BrownhillsBob's Brownhills Blog

From the Walsall Advertiser, October 31st 2013.

It’s with thanks to the wonderful @allaboutWalsall twitter account and Walsall Council officer Kate Goodall that I’m able to correct a misconception printed in the Walsall Advertiser this week.

I wouldn’t normally bother pulling stuff like this into the light, but this one is quite important, and I think it’s crucial that folk get the correct information.

Brownhills resident Michael Turner had a letter published in this week’s Walsall Observer (shown left), complaining that the ongoing Walsall Council Budget Consultations are not taking place in Brownhills. This is incorrect, there will be two such consultations in coming weeks.

There are events planned for Brownhills and Walsall Wood – one this week at Oak Park Leisure Centre, Walsall Wood this coming Tuesday the 5th November from 4-6pm, and another at Brownhills Library in the Parkview Centre on Thursday 14th November, from 2-4pm.

You can read about the consultations on the council website here.

I never saw the original article in the Advertiser to which Michael refers, so these could have been missed from it. I’m sure nobody, including the Council, the Advertiser or indeed Mr. Turner, had  any intention to give out incorrect information.

I do actually concur with the gentleman’s assertion about the phone system and these automated services in general, although I do find trying at off-peak times of the day if possible is rewarded with a prompter service.

Please do take part in the consultations if you can. The cuts will massively affect not just Brownhills, but the whole borough and I’d like to think we can all have our say.

I definitely misread this…

I’ve had a couple of comments in today other readers may have missed, so I thought I’d pull them out into a post. Readers who’ve been hanging around here a while will remember the post Persistence of Memory, where I spotted – and made some attempt at identifying – the names scratched into the soft terracotta bricks of the former Warreners Arms pub, on the corner of High Street and Ogley Road, Brownhills.

New reader Dorothy James commented the following this morning:

Not sure how to do this…

My grandad and family lived in Ogley Road, 1930,40,50 I started school there, the surname is Holyman.

I’m sure the scratched writing in the wall is Holyman rather than Holyday. There were at least 12 children in the family, some of the holymans live in Brownhills still.

How do i join your group please, I have so many memories as do my sisters.

Thanks
Dorothy

Dorothy is quite right – the legend does say Holyman. How on earth did I miss that? She goes on to say the same in a later comment that day.

I’d just like to say to Dorothy that we’re all interested in anything you’d like to say. This isn’t a group, but a blog anyone can comment on, and please feel free to do so. Alternatively, you can send me an email at BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. You’ll find a welcoming bunch of folk who are always ready to jump in with research and memories.

I pulled the original photo out of my collection, of the Holyman name. I must have had the wrong glasses on when I looked at that.

Must see if I can get a better picture.

So, they question is, what do you know about the Holyman family? This looks like A. Holyman – who was he or she?

My gratitude to Dorothy, and welcome aboard!

Whilst we’re about it, I had a n enquiry a few weeks ago from one Patrick Darcy. He’s looking for Patrick Heinz.

Hi Bob,

I am looking for Patrick Heinz of Brownhills. I am 61 and he would be about 62/63, he went to Cardinal Griffin school Cannock.

Wonder if you know him at all.

Thanks

Patrick Darcy

If you know Patrick Heinz, please ask him to drop me a line and I’ll hook the two chaps up. Please don’t post specific details publicly, mail them to me at BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com (It’s always, always best practice to ask the person being searched for their permission to pass details on – they may not wish to be found).

I think the row of terraces near Streets Corner – now demolished – may have been called Woodbine something – maybe ‘cottages’ or ‘terrace’.

Reader Pam also commented here last week – note we have discussed several Woodbine Terraces in Brownhills before. It seems to have been a popular name for a while.

Pam wrote:

My name is Pam Smith.

I am currently doing a family tree and have come to a small road block. I have very little information about my mothers birth father. He came from Brownhills and the only address she had was 7 Woodbine Crescent Brownhills.

When I look at Ancestry.com.au there is little reference to such an address. I was wondering if the address may be listed as something else. His name was Charles Harrison with a sister called Clarice.

Thank you if you can give me some insight into this address being listed as something different.

I should add that even though I am in Australia Mum was born in Oxford.

