One Thornhill woman who suffered the loss of three loved ones, was Mrs Harriet Wood, who lost husband, William, aged 46, and sons John and Friend. Harriett, pictured above with her four remaining children, had lost a daughter aged nine months, shortly before the disaster. She was left with a pension of about thirteen shillings a week to raise the family, and knew great hardship for many years to come. Seven years after the tragedy she was forced to send another son, Harry, down the same pit where his father had been killed. He was just 12 years old. Her other children were Mary Ellen, known as Polly, who is pictured far left of the photograph, Harry, standing next to his mother, and Emma and Gladstone. The photograph, taken outside Mrs Wood's home in Valley Road, Thornhill, five years after the tragedy. The photograph was kindly loaned by Mr Herbert Wood, of Thornhill, son of young Harry, pictured above.

Ex-Manager Questioned About Evidenvce Of Gas

Emissions From Underneath Scaffolding

Jesse Taylor, latterly pit manager, replied to the Coroner: I live at Horbury - I am doing nothing now but was formerly colliery manager for Mr. Ingham for 17 years.

Mr Jones: I ask you at once when the open lamps were removed from the bottom of the shaft?

Mr Taylor: I cannot tell you the exact time.

Mr Jones: Were they removed more than once?

Mr Taylor: Not to my knowledge,

Mr Jones: Were they taken away by your instructions or Mr Hawksworth's?

Mr Taylor: I knew nothing about them.

Mr Jones: Was there any entry made as to the presence of gas at the time?

Mr Taylor: I cannot say.

Mr Jones: Whose duty would it be to make such an entry?

Mr Taylor: The manager's, under Act of Parliament.

Mr Jones: You made inquiries of course?

Mr Taylor: Yes, I did.

Mr Jones: And what was the result? Where was the gas coming from?  

Mr Taylor: According to my knowledge it was coming from the shaft. We were making some holes.

Mr Jones: Will you tell me, Mr Taylor, whereabouts the leakage of the gas came out?

Mr Taylor: It came out just underneath the scaffolding. When there is a place for it, it cannot help but go.

Mr Jones: Do you agree with the opinion of the experts?

Mr Taylor: I do not wish to say anything about that.

Mr Jones: Do you agree with those gentlemen as to the cause of the explosion?

Mr Taylor: I am not obliged to answer am I? If I am not I shall not answer that (Laughter).

Mr Jones: I won't press Mr Taylor about his opinion on that point; he seems very delicate about expressing it. Are there any entries in the books of any gas having been found in the shaft? I have carefully looked through the books and I cannot find any. You say there ought to be entries. Whose dereliction of duty is it that there are none?

Coroner: Who ought to have entered it?

Mr Taylor: Well, the deputies generally do it.

Mr Jones: Were you at the pit when the shaft was sunk through the fault?

Mr Taylor: I was.

Mr Jones: Did any gas come off then?

Mr Taylor: I haven't it on my mind whether there was any gas came off. I think there was some.

Mr Jones: If the ventilation was good how do you account for the gas coming up?

Mr Taylor: I cannot form an opinion. I have read about it and studied it since.

Mr Young: Mr Ingham told us that the shaft intersects the fault just below the Wheatley seam. How many times has gas escaped to your knowledge?

Mr Taylor: About twice.

Mr Rhodes: And your successor unfortunately did not know what you knew about this fault?

Mr Taylor: I don't know that.

Further Report Of Gas

THOMAS SPEIGHT said he had been a lampman for forty-two years and his son, who also worked there, had complained of gas and said it was dangerous. His son said he had told Amos Hawksworth about it but that neither he nor the colliery manager seemed to know the rules.

The coroner asked the witness if he had done anything about it, and if he knew it was his duty to report the matter, but the witness said he had not, and did not know the rules.

Mr Young read the rules which required every workman to report anything of the kind.

Frank N. Wardell, Chief Inspector of Mines, gave similar evidence. His opinion was that gas had come out of the fault and that it had fired at a naked light. He could not suggest the existence of any disarrangement which caused the accumulation of gas.

Jury Delivers Its Verdict

The Coroner said in summing up that after the very careful attention to detail given by practical men, he did not think it necessary to make any remarks to the jury.

He spoke about the responsibilities under the Act of Parliament of the workmen in mines and rules about and equate ventilation being provided to all parts of the mine; the quantity of which should be measured every month. Unfortunately nearly all the persons who were in the pit were dead.

He briefly reviewed the evidence and said there was the fact that some of them were found alive, and the probability that others might have been recovered if the proper steps could have been taken. But prudence must be exorcised, and there had been a certain amount of danger incurred by the exploring party, and they did not expect that anybody would be found alive. What the jury had to do was to say what was the direct cause of death. The jury were then left to consider their verdict and after thirty-five minutes' deliberation, the public were re-admitted.

Coroner: Well, gentlemen, have you considered your verdict?

