The West Stanley Colliery Disaster
             The Burns Pit
                    by Jack Hair  

This is a brief account of that sad day in the history of Stanley when 168 men and boys lost their lives in an underground explosion. it will be in four parts. The explosion. the funerals, The Inquest, Final observations                     During the 19th and 20th centuries, the town of Stanley and the surrounding area was the home to one of the most productive coal mining areas in the country. Millions of tons of coal were produced and sent by various methods down to the rivers Tyne & Wear and from there all over Britain and abroad. The cost to human life was very high and thousands of miners from our area lost their lives or were seriously injured. Regardless of this, they were a proud breed of man.They sacrificed everything to provide a home and income for their families. There was no Social Security in those days. You either worked, or you starved. There really was no option. This account is of the men who paid the ultimate price. The men of the Burns Pit. Some years ago, local reporter Eric Forster of The Evening Chronicle compiled an excellent book of this disaster entitled "The Death Pit".This was im my opinion the best account of this event I have seen.Sadly it is now out of print.For this reason I compiled my own small book which i believe is available in the reference section of the local libraries. I also made a dvd in Pro Show Gold which gives a narrated sliode show of the event. These were given to local junior schools who study the disaster in their curriculum. I have also visited many of these schols and other organisations to give a talk on the subject. Several memorials have been erected around Stanley to the disaster. The first in 1913 was provided by the Working Men's Clubs of the District. it was for a few years placed outside the front of Stanley Urban District Council Offices. It was later moved to the entrance Stanley Cemtery at East Stanley. The second was placed on the Kings Head Field by a small group of local men headed by the late Michael Bailey who was the main inpiration and fund raiser. The third, in the form of a group of stones, also on the Kings Head was placed there by the local residents. The last one in St Andrews Church Yard, (which was the former public cemetery).I will if possible place photos of these memorials at the end of this account as and when I can.

                                                                         The Explosions.

On the morning of 16th February 1909, Syd Wears'(senior) father was moving into the Stanley Inn(Paddy Rocks) at the lower end of Stanley Front Street. It was a cold sunny day. Life was going on about the town in the normal way with no clues as to how that day would change the lives of so many people. At 3.45pm. there was the sound of a muffles exlosion which stopped the town in it's tracks.People were trying to identify where the bang had come from. Fifty seconds later, there was a second explosion, much louder than the first, with flames and smoke shooting into the wintry sky. It was now obvious, it was The Burns Pit. There were screams of fear as the women folk feared the worst.There was an instant movement of people toward the pit head, all with the same thoughts in mind, what had happened?, how bad was it?. At first there were dozens of people. Within minutes there were hundreds and in no time at all, there were thousands.The swelling crowd soon realised the main damage must be underground. There seemed to be no organised plan of action. The manager, Mr Hall was away at a job interview. He was sent for immediately. Mr Fairley of the South Moor Coal Co arrived and he at once took control. A message was sent to the Louisa Coilliery for rescue equipment to clear the pit head. Mining engineer Col Blackett of Sacriston was informed and he soon arrived. Shipmakers Armstrong's of the Tyne were approached for breathing apparatus and men and they were granted at once. Rescue workers arrived from many other local collieries. doctors and nurses from Newcastle Infirmary and HMS Calliope from the Tyne also arrived. People throughout the town worried about their loved ones and of their chances of survival as there was no news. One of those trapped was Tom Riley, father of eleven. Another was Luke Reay, father of eight. The neares to the explosion had been colliery engineer Ralp Stephenson. Fuses at the switchboard had blown indicating the air current underground had been cut off. The cages had stuck. Stephenson went over to the North Shaft and noticed damage to the doors. Many boards around the sides of the shaft had been blown off. The quivering pulley ropes were still in their wheels. Stephenson peere down the shaft and there beloe in the belly of the pitwas a glowing red mass of light. It looked like a volcano waiting to erupt. He stood back to yell a warnming, and at that point the second explosion tore up the shaft blowing the headgear and shooting up iunto the sky. The flames were followed by a dense black smoke. Stephenson was thrown to the ground and his cheeks seered with the intense heat. After a few seconds, the dense smoke was sucked back down into the pit. This was bad news for those below. The Manger Mr Hall returned to take over the rescue operation. Attempts were made to clear the headgear so as to reach the underground seams. However, unknown to them at this time, many lay dead or seriously injured. Down below , the explosion had gone it's full course. In the Towneley Seam of 123 fathoms 63 were dead In the Tilley Seam of 133 fathoms 18 were dead In the Busty Seam 33 were dead In the Brockwell Seam of 163 fathoms 48 were dead Due to there being no counting system, no one knew just how many men were underground. Incredibly, there was still life down there in those dark, dank, stinking gas filled galleries. Mark Henderson, an experienced deputy soon realised the danger and gathered those around him in the Tilley Seam.He led them from the onrushing afterdamp (gas)to a small gallery where there was a pocket of fresh air. There were 34 of them. They only had two lamps between them. Two of these men panicked and made a dash for the shaft. Five others joined them, and more would have followed but for Henderson persuading them to stay where they were. Within yards of the safety of the gallery, all seven died of the poisonous gas.If only they had listened. The rest of the men were cold, in shock and fearful of their lives. Henderson did all he could to re-assure them.One of the men began humming the Hyumn "Lead Kindly Light". Salvation Army member Bob Harrison joined in with the words, and soon the others joined in. Lead kindly light, amis the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on, the night is dark and I am far away from home. Can you picture this scene? Before the hymn had ended, 14 years old Jimmy Gardner, very badly injured, lost his fight for life, and died. This caused even greater dread among the men. After many hours, Henderson realised the air was getting foul, and decided to attempt to see if he could find a way to get the men out. He told them of his plan and with his mouth masked against the gas, he stepped out into the gas filled passageway. Though the air was still heavy, he noticed it was beginning to clear a little although he still was forced to the ground a couple of times. He soon passed the seven men who had earlier tried to reach the shaft, all dead. After crawling for almost a quarter of a mile over stones, coal, wooden props and dead bodies, he eventually reached the shaft. He used the phone and you can imaghine the shock at the surface when the phone rang. "Hello, whose there? How many are you?. Henderson replied, "There's 26 of us down here, can you get us ou? " All rescue work was then concentrated on the Tilley Seam, and after 14 hours underground, they were rescued. It was later discovered that the phne he used was the only phone in the colliery not destroyed by the explosion. Onsetter Matt Elliott was later found alive, but unconcious in the Busty Seam. Three other men, Tom Smith, Leadbitter and last man out Paddy Joyce were found in the Towneley Sea.Sadly, Leadbitter died 30 hours later from the effects of the gas. Thousands of people surrounded the colliery and the local clergy of all faiths visited the site to offer comfort. They made a tempory mortuary cum hospital in the Joiner Shops. the sick and the dead were seoerated only by a large tarpaulin sheet. The stench was horrendous as the poison gas was coming out of the dead bodies. The injured were not well enough to travel to Newcastle Infirmary. Men had to be posted to keep the rats away. It was a truly awful situation. Regularly the bodies were moved from tempory buldings into the mortuary once they had been identified by their families. Sightseers came from miles around to witness this sad event. After the bodie were inspected as to cause of death, the Coroner allowed the families to take their menfolk home. Identification for some was the hardest part. Some of the miners were unmarked, killed by the poisonous gas while others were blasted to pieces, almost unrecognisable. None of them would have known this would be their last journey from the pit. All their lives were about to change. The bodies of two of the miners were not recovered at this time as it was considered too dangerous to proced any further. They were - William Chaytor and John Rodgers. they were listed as dead.