In the same vein, I had a mail from Peter Chadbund, now in Buckinghamshire. Peter very kindly offered me a copy of the Jack Harrison books I’d been seeking, and told me some more about them, which I’ll raise in a further post. Fortunately, so many readers helped with scans, I didn’t need to take Peter up on his very generous offer, which I did appreciate very much all the same.

Peter knew Jack Harrison quite well at the time of the publication of his books, but subsequently lost touch, and wonders if anyone knows what became of Jack?

Peter also asked:

Hello Bob

Recently doing some family history research online I discovered that my great great grandfather, William Chadbund 1821-1895, lived in Wimblebury and was at times listed in the censuses of 1871 and 1881 as a grocer and farmer respectively. There are no specific addresses given, only ‘grocers’ and ‘farm’.

That is as far back as I have been able to trace that branch of my family, so I would love to know more about that particular ancestor and the farm and shop (his son, Henry, is listed as a miner). My great grandfather was a ‘stationary engine driver’ – presumably at one of the local collieries as was my grandfather.

If you could help with the above I would be most grateful.

Best wishes
Peter Chadbund

So the question is, can anyone help with these enquiries?

Today, I did something apparently reckless. Despite dire warnings to stay at home, and after the dreadfully tough ride of the day before, I decided to venture out over Cannock Chase again.

Deciding that yes, my journey was absolutely necessary, I spun from Chasewater, over Bleak House, Rainbow Hill, Slitting Mill, Penkridge Bank and down into Abraham’s Valley. I returned via Rifle Range Corner, Maquis Drive, Kitbag Hill, Lower and Upper Cliff and Stonepit Green, leaving the Chase at Castle Ring.

The going was reasonable, but it was very, very muddy, the wind was rough in places. The beauty of the day more than made up for it though, and it was nice to see others out enjoying nature on a day that would have fitted April better than October.

For more of this stuff, see my 365daysofbiking Tumblr journal.

I am indebted once again to Chris Pattison, historian and researcher of The South Staffordshire Waterworks archives. He came by the following report whilst looking through the archives, and kindly scanned it and passed it on – I’ve transcribed it below.

A PDF of the original can be viewed here.

Chris, you’ll remember, together with Dave Moore and others, turned up so much great history of the Surge Stack and Shire Oak Reservoir.

There are a few questions here in this report for the eagle eyed: not least Ho’ Robin’s Row. Where was it, for starters? The surname Horrobin is common in The Wood, is there a connection? Is the Ho’ a contraction of Howard or similar? If so, what’s the nomenclative history here?

Further, the addresses in Shire Oak – would they be the Lichfield or Chester Roads?

I’ sure this will fascinate all interested in the sanitation history of the area, and it sits well with Dr. Maddaver’s later report into The Health of Brownhills. Note how these folk were suffering in a time of huge industrial and commercial expansion for the want of basic human necessities – sewers and clean water.

It’s interesting to consider the Water Company in terms of both a commercial entity and as a reforming great Victorian social enterprise.

Comments welcome, either here or BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

My thanks to Chris, a more dedicated and generous historian couldn’t be wished for – he is a credit to the company he researches.

A fascinating archive document.

PRIVATE:   For the use of the Committee only.

STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

MONTHLY   REPORT OF  THE

COUNTY MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH,

Presented to the Sanitary Committee, July 15th, 1891.

Brownhills Urban District. Water Supply of Ho’Robin’s Row, Walsall Wood.

On December 20th, 1890, I presented a Report to the Committee upon the water supply of Ho’ Robin’s Row, in the Brownhills District, in which I called attention to its dangerous character, and pointed out that, owing to the existence of scarlet fever in the cottages in question, the matter was one of great urgency. I stated that the condition of the cottages as regards water supply had more than once been reported to the local authority by the Medical Officer of Health, and that the continuance of the fever, which had rarely been absent from the cottages for years, was, in all probability, in no small measure owing to the fact, that the families, even of infected houses, were in the habit of drawing water from the well in question—a shallow and open one—by means of their own buckets. I pointed out, that, previous to my visit, an attempt had been made to obtain a pure water supply within a short distance of the old well and adjoining foul privies, and I ventured to suggest that it was hopeless to expect that pure water could be obtained in the immediate locality of the cottages.

