A Welsh Coal Mines web page

Tynewydd, 1877. (Aber Rhondda Colliery shown in the background)

Situated close to the confluence of the rivers Rhondda Fach and the Rhondda Fawr, near Porth. The two shafts each 90 yards deep were sunk in 1852 by the Troedyrhiw Coal Company to work the No.2 and No.3 Rhondda seams. Winding was by the water balance method and the colliery was ventilated by furnace.

In the mines list of 1896 there were 118 employed at Tynewydd and the Troedyrhiw Coal Co then owned it.

The colliery closed in 1901.

The rescue at Tynewydd.

It had been well known for some time that the old abandoned No. 3 Rhondda seam workings at the Cymmer Colliery (known as Hinde's pit) was flooded with water. So a barrier of un-worked ground was left at the boundary with the Tynewydd workings. However the thickness of this barrier proved to be far from adequate, when on the morning of April 11th 1877 a vast inundation of water burst through into the workings at Tynewydd.

Of the fourteen men underground at that time, two men, John Hughes, aged 50, his 18-year-old son William Hughes and a number of horses were drowned in the initial inrush of water.

Five others had run in front of the flood to reach higher ground. The roadway inclined upwards for several yards before dipping down again, forming a hump. When the men reach the top of this hump they discovered to their great despair the flood was rising in front of them, trapping them on this high point in the mine.

With the water level rising inexorably towards them it seemed it would be only a matter of time before they too would be drowned. However the pressure of air that had been compressed by the rising water within the blocked chamber held the floodwaters at bay.

The men had hung on to their candles mandrills and knowing that they were only a short distance from another roadway they set about digging a tunnel towards it. They toiled ceaselessly all night and by the Thursday morning they had burrowed a tunnel eight yards through the rock and coal. The sound of their picks was heard at the other side and soon rescuers were digging to meet them. When it became evident only a thin wall of coal was left between them and the rescuers, one of the trapped miners a young man named William Morgan hacked eagerly at the barrier with his pick. As he broke through a sudden release of compressed air from their chamber forced his body into the narrow opening killing him instantly. The subsequent rescue of his four workmates, raised the possibility and hope that others may be still alive, trapped elsewhere in similar circumstances.

Another rescue attempt had been going on during the night on the main heading nearer to the shaft. The heading was partly flooded with a few inches of standing water. The rescuers noticed air bubbles coming through the water from an air pocket below. Then they could discern faint voices and signal tapping from beneath their feet. Richard Howell, the overman realised that they were over the working place of Edward Williams and a boy Robert Rogers. A team of men were quickly assembled to sink a shaft to the heading below. As they dug they listened for signs of life, but during the dig the tapping and voices suddenly fell silent. When they finally broke through they found the heading full to the top with water and it was obvious to them that Edward Williams and the boy had drowned in the slowly rising water.

Thomas Morgan's stall was the name given to another part of the mine, which was also situated at a higher level, so it seemed to the engineers, if there were any more survivors this would be the most likely place to find them, so they decided to concentrate their search efforts in that direction.

On the Saturday four deep-sea divers arrived with their equipment to search the flooded galleries. After bravely venturing over six hundred feet into the black waters they encountered strong water currents, which made it impossible for them to keep their footing, also their air hoses were getting tangled in abandoned drams and loose timber, so they were forced to call off their mission.

Heavy pumps were then put to work and after pumping for two days the water level was lowered to a point where it was possible to drive a tunnel towards Morgan’s stall.

Four teams with four men in each started working around the clock, in three-hour shifts, driving a tunnel six feet wide by three feet high. On the Wednesday morning faint sounds of tapping could be heard travelling through the coal barrier, therefore confirming that men were still alive on the other side.

This amazing news was quickly spread (with the aid of telegraphy) throughout the length and breadth of the country, and soon newspaper reporters were descending on the small community to follow the dramatic story as it unfolded.

Fresh spirit was put into the rescuers with this added knowledge and they worked with even greater energy, now knowing with certainty there were lives to be saved. Before long they were within hailing distance of the imprisoned men and they were able to confirm that four men and a young old boy were trapped huddled together on a ledge, in a very small cavity on the other side.

The four were Daffyd Jenkins, Moses Powell, George Jenkins, John Thomas and the boy David Hughes.

Daffyd Jenkins, the eldest of the small group and an active member of the local Independent Congregational chapel, continually reassured the others that all will be well and being a religious person he led them in the singing of hymns to lift their spirits. However the young boy who worked under the charge of Jenkins had been particularly distraught and he sometimes cried out for his mother.

They had been trapped for so long without food, hunger had forced them to eat the grease from their candles, but now even that meagre sustenance was long gone and they were on the point of complete exhaustion.

