1. Home ▾
   1. Historical Events
2. Australia ▾
3. International
4. Contact Us
5. Links
6. Old Legislation
7. Books ▾
   1. Sacrificing Safety
   2. Ten Pathways to Death and Disaster
   3. Tragedy at Pike River Mine
   4. Managing Major Hazards
   5. Lessons from Gretley
   6. A History of Coal Mining in Great Britain
8. History
9. Guidance

Creswell Colliery

It was 26th September 1950, the bells were ringing at Ilkeston Mines Rescue Station and in the houses of the rescue men. It was an ungodly hour in the morning as Marion Sheffield leaned out of her bedroom window and watched her dad run down the road to the rescue station. Within two minutes of the bells first beginning to ring the rescue van was leaving the station, then it was gone, all that was left was the incessant ringing of the bell on the landing of each rescue mans house. The wives made their way down to the rescue station and the duty room, to find out where their men had gone and for how long. Marion went with them and picked up a sock, it had fallen out of her dad's pocket as he ran down the road. The men got dressed in the van as it rushed on towards the stricken colliery. Marion remembers one of the wives looking at the duty book and remarking that three lives were in danger. BUT the III strokes in the book were not three they were indeed one hundred and eleven!

• 
• 

Mine Accidents that occured in this Mine