The substance of my Report was communicated to the authority in question, and this led to the construction of a new well about 40 yards away from the cottages. On hearing from the District Medical Officer that this well was in process of of being sunk, I wrote to him, pointing out that unless a departure were made from the usual method of well construction in the district the result would not be satisfactory. This advice has been disregarded, although I am told the new well—which is built in loose brick work, open, and without a pump—has been puddled with clay to a distance of about three feet from the surface.

WordPress is useless for tables, so here’s the table from the original.

On the occasion of my recent visit I made careful enquiry with regard to the feasibleness of obtaining a good general water supply for the village of Walsall Wood in which Ho’ Robin’s Row is situated, and I was given to understand, that, within one mile on three sides of the village, there is a water main belonging to the South Staffordshire Water Works Company. Now, as the houses in the village, on the lowest estimate, number 400, and as new houses are constantly being built, there can be but little doubt, that, if the authority applied to that company for a water supply it would be granted on reasonable terms.

In the annual report of the Medical Officer of Health for last year the general question of a water supply for the district is referred to in strong terms, and I took occasion when visiting the district to verify his remarks for myself, so far as they relate to Shire Oak, a part of Walsall Wood. I cannot do better than quote from the Report in question as follows:—

‘ I must again urge upon the Board the great need of a more plentiful and purer supply of water to the district. This I have clone before in my Annual Reports; but my attention has been more directly called to the matter by the Newspaper Reports of one of your recent meetings, in which one of your members is reported to have stated that he knew of numbers of houses which had no water supply at all. This has the negative advantage of being better than an impure and contaminated-by-sewage supply. Acting on that Report, I have made more full enquiries in the district, and I find that the reported statement is in the main correct. In some cases there is no supply at all; in others, it is very far from what it should be. I will give you only one example. Take them in the order in which they were inspected by Mr. Shaw and myself. Nos. 13 and 14, Shire Oak, there are no cesspits and the well water contaminated; Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 12, Shire Oak, the well is situated only 2½ft. from four piggeries and water-closets, and the drainage empties into a hole in the ground only 8ft. from the nearest house; Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8, Shire Oak, has the water supply 3ft. from the piggeries, and a broad stream of surface drainage running into the well; No. 5 house receives all the drainage of the others, being lowest of all; Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the same row the water supply is only 18in. from the piggeries &c., and the drainage is as in the others. Another property adjoining has no water supply at all, and the sewage disposal is dreadful.’

Pigs and water supplies: not easy bedfellows.

Strong as these remarks are, they fail to convey an idea of the truly deplorable condition of the houses in question, and yet I am told that this is a sample of other parts of the district.

In order to ascertain the extent to which the authority is responsible for the conditions above described, I have obtained from the Sanitary Inspector a statement of the recorded transactions in both cases, and, judging from past experience, it would appear that unless strong pressure is brought to bear upon the authority, little or no result will be attained.    The statement is as follows :—

Ho’  Robin’s  Row.

• 1888 May 23rd.—Drains stopped, full cesspit, bad water, and foul ashpits.
• 1888 September 15th.—Notice to obtain a proper  supply  of water.
• 1889 May 10th.—Letter to owner of property re water supply.
• 1889 July 22nd.—Sample of water taken for analysis.
• 1889 August   1st.—Copy    of    County   Analyst’s   Certificate, condemning the water, sent to Agent of property.
• 1889 August   14th.—Analyst’s   Certificate   submitted  to  the Board.
• 1889 October   28th.—Letter to Agent  of property  re  water supply.
• 1890 December 31st.—Drains stopped,bad cesspit cover.
• 1891 February 14th.—Letter to Agent of property, re water supply, containing abstract of letter from County Medical Officer as to construction of new well.

Water  Supply &c.  at  Shire  Oak.

• 1890 November 5th.—Report to Board—Delapidated privies, foul drainage, and bad water.
• 1891 March 25th.—Report to Board—Foul drainage and bad water.
• 1891 June 17th.—Report to Board that notices were not complied with; received instructions to give seven days final notice, and if woi’k not done to take proceedings.
• 1891 June 23rd.—Wrote to Agent of property, calling attention to fact that nothing had been done, and informing him of the decision of the Board.
• 1891 July 3rd___ Met Agent of property, when he promised to have drains laid into a cesspool, and to have two new wells sunk.

