Senghenydd Colliery Disaster

Crowd gathering at the pit head of the Universal Colliery, Senghenydd in October 1913

The Senghenydd Colliery Disaster, also known as the Senghenydd Explosion, occurred in Senghenydd,^[1] near Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales on 14 October 1913, killing 439 miners. It is the worst mining accident in the United Kingdom, and one of the most serious globally in terms of loss of life.

Background

The demand for Welsh steam coal before World War I was enormous, driven by the Royal Navy and its huge fleet of steam battleships, dreadnoughts and cruisers, and by foreign Navies allied to Britain and the British Empire. Coal output from British mines peaked in 1914, and there were a correspondingly large number of accidents around this time. The worst was at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd and occurred as a result of a coal dust explosion that travelled through most of the underground workings.

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Probable cause

The explosion was probably started by firedamp (methane) being ignited, possibly by electric sparking from equipment such as electric bell signalling gear. The initial explosion disturbed coal dust present on the floor, raising a cloud that then also ignited. The shock wave ahead of the explosion raised yet more coal dust, so that the explosion was effectively self-fuelling. Those miners not killed immediately by the fire and explosion would have died quickly from afterdamp, the noxious gases formed by combustion. These include lethal quantities of carbon monoxide, which kills very quickly by combining preferentially with haemoglobin in the blood. The victims are suffocated by lack of oxygen or anoxia.

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The Four Memorials

Four memorials to the disaster are located in Senghenydd. The first is outside Nant-y-parc Primary School,^[2] which is built on the site of the old mine. At St. Cenydd Comprehensive School is a list of names of those who died from the explosion, and they have a truck of coal as a memorial. There is a memorial placed in the local pub, the Green Pint. Finally a new memorial garden is being constructed next to the Nant-y-parc school site and is hoped to be opened in October 2013 for the centenary anniversary.

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