Accidents and Disasters
The lists of names on these pages were compiled by the authors from a combination of the following sources - reports of the Inspectors of Mines, contemporary newspaper articles, FAI indexes and death certificates. Between 1852 and 1914, these are primarily sourced from the Annual Reports of the Inspector of Mines, with addition details from our own research. Pre-1852 and post-1914, the lists of accidents have been compiled primarily from newspaper articles. The lists on this site are far from complete, particularly for the years before 1852 and after 1914 but we are continually working to update these through our own research. Please check the lists carefully as many accidents are given under the date of accident, not death, or the date is recorded incorrectly.
We aim to commemorate as many of those who lost their lives in mining accidents in Scotland as possible, however at the moment we are unable to accept any submissions.
If you are looking for information on a Fife miner, we would highly recommend you also visit the excellent Fife Pits and Memorial Book.
Fatal Accidents
* We have recently obtained copies of reports, including names, by the Inspector of Mines for the years 1922-1924. Work is ongoing to transcribe these and they will be added to the site as soon as possible.
Notes on Sources for Fatal Accident Lists
Pre-1852
Before 1852 there are no official lists
of accidents or deaths. Statutory registration of deaths did not start
until 1855, so locating deaths during this period is difficult. Main sources used here are newspaper articles and Old Parish Records. For Fife, the Fife Family History Society pre-1855 death CD was used. This CD uses a number of parish record and newspaper sources and is highly recommended for those researching in Fife
1852-1914
Click on image to view larger image.
These lists also contain names of deaths not listed
in the Inspectors reports, identified from newspapers and other sources.
Post-1914
After 1914 the Inspectors reports do not
gives names of those killed or injured in accidents, apart from the years 1922-1924. We have compiled
the information from a limited number of other years for the inspectors reports (currently 1925,
1926, 1927, 1929 and 1932) and included with the index for the relevant
year. The information for all other years is compiled from newspaper
reports, indexes of FAI, death certificates and other sources. Please note that from 1942 onwards we do not
routinely put newspaper articles or other detailed information on the site.
We are currently adding further names obtained from the registers of Fatal Accident Inquiries held at the National Archives of Scotland. These registers contain all sudden and accidental deaths in Scotland, not just those by mining so this is an extensive task. The books do not list the dates of accidents, only the date of the inquiry. Therefore some accidents are listed by year only with month and day unknown as it is not feasible to purchase certificates to confirm the exact date of all fatalities. Currently information is being loaded for selected years between 1918 and 1942
Notes of extent of coverage post-1914
Before we obtained access to the registers of FAI, identification from newspapers and other sources was estimated based on a sample of 16 years between the years 1915 and 1938 for which we know the total Scottish fatalities as recorded by the official statistics of the Inspector of Mines. At that time the site contained approximately 74% of fatalities during those years (1738 of 2342 fatalities). For years where we have utilised the FAI registers (e.g. 1919, 1920, 1925), identification is almost 100%. Since we also include deaths by natural causes while at work, the total number of deaths may exceed those included in the official statistics.
Work is ongoing to extend coverage from the registers of FAI and other sources.
Non-Fatal Accidents & Prosecutions- Inspector's Reports
For some years, the Inspector's reports published names of miners involved in non-fatal accident, or prosecutions. These are gradually being transcribed and added to the site. Please note the lists are transcribed in the original format used by the inspectors but will be added to the general alphabetical indexes to aid searching.