It will be seen from the above statement, that, for over three years, the authority has been aware of the condition of the cottages in Ho’ Robin’s Row. Also, that, for over nine months, the foul state of the drainage, and the defective water supply at Shire Oak, has remained in the disgraceful condition described by the Medical Officer of Health, with this result only, that the Agent has promised to carry out certain work which probably will do little towards remedying the evil.

Pollution  of Clayhanger  Brook.

The nuisance arising from the drainage of a portion of Brownhills—including a brewery, two slaughter-houses, and from 40 to 50 dwelling-houses—being discharged into the Clayhanger Brook, remains the same as when reported to the committee on December 20th, 1890. It has been pointed out to the authority by the Surveyor that these houses may without difficulty be con­nected with the sewer—as indeed other houses in the same street have been connected—but no order has been made to that effect.

In my opinion, the committee might well consider the advisableness of making a representation to the Local Government Board—under section 19 of the ‘Local Government Act’—with regard to the dilatory manner in which the members of the authority in question are performing their duties. Thei^–e is ample evidence to justify this course being taken at once, although, perhaps, it may be thought advisable, that I should first make a systematic inspection of the entire district, and report fully as to its condition.

Local author and community activist Brian Stringer needs some help. Can you assist with his technological predicament?

That there Clayhanger Kid himself – Brian Stringer – has dropped me a line with a special request. The local author, activist and friend of the blog needs some help recording his books as spoken word audio for the local talking book service.

This sounds like a really good idea, and I support Brian’s efforts wholeheartedly, but know nothing about sound recording, so I’m hoping a more clued up reader can help him record his books.

Brian explains:

Hi Bob,

When I did my book signing at the Library, a blind lady who used to live in Clayhanger came along and told me of the difficulty she has obtaining audio books by local authors. Best sellers by big name writers was not a problem, but books like mine were lost to the visibly impaired. At her suggestion I contacted the chap who runs the Society for The Blind in Walsall.

At his invitation I did an interview for them on their ‘Talking News’ programme which goes out on memory sticks to hundreds of their members. During my conversation with Keith I found out that there were 1700 registered blind people in the Walsall Borough.

As my first book sold out, I have been toying with the idea of trying to put both it, and my second book to memory stick, for the availability of their members.

They have a brilliant recording studio but as it’s in constant use it is unavailable, but Kieth has told me that if I can get a master memory stick he can copy as many as is required for me.

He has also come up with a brilliant little device that plays the audio, which they nearly all use in their own homes.

He reckons I would get both books on a 8 gig stick, which would keep the cost down.

My problem is Bob, that although I don’t mind sitting and reading through both books I’m as green as grass as to how to go about it and wondered if any of your blog readers would meet up with me and talk me through or help out in some way?

I don’t intend to make any money on this, just cover my costs and help out the visibly impaired.

Keith invited me to their open day and I met some wonderful people who helped out in so many ways and I thought that maybe I too could bring something to the table as it were.

Cheers Bob
Brian

If you can help Brian, please do comment here or drop me a line on BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

The New Art Gallery Walsall is working on a new youth initiative to reach out to local kids in their community, and will tomorrow be running a Graffiti Workshop in Holland Park, Brownhills, featuring top artists.

Looks like a great event.

We’re teaming up with graffiti artist Kilo Sinstars to hold a community project at Holland Park’s skate park in Brownhills next Saturday 19th October from 1.30pm.

A few of our Champions will be working with youths in Brownhills.

So, if you’re a young person and want to hone your graffiti skills with a professional as great as Kilo, or are curious what we are up to, then we encourage you to come along and do something fantastic for the local community!

Thanks to Anne for reaching out to us, to Kilo for coming on board and to many brilliant young people in making this happen!

We will let you know what happens!

Have you got ideas for community projects in Walsall with an arts/creative slant? Let us know. We’d love to help.

Map and Directions here.

Ahead of next week’s event, more about Kilo here.

A Colourful Crowd is a groundbreaking programme and membership scheme run by young people, offering an alternative take on what happens at The New Art Gallery Walsall and further afield.

Follow us – @acolourfulcrowd
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A remarkable document, kindly supplied by Robert Selvey. Please click for a larger version.

Here’s a brilliant bit of pre-war ephemera kindly supplied by top photographer and local history buff Robert Selvey. Robert was the kind chap who supplied the wonderful image of Stubbers Green way back around the time the blog started.

