Henry Oakland, road contractor, who, with Henry Beastall, was, prior to the explosion, setting steel arches in 146’s crossgate, had come out of 140’s new crossgate to get a foot block and had just gone a few yards on his return journey when the explosion occurred. He spoke to the deputy, James Hughes, wondering what had happened, and saying no matter what the consequences might be, he was going for his mate Beastall. William Follows said he would go with him and they ( Oakland and Follows) set off inbye and went up 146’s crossgate, where the found Beastall and Hopkinson, just beyond where the door had been. Oakland went outbye for help Follows staying with the injured men, and shortly returned with Phillip William Yates and Oliver Soulsby and a stretcher.

Oakland , Yates and Soulsby carried Beastall’s body outbye to 140’s crossgate junction, where it was laid on one side, and Oakland returned with the stretcher to fetch Hopkinson. H. Clarke one of the men from 150’s stall, and R.W. Booth one of H. Hartley’s men, going with him, and these four men carried Hopkinson to the ambulance room at the surface. Hopkinson died in hospital the following day. He had been badly burned and had a broken thigh he was an ambulance man and, through in such great distress, he had the great fortitude to direct those who came to help him, exactly as how to treat his broken thigh.

To return to Frank Sykes, corporal, when Darker, Soulsby and Follows, returning inbye via the travelling road (147’s ) met on 140’s new crossgate. He (Sykes) with Soulsby and Darker went inbye on 140’s new crossgate and found pony driver Hannon’s pony between 144’s and 143’s, but seeing no men, took the pony to the main haulage road. Sykes there saw H. Roberts whom Ward had assisted out of 148’s and then telephoned to the pit bottom office asking for stretchers and assistance and said there had been an explosion extending from 140’s to 148’s. He and Darker the went up the new crossgate again and Sykes, looking through the door between 142’s and 141’s, saw that beyond the door the crossgate was full of smoke and very hot. They returned to the main road and went inbye. Sykes, with John Wards Ernest Marsh went into 146’s crossgate and Darker into 148’s stall. Sykes Ward and Marsh passed Beastall, who was being carried out, and which they carried out Albert Edward Huckerby and another man. Sykes and Marsh then got John Llewellyn out of 147’s stall and took him outbye via 158’s and 140’s old crossgate to the travelling road, where they met Mr. T. Cook, undermanager, on his way inbye, and ten two men, William Henry Potter, and George Robinson, with a stretcher. They put Llewellyn on the stretcher and he was the carried to the pit bottom by Marsh and Robinson, Sykes returning inbye, Potter going with him, to 146’s crossgate, where they met the deputies. James Hughes, Harry Hartley and Oliver Soulsby and John Ward in the 148’s crossgate. Richard Edward Darker in the meantime had gone into 148’s stall, and having assisted to bring out the men there rejoined Sykes and Ward, and with them had Hughes and Hartley and Phillip William Yates carried four men out of 147’s stall. The men from 149’s and 150’s stalls, with T. Holloway, R.W. Booth, J. Glancy and R. Pritchard, then came, and with their help the injured were moved from the faces into the gate-roads, 145’s and 143’s men being taken in to the 144’s gate.

Ward and Soulsby assisted in this work as far as 144’s and then, being exhausted, returned along the face to 146’s and the down the crossgate to the main road (148’s ) where at the haulage engine they saw J.E. Peck, who was receiving attention of Doctor Lind Walker, and they, with A. Stringfellow and two others, helped to carry Peck outbye to the pit bottom, arriving there about 9 p.m. when they went home.

Phillip William Yates assisted on the face as far as 145’s, but the sights becoming too much for him, he retired outbye and thereafter assisted to carry out stretcher cases. Sykes, T. Holloway, Darker and another man who had come from the shaft bottom carried an injured man from 144’s gate to the pit bottom, and Sykes and Darker, being asked by the overman (Bernard Frost), who was in charge there, to return to the district, they did so and with R.Pritchard and another lad helped to carry out the body of a dead man, R. Derrick from 143’s gate to the surface. Holloway went on to the infirmary, where he gave further assistance until after midnight.