                                                                      The Funerals

Coroner Graham held a Preliminary Inquest on the Saturday after the disaster at St Andrew's Church Institute so as to free up the bodies for burial. Most of the dead miners had been members of the Northumberland & Durham Permanent Relief Fund which meant widows would receive five shiilings per week, plus two shillings for each child under the age of fourteen. Eighty men were insured with the Prudential, and a few others with the Pearl.A Relief Fund was set up with a donation of £1,000 from the Burns family. There were a total of 238 dependants and £17.919 was raised. The three trustees were - J Fairley, M Armstrong and J Green. Most of the money was invested in Railway Stocks which actually had a very poor return. In total they paid out £18,661.This money ran out in February 1933. The Postmaster, Mr Marr Armstrong had his own tragedy at this time. He was so busy with the hundreds of incoming messages of symppathy from all over the world, hius son took on the task of going down to Shield Row Station to pick up parcels etc. On the reyrn journey, he fell from his pony, struck his head on the grouns, broke his neck and died. It wasa decided to hold the mass funerals over three days. Three mass graves were dug in St Andrews Church Cemetery which was then the Public Cemetery, and one in St Joseph's RC Church Yard.The funerals took place on the following Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The army and police were overwhelmed by the magnitude of people who arrived into Stanley to witness thse events. Some f the familis were able to afford horse drawn funeral carriages. Others less well off, and maybe with more than one of their family to bury, had no other option other than to carry them in their coffins on the shoulders of reltives and friends. Such was the burden, and so great were the crowds that some of these coffin bearers collapsed under the strain, and were replaced by willing bystanders. The air was thick with smelling salts. Progress was very slow and on several occasions came to a total standstill with funerals coming from all areas of the town, all meeting and converging at the lower end of Front Street. It was absolute chaos. The first funerals at St Andrew's were those of six members of the Salvation Armythe bands, headed by the Lodge Banner, marched slowly down Front Street playing Handel's Death March. As the day wore on, everything came to a dwindling halt with no movement in any direction. At St Andrew's Ministers and priests of all faith were conducting graveside funerals, side by side.The grief was overpowering and sveral widows and relatives collapsed into the trnch graves. Some of those who died had private graves, but these were few in number. At 5.30pm that first day at St Andrews, the last funeral took place and it must have been that of someone with a military connection, as soldiers stepped forward and fired a volley of shots over the grave. Their bugles sounded the Last Post. Supposedly, the silvery notes of the bugles echoed over the surrounding pit heads, filtering down from the hilltop cemetery, into the valley below. A tearful moment.Equally moving were the scenes at St Joseph's RC Churchyard filled to capacity. it is very hard to imagine the mass outpouring of grief of so many people with their shared loss. Gone was their loved one who was also the provider and bread winner. No Social benefits to rely on, plus they were living in tied houses (homes provided by the employer) and these were dependant on you working at the colliery. where would they turn to now? their outlook looked grim. IOn some streets, almost every house lost a relative in the disaster. My Grandmothers brother, James Lambert was one of thos killed. He lived in Kettledrum Street and only one house in that street did not lose at least one of their family.