Robert speaks wonderfully of the great Jack Haddock – recently featured in the article where I enquired about local air-raid shelters; Jack is a local legend, who has done so much to preserve and tell the story of Walsall’s history. This blog stands on the shoulders of work by historians and great townspeople like Jack, and I agree totally with Robert’s sentiments.

If Jack is reading this, thanks old chap. You are the spirit of Walsall.

Robert wrote:

Hi Bob

Nice to see my old mate Jack Haddock feature in a recent post. Jack also used the Anderson shelter as his workplace for many years, turning out copper coach horns which were then taken for finishing to Caldmore in Walsall. It was the felxibility offered by this work that allowed him to be such a prolific photographer of all things transport related around Walsall. He also took many shots of places that are changed or long gone, leaving us with a resource that is invaluable to local historians. Jack is still an active octogenarian but his bicycle mileages have dropped of late!

Talking of air raids, I also have a photocopy of the attached document here in my files, more to do with what happens if the enemy invade but still ‘on topic’ I feel. There is a fabulous book entitled A.R.P by J B S Haldane F.R.S. that covers in detail the effects of a blitz. This was published in 1938 and draws a lot of it’s conclusions from the bombing that was carried out in the Spanish Civil War during that decade. As you can see from the date, this was before the Second World War had begun and was published to give the British public a taste of what to expect. Rereading the forward to the book it is obvious the author believed the government of the day had no wish to warn the public, as presumably as this would have caused general alarm. With hindsight, the great British public showed greater courage and stoicism than they were credited with.

As ever, hope of some interest to you.

Robert

Hide your bicycles! Scan generously supplied by Robert Selvey. Please click for a larger version.

Yesterday – Monday 14th October 2013 – was the centennial anniversary of the dreadful Senghenydd mining disaster, which took place in the Caerphilly county village when an explosion killed 439 miners and a rescuer at the Universal Colliery on 14 October, 1913.

Such a waste of life is unimaginable now, the effect of the loss of so many men from a small community – the breadwinners of their families – must have been immeasurable, leaving deep scars that spanned generations. I’ve written a great deal about the privations of miners locally and in the wider industry, and the threat to life and limb in those early years of mining was never far away.

While we mark such a horrendous tragedy, it’s also worth remembering that at that time – the early decades of the last century – lives were being lost or changed by injury every single day in the pursuit of coal. Each one of these incidents is worth of note. Powering industry and keeping Britain on the move took a heavy toll.

It’s with that in mind that Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler has undertaken research into the Wimblebury Colliery accident of 1927, and he’s come to the conclusion that the representations of this awful occurrence that currently exist may not be wholly accurate.

I welcome the opening of debate on this matter, and think Peter undoubtedly is on to something, and this isn’t the first time researches here have led to the questioning of ‘official’ accounts, the Pelsall Boiler Explosion being one, and the dreadful incident at Wyrley Common being another.

There is a controversial note to make here. I spotted some weeks ago that mining historian Fion Taylor had pointed out in his response to Andy Dennis that a disaster was defined as when five or more people died. With that in mind (and I haven’t found that distinction anywhere else, but it’s late as I type this), this event was an ‘accident’.

I’d be interested in reader views on that point.

My thanks, and I’m sure those of readers, too go out to Peter for a forensically researched and written piece that must have taken days to write. I am hugely proud to be able to post material of this quality here on the Brownhills Blog. Astounding stuff.

Peter wrote:

A remarkable image of Wimblebury Colliery, from CommunityArchives

Readers of the Blog will know of my interest in the Coal Owners of the area, especially the Harrison family, and it was from another publication by the CCMHS, Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company and its Collieries (2006) that I came to the Wimblebury Pit Accident of the 14th of June, 1927.

In one of their other publications, William Harrison Company Limited, they had incorrectly described the disaster at the Blue Pit, Wyrley Common in 1861…

I decided to dig a little deeper into the accident of 1927, and came up with more questions than answers!

