The Cambrian Colliery Disaster 10th. March 1905

On the 10th March 1905 an explosion occurred at the Cambrian Collieries No.1 pit 6ft. Seam which led to the loss of life of 32 men underground, and one who died later in hospital, and serious injury to 14 others. Headlines in the local paper of Saturday March 18th exclaimed, ' Terrible explosion at Clydach Vale... Heavy Death Roll... Men still missing...Pit a veritable inferno.... Men still missing.'

Upon hearing the explosion, which resounded around the valley, thousands of locals gathered at the pit top, both to offer assistance in the rescue efforts and also to discover the fate of loved ones working below. Indeed the local MP, D.A.Thomas, upon hearing of the disaster travelled by night train from London to the scene of the disaster, where he arrived at 3A.M. on the Saturday morning.

At the pithead a relief gang was immediately formed consisting of Leonard Llewellyn, agent of the collieries, D Davies and Trevor Price (managers), Morris Williams (Head mechanic), and others. All of who were subsequently recognised by the Royal Humane Society for their bravery in the rescue effort. Upon descending the pit via the No.2 shaft and the Coronation Seam, 120 yards below the affected seam, they discovered 50 men alive and virtually uninjured whom they sent up to the surface. When they worked their way up to the 6ft. seam they found 13 men alive but all seriously injured, suffering from severe burns. From here however the rescue effort was stalled due to the 'intensity of the conflagration'. By two o'clock the following morning, when the first attempts to put out the fire underground had proved unsuccessful, Mr. Leonard Llewellyn stated' It is a matter of impossibility for any creature to be alive in the workings beyond the fire'. In fact it was not until the following Wednesday that the fire was finally extinguished and the falls of rock cleared to allow access to the source of the explosion. During this time 30 bodies were recovered, two of the victims' bodies were completely consumed by the ferocity of the fire.

The first six funerals of the victims of the disaster were held on the Wednesday following the explosion, the six processions meeting at Clydach Square to form one cortege to the cemetery. Hundreds of people lined the streets of Clydach, all local shops closed for the afternoon and all the houses had their blinds drawn, as a mark of respect to the dead.
In May 1905 a Home Office Report, by F.A.Gray one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Mines, into the cause of the explosion was published. This concluded that the explosion originated in the safety lamp of David Enoch, who died in the blast. However what actually caused the lamp to ignite was uncertain. One theory was that a rock had fallen striking and breaking the glass of the lamp, exposing the flame of the lamp and thus igniting the surrounding gas. The other theory, which the Inspector subscribed to, was that gas had exploded in the lamp forcing the gauze out and thus igniting the surrounding gas.

The Cambrian explosion of 1905 was a terrible tragedy, but it could have been much worse had it not been for the timing of the explosion. The explosion occurred at 6.25 p.m. a time when the days shift had left the mine and the night shift had yet to descend. If not for this fortuitous timing of the explosion the death toll would have been far, far greater.

Names of those killed in The Cambrian Colliery Disaster 1905