The engineers directing the rescue decided to have holes drilled through the barrier to ascertain the distance left to tunnel and also to facilitate a tube so that liquid food could be passed through to the desperately hungry captives. However as soon as the drill passed through to the other side the trapped compressed air rushed out with great force. Not only did this cause the water on the other side to begin rising again, by releasing the air pressure, but also with the escaping air came substantial amounts of gas. After several attempts they finally managed to plug the holes, although by this time such an amount of gas had escaped it now formed an explosive mixture within the tunnel. The flames in their Clanny lamps flared dangerously with the amount of gas present. So fearing the possibility of an immediate explosion the rescuers were ordered to retreat from the tunnel.

Brattice sheets were positioned to deflect more fresh air into the tunnel to disperse the gas, but it wasn't until the following day had the conditions improved enough to allow the rescue attempt to recommence.

Learning from the earlier experience when the miner was killed by the escape of compressed air, the engineers decided to have stout air doors erected to resist the escaping air and gas, these doors would also help in confining any explosion, which could possibly occur with the expected inflow of gas after the breakthrough. One of these doors was built within a yard of the face leaving very little room to swing a pick at the thin remaining barrier.

The leader of the four men on shift, Isaac Pride a young man aged twenty-four took it upon himself to be the man to break down the remaining barrier. This dangerous operation had to be performed in complete darkness because of the fear of escaping gas from behind the barrier. Abraham “Abby" Dodd” and Gwilym Thomas assisted him; they carried the safety lamps showing light as far as the coalface (a distance of forty yards) and then were told to retreat behind the sets of air doors, leaving Pride to carry out his task in the darkness.

When Pride's pick broke through the barrier the initial blast of escaping air threw him back against the air door, he quickly recovered and set about enlarging the hole. By this time Dodd had come to assist (as prearranged) and they climbed through the hole and down to where they found the trapped five too weak to even stand.

Between them and the escape hole, which had been made above by Pride was a narrow deep channel filled with floodwater. Thinking fast with no time to lose because the flood water had now began to rise again, Pride stretched his body across this gap forming a human bridge allowing Dodd to pull the five across to safety. They had been trapped for over nine days.

The first words David Hughes uttered to the rescuers was to ask after his father (John) and brother (William). Not wanting to upset the boy further in his weak state they told him not to worry knowing well that both his father and brother were drowned and there bodies had still not been recovered.

Soon the glad tidings had spread nationwide and headlines such as "Life from the dead"were covering the front pages of the Newspapers. The story that had held the public's constant attention for days on end had finally ended happily, a most unusual occurrence in these dark days of the coal mining industry when death and disaster were all too commonplace.

Every man involved was a hero and for the particular outstanding part in the rescue played by Isaac Pride, John Howell and Daniel Thomas were given the Albert Medal of the (1st class) and 21 of the other rescuers the Albert Medal (2nd class). This was the first time the Albert Medal had been awarded for gallantry underground.

Full list of the Medal recipients at the bottom of the page.

This action that saved the lives of the four men and a boy, is regarded as one of the most exceptional rescues in coal mining history.

Those that perished.

Below is the original selected shift roster of rescuers. Obviously others were involved in the rescue as suggested by the list of medal recipients at the bottom of the page.

Shift No. 1--- Isaac Pride, William Rawlings, Charles Oatridge and William Morgan.

Shift No. 2--- Davy Davies, John Morgan, Thomas Rees and Davy Minton.

Shift No. 3--- David Davies, Richard Hopkins, John Howell and Thomas Thomas.

Shift No. 4--- John Griffiths, Thomas Griffiths, Ioan Williams and Thomas Thomas.

Also Gwilym Thomas and Abraham "Abby" Dodd who assisted in the final breakthrough.

The rescued miners, left to right, David Jenkins George Jenkins,
David Hughes, Moses Powell and John Thomas.

Three of the rescuers, left to right, Gwilym Thomas, Abraham Dodd
and Isaac Pride

The Albert Medal, awarded to Isaac Pride.

Full list of Medal recipients.

It is believed that Abraham "Abby" Dodd missed out on a medal because of some comments he made to a newspaper reporter criticising the colliery owners, and criticsm of the Establishment wasn't tolerated, such were the times. Abraham Dodd's contribution to this rescue attempt was second to none especially his part in the final rescue. Perhaps someday his memory will be properly rewarded by awarding him, posthumously a well deserve medal.

Isaac Pride was killed in an accident at Cymmer Colliery in the late 1890's.
Daniel Thomas was killed in an explosion along with 13 others at the Naval Colliery, Penygraig in 1884.