                                                                 The Inquests.

The Burns Pit banner depicted the Blind Scales of Justice on one side, and a Fair Exchange on the other. In my opinion, they could not have had a more inappropriate banner, as the men of this colliery did not get a fair exchange for their labour on this occasion. Coroner Graham resumed the inquests in St Andrew's Institute after the funerals. To his credit, he asked hundreds of questions so as to establish the cause. However, some of those he questioned were really still too ill to give proper accounts. Such as Matt Elliott. He was interviewed in his bed still suffering badly from concussion and the effects of the gas. The coroner and many officials were present in his bedroom and he virtually answered yes or no and not particularly in the right order. The Mines Inspector suggested possible events and Elliott went along with it. There is no suggestion he lied, he was just too ill and too intimidated to be able to answer freely. Many experienced mines engineers and inspectors gave their professional opinions of the disaster but they were all brushed aside by the official mines inspector who came to his own conclusions. There was massive evidence the explosion occurred in the Brockwell Seam probably by an illegal lamp. The colliery was classified as a gassy pit to be worked only with safety lamps. This had been decided after a previous explosion in the colliery years previous. The coroner qestioned all he could but the mines inspector still insisted there were no known or obvious reasons for the explosion. He suggested possible electric faults in the wiring, or possible gas coming from lower seams plus other reasons but discounted the theory that the explosion occurred in the Brockwell. Others argued the pit props in the Brockwell were only burnt on one side indicating the direction of the blast. This, plus evidence of explosive damage in the Brockwell. For no known reason, the mines inspector would have none of this, and as he was the official government mines inspector, He had the last word. He stated there was no evidence of illegal lamps having been used in the colliery. The arguement went on relentlessly, but he would not give way. The Coroner, feeling he had exausted all the theories declared that the explosion and resulting deaths was accidental, cause unknown. Years later, the former manager Mr Hall donated a Howatts Patent Deflector Lamp to Armstrongs Mining College at Newcastle. This said lamp, according to Mr Hall, came from the Brockwell Seam at the time of the 1909 explosion. A Howatts Patent Defletor Lamp was a large lamp able to give off strong light underground.For this purpose it was very good. However, it was a naked flame lamp not allowed for use in a gassy pit. The Burns was officially a gassy pit, to be worked only with safety lamps. Had this information been available at the Inquest, the cause of the explosion may have been blamed on illegal use of naked flame lamps. Maybe, or maybe not. It is too late now to go over old ground, but it would be hoped modern day mines inspectors would have come to a different conclusion than that made in 1909. One of the mining engineers who opposed the mines inspector was Atkinson. He was a former government inspector, in fact it was he who originally had this colliery declared as a gassy pit. He tried for many years to have the Inquest ruling overturned. He approched every political committee, mps, QCs and Mining Authorities he could without success. He never accepted the Coroners decision but all to no avail. The decision was final.

                                                          Events after the disaster.

After the disaster, the Burns family were too distraught to carry on. No money was spared in the rescue and after. They donated £1,000 to the appeal fund which would probably be equal to a million pounds today. they paid for all the floral tributes at the mass graves, and did everything that could have been expected of them. The Colliery was closed. Four hundred men and boys were made redundant, althoughthey all soon found work in other local collieries. It was later sold to the South Derwent Coal Co who reopened the pit. In 1931, Bob Chipperton and Ted Burns were working in the Busty Seam when they heard a low growl. They moved back and the roof lowered and crashed down. In front of them was a scene of horror.After lying undisturbed for over 24 years, the mine had finally given up the bodies of William Chaytor and John Rodgers. Word soon spread around the town. A second inquest was opened, but the Cornoner, Wm Carr decided it was best to let (as he said) sleeping dogs lie, and refused all attempts to reopen the original inquest. Atkinson again tried to reopen the original inquest, but was denied. No Justice, and definitely no Fair Exchange. However, these are my own personal opinions, and I leave it to you to do your own research and come to your own conclusions. It's the only way. In February 1936, the manager Mr Jeffries of South Derwent Coal Co posted a notice informing the men the West Stanley Colliery (The Burns Pit) would close on February 19th 1936. Jimmy Witney put the last stones over the heap. The Burns Pit was closed.

                                                                              Jack Hair

See Burns Pit Gallery for a selection of photos of this disaster Happy researching. Jack Hair