Gresford Disaster
The memorial at Gresford Heath, incorporating the old pit wheel, commemorating the victims of the Gresford Disaster
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| Date | 22 September 1934 |
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| Location | Gresford near Wrexham, Wales |
| Deaths | 266 |
| Verdict | underground explosion (exact cause not determined) |
The Gresford disaster occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery, Gresford, near Wrexham, in northeast Wales, when an explosion killed 266 men and boys. Its cause was never proved but an inquiry found that failures in safety procedures and poor mine management were contributory factors. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters. Only eleven bodies were recovered, the rest were left entombed in the colliery's permanently sealed damaged districts.
The Westminster and United Collieries Group began to sink the pit at Gresford in 1908. Two shafts were sunk 50 yards (46 m) apart: the Dennis (named after the industrialist Dennis family of Ruabon who were the pit owners) and the Martin. Work was completed in 1911. The mine was one of the deepest in the Denbighshire Coalfield: the Dennis shaft reached depths of about 2,264 feet (690 m) and the Martin shaft about 2,252 feet (686 m).
By 1934, 2,200 coal miners were employed at the colliery, with 1,850 working underground and 350 on the surface. Three coal seams were worked at Gresford:
The explosion occurred within the Main seam of Dennis. This section, which began more than 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from the shaft bottom, was mined down a shallow gradient. Dennis was divided into six "districts": 20's, 61's, 109's, 14's and 29's. The sixth district was a very deep area known collectively as the "95's and 24's". All the districts in Dennis were worked by the longwall system where the coal face was mined in single blocks. Most districts in the Dennis section were mechanised except 20's and 61's, which were still worked by hand, because they were furthest from the main shaft (approximately 2.75 miles (4.43 km)).
Conditions in the mine before the explosion were presented in evidence at the inquiry into the disaster. Firstly underground mine ventilation in some districts of Dennis was probably inadequate; in particular, the 14's and 29's districts were notorious for poor air quality. The main return airway for the 109's, 14's and 29's districts was said to be 4 feet (1.2 m) by 4 feet (1.2 m) and far too small to provide adequate ventilation. Secondly, working conditions in the 2,600-foot (790 m) deep 95's and 24's district were always uncomfortably hot. Thirdly there were also numerous breaches of safety regulations such as the firing of explosive charges in 14's district and the failure to take dust samples.
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