- 1889 Eastern District - Non-Fatal Accidents
- 1889 Western District - Non-Fatal Accidents
- 1890 & 1891 Eastern District - Prosecutions
Disasters and Major Accidents
- 11 December 1760 - 7 drowned at Lightburn (no names)
- 22 September 1768 - 3 drowned at Torryburn (no names)
- 25 Feb 1788 - 5 killed at Benclough, Campsie (no names)
- 29 March 1792 - 7 drowned at Lochlibo, Neilston (no names)
- 12 Jul 1810 - 17 killed at Grange Colliery (no names)
- 2 May 1818 - 5 entombed in flooded pit at Quarrelton
- 24 July 1823 - 3 killed in shaft at Eastfield
- 8 Jun 1831 - 4 died after explosion of firedamp at Mr Frew's pit, Keppisbyre
- 24 Oct 1840 - 4 killed by explosion at Dundyvan
- June 1846- No 4 Pit Drumpellar, Airdrie near Glasgow - 3 killed gas ignited by naked light (no details - listed in report of Select Committee on Accidents in Mines)
- 28 Sept 1846 - 6 killed in explosion at Bogles Hole Pit, Tollcross
- 12 Dec 1846 - 3 killed in Shankrey Muir limestone pit
- 15 May 1858 – 3 killed by explosion at Stonelaw
- 14 Jun 1860 - 3 killed by boiler explosion at Inkermann
- 18 Nov 1863 - 3 killed by gunpowder explosion at Binniehill (not reported by Mine Inspector)
- 28 Nov 1867 - 4 drowned at Cardenden
- 14 Jul 1870 - 4 killed by explosion at Quarter
- 27 May 1893 - 3 killed at Orbiston
- 27 Jun 1894 - 3 killed in shaft at Home Farm
- 24 Feb 1898 - 4 killed in shaft at Montgomeriefield
- 11 Mar 1898 - 3 drowned at Auldhouseburn
- 31 Mar 1898 - 3 killed by explosion at Kinneil
- 12 Feb 1900 - 3 killed by explosion at Carbarns
- 26 Aug 1901 - 8 killed by inflow of moss at Donibristle
- 3 Apr 1902 - 4 killed by explosion at Glencraig
- 1 Aug 1902 - 3 killed by explosion at Pumpherston
- 20 Oct 1902 - 4 killed by underground fire at Fallahill
- 8 October 1903 - 3 killed by fall of roof at Monkland
- 8 Aug 1906 - 3 killed by explosives at Broomfield
- 21 Dec 1906 - 3 killed by fall at Simpsonland
- 29 Jan 1907 - 3 killed by explosion at Philpstoun
- 29 Dec 1907 - 3 killed by explosion at Lochhead
- 2 Feb 1908 - 3 killed in explosion at Lochore
- 13 Feb 1908 - 3 killed by roof fall at Blairadam
- 18 Feb 1908 - 4 killed by explosion at Portland
- 5 Aug 1909 - 4 men killed by roof fall at Glenboig
- 27 Jun 1909 - 3 killed by explosion at Ferniegair
- 9 Mar 1911 - 3 killed in explosion at Valleyfield
- 11 April 1911 - 4 killed in shaft at Blairhall
- 15 Oct 1912 - 3 killed in explosion at Bardykes
- 5 Oct 1913 - 3 killed in explosion at Frances Colliery, Dysart
- 18 Jul 1917 - 4 killed by explosion at Springhill Colliery
- 26 Sept 1919 - 4 killed by explosion at Bo'ness
- 26 April 1920 - 4 suffocated at Bothwell Castle
- 6 Aug 1924 - 3 killed by fall at Carberry
- 11 Dec 1930 - 3 killed by explosion at Enterkine, Annbank
- 22 Jan 1931 - 6 killed by explosion at Auchengeich
- 21 Aug 1933 - 3 killed by fall at Cardowan
- 3 Feb 1934 - 3 killed by explosion at Polmaise 3 & 4
- 13 Dec 1934 - 3 killed by fire at Kingshill
- 6 Oct 1935 - 3 killed by explosion at Dock Pit, Bo'ness
- 20 Apr 1938 – 5 killed by runaway hutch at Bank Pit, Ayrshire
- 9 Dec 1938 – 4 killed by explosion at Littlemill, Ayrshire
- 10 Aug 1939 – 3 killed in haulage accident at Minto, Fife
- 22 Sept 1939 - 3 drowned at Mosside
- 30 May 1943 - 3 asphyxiated after being trapped in Kennox Colliery
- 26 Apr 1945 - 4 killed in explosion at Newtongrange (names only)
- 27 Sept 1948 - 3 killed by gassing at Lochhead (names only)
- 7 Sept 1950 - 13 killed by inrush of moss at Knockshinnoch
- 19 Nov 1957 - 17 killed by explosion at Kames
- 14 Dec 1957 - 9 killed in explosion at Lindsay, Fife
- 4 Dec 1958 - 3 killed by roof fall at Cameron
- 15 Apr 1959 – 3 killed by runaway mine cars at Fordell (names only)
- 8 Nov 1962 – 4 killed by fall at Barony, Ayrshire (names only)
- 9 Sept 1967 – 9 killed by underground fire at Michael, Fife (names only). See entry on Heroism Awards page
- 10 May 1973 – 5 killed in coal face collapse at Seafield (names only)
NB The above is not a comprehensive list of major accidents and disasters in Scottish pits - just the ones covered on this site.
Name Indexes - Non-fatal accidents and miscellaneous
***IMPORTANT UPDATE ***
These indexes are no longer being updated. Please use the custom Google search to locate non-fatal accidents.
The
below indexes were set up as simple surname indexes for people listed
on the site, including those involved in non-fatal accidents and
rescuers but excluding known
fatal accidents (see above). In general we did not include names of
miner inspectors and owners in these indexes. Please note some of those
listed in these indexes may have died as a result of the accident but we
have not yet looked for a death certificate to confirm this.
Names A | Names F | Names K | Names O | Names T |
Names B | Names G | Names L | Names P | Names U, V |
Names C | Names H | Names M | Names Q | Names W |
Names D | Names I | Names Mc/Mac | Names R | Names X,Y,Z |
Names E | Names J | Names N | Names S |