mikebee62
  • mikebee62
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15 years ago
Where would I find records of mine accidents and fatalities in the 1940s ?? I am trying to trace accidents in Devon mines,
Many Thanks
'Of cause its safe, just dont touch anything !!'
Ty Gwyn
15 years ago
Mike,
Try www.cmhrc.co.uk
mikebee62
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15 years ago
Many thanks Ty Gwyn,
its a very interesting site, the mines I need to find are Iron and copper mines! But thanks again for the information,
Regards,
Mike
'Of cause its safe, just dont touch anything !!'
stuey
  • stuey
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15 years ago
Contact "Tin Miner" on here.
Tin Miner
15 years ago
Many thanks for your enquiry. A little more information other than 1942 would help me a lot in a search of my data-base. If possible the following would help:
Name of person involved; name of the mine; and any dates other than 1942.

Look forward to your reply, as I'm off to the library to search local newspapers for a drowning accident (1911) for family history.

Kindest regards Tin Miner
Tin Miner
15 years ago
Hi Mike - Sorry for delay... Going to give it an hour or so at my local library and look through the Western Morning News for that year... or maybe part of it, as it's a daily paper.
Have spoken with a number of Mining Historians who research the Mid & North Devon areas. If anything should materialise I'll forward it on to you right away.
Kindest regards Tin Miner
Alasdair Neill
15 years ago
The published reports for this period were very brief as to details of accidents, it might be worth contacting Mines Inspectorate to see if records of individual accidents have been kept. For fatal accidents Coroner's reports may be available, otherwise newspapers would be the best bet. Up until the 1920's the Mines Inspectors reports generally gave details of all fatal accidents & many others also.
Graigfawr
15 years ago
Thanks to the wonders of technology I can log on whilst on hols (its raining out...) but don't have my noltes with me - will send them to the adminsistrators as they may be worth uploading.

Broadly, H.M.Inspectors of Mines annual reports detailed colliery fatal accidents from 1850 to 1914, and for otehr mines (mainly non-ferrous metals and slate) from 1873 to 1914. From 1914 until the cessation of published district reports in 1979 (or so), whilst the inspectors' reports omitted names of the dead and, usually, the names of the mines. Thus to trace fatal accidents in mines after 1914, local newspapers are the most promising source.

The mines inspectorate used to hold the names of men killed and injured (injuries did not usually feature in the published reports) in mines. These were microfilmed and, I gather, the originals no longer exist. A gentleman named Ian Wynstanley bought a set of the microfilms. Later, the inspectorate lost their microfilms I am told, leaving IW with the sole remaining set. IW has a website and can search the data he holds, for which he charges a fee I believe. As the original data on the microfilms was handwritten, transcription by IW includes spelling errors due to difficulty in reading the writing - I have particularly noticed this in Welsh place names.

Individual mines also kept accident registers. Those for collieries that survived into the NCB period were sometimes deposited in county record offices. However, as they were voluminous and repetative (men reported many very small accidents in case they could later claim compensation), county record offices usually preserved only a representative selection of registers.
Alasdair Neill
15 years ago
Full details still appeared in the Inspectors Reports in the early 1920's, after which the amount of information decreased, although names usually still appeared up until 1938. A complete set from 1920 onwards was formerly held on microfilm in Plymouth University library, but now appear to have been discarded.
mikebee62
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15 years ago
Many thanks to all of you for the help, Should keep busy for a while!!!! :thumbsup:
'Of cause its safe, just dont touch anything !!'
Graigfawr
15 years ago
"Alasdair Neill" wrote:

Full details still appeared in the Inspectors Reports in the early 1920's, after which the amount of information decreased, although names usually still appeared up until 1938.



My research experience has been primarily in south Wales coalfield and north Wales [Lancashire area] coalfield; the reports for south Wales ceased to list names of deceased and of collieries after full reports resumed after the WW1 hiatus; for north Wales I recollect that names of individuals ceased at the same date but that collieries may have been named for a few years longer. There may have been variation between other inspectorate districts - were you Alister writing from a south-west non-ferrous mines perspective? My recollection is that names of both mines and men ceased for the mid Wales non-ferrous mines reports at the same time as the south Wales collieries reports - but that would be expected as the same inspectors were responsible. I have the impression that there was variation between individual inspectors. If the inspectors for the south west continued to list names of men and mines then researchers into accidents in that area can count themselves fortunate!
Ty Gwyn
15 years ago
Thats strange,
My Father was killed in a Smallmine accident in 1968 in South Wales,and that is listed on the Winnstanley site,with certain details of the accident.
Graigfawr
15 years ago
Ian Winstanley's site has been compiled partly from the published (i.e. mainly pre-1915) information in the annual reports of H.M. Inspectors of Mines, and partly from microfilms of post-1914 manuscript registers of fatal and non fatal accidents kept by the inspectorate but never published. I recall being told that after IW acquired his copies of the microfilms, the inspectorate's original registers and the inspectorate's master films were lost or destroyed, leaving IW with the only known (or at any rate the only accessible) copies.

The accident registers kept at individual mines (of which a selection from collieries have been deposited with county record offices in the coalfields) were separate records kept by the NCB (and, I presume, other mine owners) that existed in parallel with the inspectorate's recgisters.

I am unsure of the termination date of IW's microfilms; he may well have sought to expand coverage to cover the period between their termination and the present - though from what sources, I am unaware.
Aditaddict
15 years ago
Hi ! just seen your post try this site it has 164,000 mine deaths and accidents listed not much on actual details though
but it is a real eye opener as i checked my local area and found many hundreds of men and boy's died within a mile of where i live in pits virtually outside my front door
hope it helps !
Aditaddict
15 years ago
sorry forgot to post the site i think this is the Ian Winstanly site and it's free !

http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/home/index.html 

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