The CCMHS publication describes the Wimblebury Pit accident as follows…

A serious accident occurred on Tuesday, 14 June 1927 following the installation of the new winding engine. To enable the new winding engine to be installed, the colliery had been shut down for a week, but because of delays in commissioning the engine the colliery was also closed on the following Monday. Although the majority of miners now travelled underground via the Valley Colliery shafts, a small number of workmen employed in and around the Wimblebury pit bottom area still needed to travel the shaft. On the Tuesday morning during the second manriding run of the new engine, 20 miners were descending in the cage when an overspeed landing occurred, crashing the cage into the timber bulks at the shaft bottom. 14 of the men were injured, two of them so severely that they died of their injuries. At the subsequent inquest and enquiry the accident was attributed to a difference in the controls of the new engine from that of the old one and verdicts of accidental death were recorded.

The Lichfield Mercury for 1927 is not available online, and so I searched the National papers and found a few mentions of the accident on the following days.

Gloucester Citizen, 14th June 1927

NINE MEN INJURED
Cannock Chase, Tuesday.

Nine men were injured this morning by a winding accident at the Wimblebury Pit ofthe Cannock and Rugeley Colliery, Cannock Chase. Five of the men have a fracturedleg each. An Official of the Colliery Company stated this afternoon that none of the injured men was in a critical condition.  ‘A slight over-wind caused the accident’ he said, ‘Work proceeded immediately afterwards.’

Western Daily Press, 15th June 1927

…The descending cage containing 19 men suddenly dropped to the bottom of the shaft. The cage was within five feet of the pit bottom, and 14 men an youths were injured. Each of  5 had a leg fractured. Two or three others sustained injury to the spine, and all were removed to hospital. They were reported last evening to be going on satisfactorily.

Making a Google search I came straight upon Hansard for the 28th of June, 14 days after the accident…

HANSARD

June 1927 — Commons Sitting — COAL MINING INDUSTRY.
CANNOCK AND RIMELEY COLLIERIES (ACCIDENT).
HC Deb 28 June 1927 vol 208 CC192-4 193
24. 

Mr. W. M. ADAMSON asked the Secretary for Mines whether he has noted the evidence given and the statement of the jury at the inquest on two miners who were killed in a winding-cage accident at the Cannock and Rugeley collieries, Wimblebury, recently; whether he is satisfied that adequate precautions were taken with the working of the new winding engine prior to the accident; and whether he will take steps to, have a full inquiry into the matter?

Colonel LANE FOX I have seen the evidence and the jury’s statement, as well as a full report from the inspector who investigated this unfortunate accident. There is no doubt as to its cause; the winding engineman candidly admitted his mistake. Proper precautions were taken in installing the new engine, but I am inclined to agree with the jury’s view that this engineman should have had more practice with it before winding men.

Mr. ADAMSON Will the right hon. and gallant Gentleman answer the last part of the question as to whether a further inquiry will be made with a view to avoiding such accidents where lack of practice is evidently the cause?

Colonel LANE FOX No, Sir; I think the inquiry by the inspector was sufficient. There was no doubt about the facts. They were admitted.

Colonel DAY Can the right hon. and gallant Gentleman say how  many men were injured besides the two men who were killed?

Colonel LANE FOX The hon. Member had better put down a question. I cannot say exactly.

Mr. ADAMSON Was not the inquiry only with regard to the death of the two men and as to how the accident happened, and not as to who might be responsible?

Colonel LANE FOX No, Sir. I think the whole thing was gone into, and the cause of the accident to the two men who were killed would equally be the cause of the accident to the
others.

Mr. ADAMSON Is not the management responsible for putting on an engine a winder who has not had actual practice?

Colonel LANE FOX Yes, Sir. I quite agree that it was unfortunate that the man had not had more practice, but he was not forced to do anything. It was at his own option that he took this risk, as he had had a good many preliminary windings of coal only and felt himself fully competent to do the work of winding men.

Mr. KIRKWOOD I would like to ask the Secretary for Mines if he does not think that here is something which has to do with these accidents. I have four pay leaves which came up on Saturday from Kirkaldy and Dumfriesshire. The first pay leaf is 4d. for a week, a Id. for a week, 14s. lOd. for a week, after all the deductions are taken off, and 13s. 7d. Is not that the reason why there are accidents in the mines—because the miners are being starved to death?

Later on the 27 July there were questions asked in the House of six winding accidents in which the cage struck the shaft bottom which had been reported in the last 6 months…Wimblebury was described… overwind due engineman inadvertently moving reverser in favour of engine when intending to check it.

