Oaks Colliery Explosion (1866)

Wed Dec 12, 1866

On this day in 1866, the Oaks Colliery explosion occurred in Yorkshire, England, killing 361 miners and rescuers, aged 10 to 67. The disaster was the second worst mining disaster in the United Kingdom (after the Senghenydd colliery disaster in Wales), and the worst in England itself. The deaths were caused by an explosion in the mines, so large it shook houses for three miles, trapping workers inside.

The Oaks was a notoriously dangerous mine, and ten years earlier the 400-strong workforce had gone on an unsuccessful ten-week strike because of management incompetence. On the day of the explosion, 340 people, adults and children, were underground.

Multiple rescue attempts were made over the following days, however they had to be abandoned because of continuing explosions within the mine. A 29-strong party led by mine engineer Parkin Jeffcock was killed during one of the rescue operations. No one was ever held accountable for the death of the workers or the dangerous work conditions of the Oaks Colliery.

• Date: 1866-12-12
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.bbc.com.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org