Goldborne Pit Disaster

Remembering the Golborne Colliery Disaster

On 18 March, 1979, a disaster occurred at Golborne Colliery in which 10 men lost their lives and another was seriously injured.

A build-up of methane gas in one of the tunnels caused a devastating explosion 1,800ft underground.

It was a terrible event which goes down in local history, remembered first hand by some still around today and the story passed down to the new generations.

Among the victims on that day were electricians who were attempting to mend ventilation fans which bosses knew weren’t working – sadly, one of the contributing factors which allowed a lethal build up of methane before the blast.

At the time, Golborne Colliery was one of 22 coal producing collieries in the Western area of the National Coal Board. 870 men worked there and it produced 9,000 tonnes of coal every single week.

The colliery had been in Golborne since the 1860s, and in August 1975 it was connected underground with the nearby Bickershaw Colliery. Later, coal winding operations for the two mines were moved to Bickershaw, which was also connected underground to Parsonage Colliery in Leigh.

The disaster occurred at 11.15am on the 18 March 1979. Three men were killed instantly, seven others died later in hospital. The victims in were:

John T. Berry, development worker
Colin Dallimore, electrician
Desmond Edwards, 44, faceworker
Patrick Grainey, 40, development worker
Peter Grainey, 41, development worker, brother of Patrick.
Raymond A. Hill, 33, development worker
John McKenna, deputy
Walter McPherson, 45, ventilation officer
Brian Sherman, 23, electrician
Bernard Trumble, 34, development worker
Brian Rawsthorne, a 20-year-old apprentice from Garswood was seriously injured, but survived.
An inquest held in October 1979 returned verdicts of ‘death by misadventure’ on the victims.

The surviving apprentice, Brian Rawsthorne, told the inquest that the blast occurred when electrician Colin Dallimore, who had been working on a bank of switches, tested the circuit. This caused a “spark and a bang”.

Mr Rawsthorne said he was catapulted backwards by the force of the explosion.

In the days following the tragedy, the Mayor of Wigan launched an appeal fund for the dependents of the miners who died. In total, this raised £30,000.

https://lowtonandgolbornenews.co.uk/remembering-the-golborne-colliery-disaster/

A few weeks before Colin Dallimore had fitted wall lights in my parents house, he was a proper nice bloke. He was also a bloody good snooker player, and could have played professionally. The games room in The Platt Bridge Labour Club was a very quiet and subdued over that time, he was greatly missed by everyone who went in there.