William Adamson (2 April 1863 – 23 February 1936) was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour politician. He was Leader of the Labour Party between 1917 and 1921 and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and between 1929 and 1931 in the first two Labour administrations headed by Ramsay MacDonald

Lieutenant-Colonel George Richard Lane-Fox, 1st Baron Bingley PC (15 December 1870 — 11 December 1947), was a British Conservative politician. He served as Secretary for Mines between 1922 and 1924 and again between 1924 and 1928.)

I then took off with a mate to Lichfield to see what the Lichfield Mercury had to say, and here is their account form the 17th June 1927, the first issue after the accident.

Wimblebury on an old postcard. Mining was a way of life here. Image from OldPhotosUK.

PIT ACCIDENT ON THE CHASE… 14 Men Injured

14 men were injured due to a winding accident on Tuesday morning at the Wimblebury pit of the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company, Hednesford. Five having a leg fractured.

(The names of the men removed to the Hednesford Accident Hospital, and their suspected injuries are listed)

The accident occurred when the men were being lowered into the workings for the day shift. 19 men were on the cage at the time, five of whom escaped injury. The pit had been closed for the whole of Whit week in order to allow of the installation of a new and more powerful winding engine than the one that had been used for a few years.

Captain TV Peake, manager of the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery, stated that the affair was a pure accident, due probably to the admission of steam to the engine when the cage was within about 5 feet from the bottom.

All sorts of extravagant stories soon got about as to the results of the accident, and a good number of people assembled at the Accident Home…. and Captain Peake did his best to ease the minds of the wives and mothers who were anxious to hear the latest news about the patients.

The Pit is within half a mile of the Accident Home, and the injured men were transported to the institution by the Colliery ambulance.

Subsequently winding operations were continued at the Pit as usual.

An official of the Colliery Company stated that none of the men were in a critical condition. ‘A slight over wind caused the accident,’ he said ‘work procceded immediately afterwards.’

We could only find one further mention of the accident in the Lichfield Mercury, and that was in the next edition of the 24th of June:

PIT CAGE CRASH DEATH

The death has taken place at Wolverhampton hospital of John Wilkes of Holyhead Lane, Walsall who was injured in the Wimblebury pit cage crash on Tuesday last week.

Wilkes was first admitted to the Walsall Hospital but later transfered to Wolverhampton. He was taken to Walsall in the Cannock and Rugeley colliery ambulance, and there travelled with him Arthur Sammons of Cannock Wood, another colliery employee. A blood transfusion was found needed and Sammons allowed 16 oz of blood to be transfused into the veins of Wilkes. This courageous act however unavailing.

Someone more qualified than myself has already made an attempt to give a version of the accident, and that is Jack Harrison in his book of ‘The King of Norton Canes’ (1990), which has featured on this Blog. On reading the whole book you may come to the conclusion that artistic licence (sorry David!) has been used in some of the chapters, such as the one concerning the King of Norton Canes. But in Chapter 5 describing this incident, the names, along with others, are identical to that of the Lichfield Mercury. Did Jack just elaborate on the account of the Lichfield Mercury?

I don’t think anyone has yet actually identified Jack, but by his picture in the book he could well have been a lad when these events took place. His account could well be as the folks saw it back then? A strange coincidence is that the other fatality was a William Harrison, may be a relative?

Here is a brief summary of the chapter…

Wimblebury Colliery had a reputation for being one of the safest pits on the Chase. In 1927 this was to change. Bank holidays came and went but they were not always welcomed by the workmen, especially those (the majority) who were signing part time on the dole. For a bank holiday meant that no money was payable from either pit or dole. Although this day could be included in calculating the three off in six system as a ‘coupling up’ day and so making the remaining two days eligible for dole benefit, it did not count as a pay day. It was small wonder that the notice which was written in large print on the pit head notice board was not greeted with much enthusiasm. It read…

​Owing to the installation of new winding engines this pit will be off until further notice.
​At least ten days will be required to complete this work, signed MANAGER

…For a few moments there was no reply, and then the bell rang denoting that someone was there to answer the telephone. There was hushed silence as the Captain (Peake) was heard talking to someone. After a few minutes he emerged and holding up his hand he silently requested their attention. ‘I’ve been in touch with the pit bottom onsetter,’ he said, ‘and he assures me that there is nobody killed or seriously injured. Although naturally they are all very shocked.’