John Moss, deputy, accompanied by Henry Murray and Vernon Kerry, also deputies, arrived at the pit bottom from other districts of the mine shortly before seven o‘ clock and going inbye into 147’s gate carried an injured man from there to the main road (148’s ) and then going along the face beyond 143’s gate with deputy Frank Beal and Joseph Edward Sharpe, a rescue man, brought out of 143’s left bank and 142’s stall five injured men and carried them into 144’s gate where Dr. Lind Walker and deputies James Hughes and Samuel Cook and the ambulance men had established a dressing station and where they were joined later by Dr. Hargreaves. Samuel Cook, the afternoon shift deputy in the North West District, had already done good work in the faces, bandaging the injured and helping to get them out into the gates. Moss. Kerry, Beal and Sharpe did not get into 141’s left bank but carried to 14’s gate another injured man who was brought out by Robert Bestwick, Ernest Allport and Alfred Clay, rescue men and then a further injured man, also brought out by these rescue men with the help of a deputy Frank Lee, who was not wearing breathing apparatus. At this time there was a fire in the first waste on 142’s right bank and a prop in front of 141’s left side gate pack was smouldering.

All the injured and dead from the face between 148’s and 141’s had now been accounted for and there remained those in 140’s stall (with the exception of H. Windle who, as has been told, walked out) those in 141’s airway and Rowe and Brocklehurst, who were working at the seal at the outbye end of 140’s old gate.

Two rescue men (Frederick Tonkin and Henry Bond) at the request of Mr. P.L. Collinson, H.M. Junior Inspector of Mines who had gone down the pit in company with Messrs. Ballam and R. Curry, and who was at the time dealing with the prop which was burning, went into the 140’s fast side. They saw a body on 140’s flatsheets and another body 7 yards down 140’s new crossgate. Tonkin made a test for firedamp at the flatsheets and found three and a half per cent in the general body of the air. They came back and reported to Mr. D. Macaskill, the Rescue Station Superintendent, who was on the 140’s new crossgate at 144’s junction. They were then sent to assist other rescue men, Robert Bestwick, Joseph Ward, Alfred Clay and Ernest Allport, to put out a fire at 104’s new crossgate between 142’s and 141’s gates.

Mr. Thomas Cook, undermanager, who had gone down the pit about 6.20 p.m., went inbye to the North East District with T. Renshaw, deputy. On arriving there he found the work bringing the injured out of 148’s, 147’s and 146’s stalls being done as has already been described. He travelled along the face to 142’s stall where, from the waste in the right hand bank, smoke was issuing. He came down 142’s gate on to 140’s new crossgate and saw a fire on that crossgate between 142’s and 141’s gates. He then went to the meeting station and from there reported to Mr. Longon, manager by telephone, and asked for doctors, rescue men ambulance man stretchers and blankets. He then took charge of the rescue operations generally until the arrival of Albert Longdon, manager, who, on the instructions of Donald McGregor, Agent, was at the surface organising arrangements there and awaiting the arrival of Mr. E.H. Frazer, Divisional Inspector and Mr. H.J. Humphrys, Senior Inspector.

Mr. Longdon, Mr. Frazer and Mr. Humphrys went underground about 8.35 p.m. and after passing many stretcher parties on their way outbye arrived at 140’s new crossgate junction where they saw Mr, McGregor who had gone underground two hours earlier and of whom more will be said later. Mr. McGregor, who was suffering from the affects of afterdamp, told them that the top end of the district alone remained to be cleared and that rescue men had been right to 140’s stall.

The party then separated, Mr. Frazer going by way of 143’s gate and the face to

140’s fast end Mr Humphrys to the fire in the 140’s new crossgate, and Mr. Longdon, after seeing Mr. Thomas Cook, up 140’s new crossgate and into 142’s stall by way of 142’s gate. Mr. Longdon there saw smoke issuing from the first right hand waste of 142’s stall, but saw no fire. He travelled outbye along the face to 145’s stall, going into 143’s and 144’s gates on the way. Retracing his step, he went to 141’s gate end and then down that gate to it’s junction with 140’s new crossgate, back up 1416s gate and then along the face into 140’s stall where smoke was coming out of the second right hand waste. Near 140’s flatsheets he saw a body. He went into the fast end and there making a test for gas and found one and a half percent to be present. He came down the crossgate and saw another body. He then came back by way of the face and 142’s gate and 140’s new crossgate. Mr. Frazer had already been through the face between 143’s and the fast end and had seen the smoke coming out of the first waste on the right side of 142’s gate and out of the waste immediately to the right of 140’s gate. He had tested for firedamp in the fast end, finding under two and a half percent to be present, and, after seeing the two bodies, just referred to, he retraced his steps and joined Mr. Humphrys at the fire in 140’s new crossgate.