The Foreman (Mr Brown): We have sir. He then read the verdict as follows; The unanimous verdict of the jury is that James Scargill and the other 138 persons were accidentally killed as a result of an explosion in the Combs pit on the 4th July. We desire also to record our opinion that great praise is due to the gentlemen who formed the rescue parties for their action in the matter. We are also of the opinion that this pit should not be worked in future with naked lights at the bottom of the shaft.
The Coroner thanked the jury for their attendance and patient attendance.

Preparations For The Funerals

Pit Owner Provides Coffins

Relatives Weighed Down With Grief

The pit hill yesterday (Friday) presented a striking contrast to the scene which was witnessed there on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Instead of the pit bank and the hill sides being covered with spectators, it now has a deserted appearance. The village wore a sombre aspect and one thing which struck the observer was the large number of houses which had the blinds drawn. In some instances whole rows of houses were darkened in this way, and in many cases two or three houses together showed similar signs of the angel of death having visited the households,

From an early hour there was a sad and busy scene at the Parochial Hall in connection with the bringing of coffins. The bodies were placed inside by the undertakers and their assistants, and after being filled many of the coffins were removed to the respective homes which the occupants had left on Tuesday morning in good health and spirits, little dreaming that their end was so near.

A good many of the coffins had been made at Mr Ingham's works, and others by Mr Hodgson, Mr Henry Ingham, Thornhill, Mr Sam Oates and Mr Haigh, Thornhill Lees. A notice was posted outside the Parochial Hall, stating that hearses would be provided by Mr Ingham, and requesting all those that possibly could, to inter that day. Most of the coffins were of red deal, polished, and had brass plates containing the name, date of death, and age of the respective occupants.

Owing to-the inquest being prolonged far into Friday, it was not expected that very many would be interred that day, the great bulk of the funerals being left for to-day (Saturday). There were, however, about sixty open graves in the new portion of Thornhill Churchyard, a great number of them being in straight rows together, and others in various parts of the cemetery.

Large Crowds Gather

During the afternoon waggonettes and conveyances from Batley, Dewsbury, Ossett, &c., again took large numbers of people to the scene or the disaster. The chief centres of interest were the Parochial Hall, around which large crowds collected to see the coffins taken away on drays and other vehicles. Other interested groups also collected outside Thornhill Church, both around the gates and outside the boundary walls, to witness the funerals which took place about three-o'clock.

There were not very many in number, the great bulk of the interments being reserved until to-day. The first funerals to take place were those of Walter Field, and of the two brothers, Frederick Oates and Arthur Oates, who were interred in one grave. The funeral obsequies were performed by the Venerable Archdeacon Brooke, vicar of Halifax, the Rev F. R. Greenside, rector of Thornhill and the Rev George Wheelhouse, respectively. There was no curtailment of the usual burial service of the Church of England. It was a piteous sight to see the respective funeral processions passing and repassing each other in the churchyard.

The relatives seemed weighed down with grief, and many of them carried wreaths and bouquets of flowers to be placed upon the graves. The others interred up to half-past five o'clock were Samuel Croft, Herbert Asquith, William Henry Swallow, Lambert Thornes, John Hardcastle, Will Goldthorpe, and the brothers Wraithmell. A few bodies were also interred at Thornhill Lees Church and other places. Hearses were supplied from Dewsbury, Batley, Mirfield and other areas by George Box, Robert Hardy, Fred Fisher and Walter Tattersfield, of Mirfield.

Statement Of The Head Banksman
Caps Blown Off With Explosion

One of our reporters has interviewed Henry Scargill, head banksman at Combs Pit, who has been employed by Mr Ingham for many years. On the morning of the calamity he had just got into his cabin when he noticed a rush of air coming up the drawing shaft, followed immediately by smoke.

Mr Scargill stated: "I shouted down the shaft to see if I could get an answer, but I could neither see nor hear anything. The fan at the Ings end seemed to be drawing the smoke. There was a second report after I got to the shaft, and it blew our caps off. I sent for Mr Scott, the manager, and, being at home, he was at the pit head in a few minutes.

"Mr John Blackburn, another official, was also sent for at the same time. I had not the slightest idea that such a fearful catastrophe had occurred. The signals at the bottom of the shaft were not even disarranged. Mr Scott and the others attempted to descend the water shaft, but they could get no further than the stapel for the smoke and heat.”

"Considerable time elapsed before the exploring party could get into the workings. The last man down had been blacksmith James Scargill whom I knew very well and who was in cheerful spirits as he descended. He had been called in just before twelve noon to fasten a shoe on a pony,
Mr Scargill concluded his statement by saying that at no time had he ever the slightest fear of an explosion at the Combs and had been quite "capt" about it because it had always been regarded as a very safe pit.

Mr W. H. Barker, head banksman at the Ings pit, informed one of our reporters that he had been in the service of Mr Ingham and his predecessors for about forty years, and during the whole of that time had never heard of a complaint as to the safety of the mine.