‘Come off it, gaffer,’ said one. ‘There’s got to be some of them hurt bad. Tell we the truth.’
His words were ignored until someone else called, ‘Who are yer tryin to kid, gaffer? I’ll bet that some of ’em have been killed.’
‘Nobody could have stood a drop like that,’ another voice added. ‘The cage must av dropped nearly thirty feet.’
Joe Sands turned to the man beside him. ‘I bet there’s a tidy mess down there. Nobody hurt? Who does he think he’s kidding?’

Jack Harrison’s 1990 book, ‘The King of Norton Canes’ – hard to get hold of, but well worth the effort.

…Some of the officials examined the condition of the cage, and although the gates were damaged there appeared to be little damage to the cage itself. It was considered to be in a reasonable condition and capable of being put back into operation. Several trial runs were made up and down the shaft with empty cages. Satisfied that it was safe for men to travel, Mr. Hughes and a number of first aid men carrying equipment and blankets went onto the cage and were sent down. There were more than a hundred men and boys waiting on the surface and they had formed into little groups discussing the situation. ‘You can please yourself what you do,’ said one man, ‘but I for one are going back home.’

‘I’ll come with yer,’ said another. ‘I ain’t going to risk my neck.’

However, before they reached the lamphouse the Captain went across to them. ‘Come on, lads,’ he pleaded, ‘I’ve told you nobody is seriously injured. The cages are safe now. Let’s be having you down the pit.’

There were murmurs of disapproval from the men. ‘There’s nobody seriously hurt, you say? Come off it, gaffer. Do you think we’re a lot of nitwits? If there’s nobody hurt what do they want all that first aid stuff for as well as the first aid men? We ain’t that simple, boss. You may as well tell we the truth.’

‘I’ll tell you the position as it’s been told to me,’he conceded. ‘I have to admit that there are casualties, how many and to what extent I don’t know, but I have been assured there are no fatalities. I tell you what I’m prepared to do,’ he announced. ‘If the rest will go down, I’ll go down with the first run.’

As the casualties were brought up the shaft the men from the surface went down on the opposite cage. One by one the stretcher cases were brought to the surface and transported to hospitals or the Accident Home. Since the Wimblebury Colliery did not possess any ambulance of its own the victims were transported by vehicles sent from other pits, and a number of men were carried away in an open lorry.

…That incident remained a talking point for long afterwards, especially as a similar accident had occured at the nearby Jerome’s pit only a few months earlier. There the accident resulted in several men being badly injured, among them Alf Watson who suffered numerous fractured bones and Holy Dick who sustained a fractured spine and never worked again. 

…But an official was sent to the gates to reassure the crowd that no-one had been killed or seriously injured. They were all too familiar with such words and greeted him with a hostile reception. By now the crowd had reached several hundreds and word had passed from mouth to mouth that there were fatalities among the victims. In order to allay their anxieties the official allowed one man to see each casualty as they arrived at the gate to ascertain his name and if possible the extent of his injuries.

…the crowd dispersed, some grief stricken and others relieved that their menfolk were not among the victims. A small number lingered awhile until they saw that the winding wheels were turning again and coal was once more being brought to the surface. Then they too went away. An official enquiry would have to be held by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors of Mines. The men had little faith in any inspector’s findings. From past experience they were aware that many months would elapse before the findings would be released to the general public. Those who had witnessed the incident talked among themselves, but they were careful to hold their tongues when any official was about. ‘Was the accident caused by human error? Or had a fault developed in the installation of the new machinery?’

Most of the witnesses considered that the engineman was at fault, but they were careful not to denounce the man publicly. The cages and the shaft were thoroughly examined by the engineer and passed as safe to allow coal to be drawn up the shaft. The inspector’s report, however, instructed that no men should travel the shaft until a period of six months had elapsed. Coal had to be drawn up the pit. No coal meant no dividends for the shareholders, and they were only now recovering from the disastrous effects of the long strike. Gradually the working of the pit was restored to normal, but many months were to go by before the daily output target was reached.

The inquests on the 2 fatalities, and the report of the Mines Inspector, were before Parliament 2 weeks after the incident. Adamson had asked for a full enquiry into the incident to prevent such a thing happening again.

Why is there no further local reporting in the Licfield Mercury after the 24th of July, concerning the second fatality, the inquest and report?