Mr. Frazer and Mr. Humphrys, after receiving from Mr. Collinson a report as to what he had seen and down, went into the face by way of 143’s gate and on their way to the fast end passed Mr. Longdon who was on his way out. In the fast end they found the percentage of firedamp to be between two and two and a half they turned into the crossgate and came down it to 141s, the return airway, where the atmosphere was thick with smoke from the fires in 142’s ad 140‘ right side wastes and the fire in the crossgate, Mr. Frazer heard someone in the return airway moaning, so he and Mr. Humphrys ran back to 142’s junction by he way they had come for rescue men to get this live man out. Before the rescue men were ready, Mr. Frazer returned to the airway by way of the face, leaving Mr Humphrys to follow with the rescue men. In the meantime, Mr. Humphrys and Mr. S.J. Temperley, Assistant Surveyor, two rescue men, William Henry Hall and John Jones, Mr. Macaskill, rescue Station Superintendent, these last there wearing rescue apparatus, and Samuel Watkinson, ambulance man and Henry Turner, collier, were on their way from 140’s new crossgate via 142’s gate and the face to the airway, when as they were passing through 140’s stall there was second explosion and flame poured out of the waste, burning Hall, Watkinson,

Mr. Humphrys and Mr. Temperley went on; the others returned to 142’s junctions and joined by Mr. Frazer at the entrance to the airway. They told him what had occurred and the egress via the face was impossible, whereupon they and he went down the crossgate, passing through the fire between 141’s and 142’s on their way. Mr. Frazer asked for volunteers and Ernest Allport, who has already been mentioned, Walter Gillman and Cyril Davies, the two latter, members of the Bullcroft Colliery Rescue Brigade, all in rescue dress, went up the crossgate through the fire there and brought the two men out of the airway into the crossgate where they helped to take them outbye by Mr. Frazer, Mr Temperley and Samuel Watkinson.

There were still two bodies to be recovered, one in the fast end and the other neat 140’s flatsheets, and Mr. Frazer and Mr. Temperley went up 142’s gate with the intention of recovering the one in the fast end. They went along the face to 141’s but could not go beyond because of the afterdamp, smoke and heat, and they could see flames ahead. Accordingly, they turned down the 141’s gate then up 140’s crossgate, where the fumes were very bad, to the flatsheets they picked up the body there and managed to carry it down the crossgate to near 141’s junction. Mr. Frazer was the exhausted and feeling he must get out, Mr. Temperley led him outbye by way of 141’s gate and the face as the fire in the crossgate between 142’s and 141’s had by then become much worse.

The question of the recovery of these two bodies, the only ones at that time known to be within the area affected by the explosion was then discussed by Mr. Frazer and Mr. Longdon, Mr. J.H. Allcock (Manager of the Bullcroft Colliery), Mr. Humphrys and others taking part. The feeling was that there was a great risk of loosing more lives, but Mr. Frazer, in his anxiety that everything possible should be done, pressed that an attempt should be made, but feeling unfit to do so himself, asked Mr. Temperley, who knew where the bodies were, if he, although without apparatus, would lead the rescue men as far as he could get for the smoke and direct them where to find the bodies, Mr. Temperley at once agreed and he and four rescue men, Ernest Allport, George Needham, Isaac James Hallam and Edward Jenkins, the last three being members of the Bullcroft Colliery Rescue Brigade, with Mr. Allcock and Mr. Frazer, went up 142’s gate to the face, where Mr. Allcock and Mr. Frazer remained, thinking it was not advisable for them to go into the smoke again. The others went forwards, Mr. Temperley as far as the 141’s gate, passed two fires in 140’s wastes and brought out the body from the fast end of 142’s passbye, where it was put onto a stretcher and then carried by Mr. Allcock and Mr. Frazer to the bottom of the 142’s gate.