 18th, 1852
The COLLIERY ACCIDENT in the GWINDRAETH VALE.
We regret to state that, from the peculiar nature of this accident, not one of the 26 unfortunate men who were drowned by the terrible accident at the Gwindraeth Colliery as been recovered. The origin of the catastrophe is still unknown, but it is not true, as reported in some of the papers, that it arose from the canal being approached too near and the waters from it breaking into the colliery. It is believed to have arisen from an accumulation of water in an old working which had been tapped.
The following is a list of the sufferers:- William Hughes, left a wife and four children; John Hughes, is Son, aged 22; David Jones, left six children without a mother; Griffith Lewis, single, age 18; Morgan Griffiths, single, aged 18; William Davies, aged 12; Thomas Morris, aged 18; Stephen Phillips, left a wife and three children; Thomas Richards, left a wife and child; David Rees, left wife and two children; Rees Davies, left a wife and mother; John Evans, left a wife and six children; David and John Williams (brothers), unmarried; John and David Harris (brothers), aged 15 and 10 years; George and David Evans (brothers), the former left a wife and three children; William and Daniel Wilkins (brothers), aged respectively 15 and 17 years; Edward and Evan Thomas (brothers), the former left a wife and four children; David and Daniel Aubrey (brothers), the former left a wife and four children, and the latter a wife and two children; Daniel and David Thomas (brothers), aged about 11 and 12 years.
A public subscription is being established for the relief of the widows and orphans. In the meantime Mr. Watney, the proprietor of the colliery, has administered to their immediate wants.
It was a most fortunate occurrence that the accident happened at night instead of by day, or the loss of life would have been nearly four times greater, the number of men working in the pit by day being 100, and by night 27. Of the latter all were drowned but one, namely, David Evans, who gives a graphic narrative of his escape. He states that at 10 o´clock at night, when all 27 men were at work in the pit, himself, with two other men and two boys, were at the bottom of the shaft engaged near an empty "cage" when they heard a fearful roar in the further end of the pit, accompanied by a rush of air which nearly overpowered them. They all jumped into the cage, which is used to wind the men up and down the shaft, and gave the usual signal for the engineer at the top to wind them up. The signal had hardly been given, however, when a vast body of water, rushing with tremendous speed from the extreme end of the pit, dashed the cage from its position and rendered it impossible for the engine to remove it. Each man then struggled for himself, and Evans had a very indistinct recollection of the manner of his escape. He says he caught hold of the wooden guider by the side of the pit and commenced the ascent. He saw another attempt to get up by means of the rope, but he was washed away by the water. A boy named David Harris grasped Evans by the coal tails, and they ascended a few foot in this manner, when the water, which was shooting up in the centre, forced the boy from his hold, and he was drowned with his companions. David Evans, thus relieved from his burden, got to the top of the shaft, the only survivor. He was in a state of insensibility for some time, but recovered in the course of the night.
The water is so muddy and thick and the pumps can only partially brought into action, and it is a matter of doubt whether the bodies will ever be recovered. At the place over the spot where the water rushed in there have been large sinkings in the surface of the field, which bear out the supposition that there had been an accumulation of water in an old working, which had burst into the pit. A large portion of the field over the pit was sunk from 10 to 12 feet. An inspector of mines is expected down to examine the locality.