Tragedy struck the colliery with three fatal
mining accidents in ten years: • 2 men were killed on 24 March 1886, during the sinking of the shafts • 4 killed in November 1886, as production started
1894 disaster Albion was the scene of one of the worst disasters ever to occur in the
South Wales Coalfield, second only to the later disaster at the
Universal Colliery at
Senghenydd in 1913. At 4 o'clock on Saturday 23 June 1894, the night shift had just begun and the workers were clearing dust and repairing underground roadways when a massive explosion on the Groves level occurred. It was caused by the ignition of
coal dust following an explosion of
firedamp, and resulted in the deaths of 290 men and boys. Of the 125 horses underground, only two survived. The bodies brought to the surface were initially assessed and stored in the colliery's
stable hayloft, that acted as a temporary
morgue. Many were so badly mutilated that identification was virtually impossible, and there were several instances of corpses being carried to the wrong houses. Another cause of confusion was that no-one knew how many men were below ground when the explosion occurred. There is a memorial to the eleven killed who were not identified at St Mabon's Church, in
Llanfabon.
1894 inquest The colliery was reopened within two weeks of the explosion, and an
inquest opened in Pontypridd in August 1894. The differences of opinion between the owners, the inspectors and the professional witnesses led the jury to conclude that the explosion of gas was accelerated by coal dust, but it failed to agree on the cause. Because of this, the inquest lasted 9 days before it reached this conclusion. They did unanimously agree that shotfiring without sufficient precautions and contrary to the rules meant that that under manager had neglected his duties. The jury made recommendations to improve safety conditions. These recommendations included that shotfiring in timber should be prohibited, old working should be properly stowed and that the number of men in the mines should be kept at all times. The jury also suggested that more thorough inspections should be carried out and that they should be carried out by Her Majesty's inspectors as the present workmen representatives were deemed worthless. The inspectors responded by saying that apart from disagreeing on the origin of the explosion, their view were in accord with the jury. The inspectors insisted however that the inspections were not worthless or useless and were in fact a good thing when carried out properly, like they generally are carried out in South Wales and Monmouthshire. One of the few survivors, George Bamford, gave his account of the explosion to help the inquest. Consequently, the Government appointed
barrister Mr J Roskill to scrutinise the evidence. Roskill in his September 1894 report submitted to the
Home Secretary was of the opinion that the explosion was caused by the blasting of timbers which ignited an accumulation of gas, which ignited the coal dust. Roskill concluded the risk was increased by dangerous working practices, including blasting of timbers during shifts, inadequate watering of the mine to lay dust and new Saturday shift patterns, so that there was no interval for clearing dust between shifts. Roskill recommended prosecuting the Albion Coal Company, but eventually only fines of £10 and £2 were imposed against manager Phillip Jones and
chargeman William Anstes. ==Production==