10 miners died in a gas explosion on Saturday, 31 October, 1931.

THE accident occurred at the Fife Coal Company's colliery as a result of an explosion of firedamp.

Mr. John Clark was the manager of the colliery and he had held the post for seven years. The accident occurred in the East Conveyor section of the Five Feet Coal seam which was reached from the No. 1 shaft.

There were in the Bowhill Colliery, certain safety lamp sections where only safety lamps were to be used. Hutt's Dook and the East Conveyor section formed one of these sections. There were electric lamps in use and the firemen had flame lamps to detect gas. Electricity was used in the section to run a coal cutter, conveyor pans, and there was also an auxiliary ventilation system worked by electricity.

Firemen's reports from October 20, 1930, up to 2 August, 1931, had recorded no gas or firedamp present in these workings. The presence of gas was first reported on August 2, 1931, and, on that occasion, it was noted by the fireman, that the fan was standing i.e. not in use. From August 2 to 31 October the section was clear. The reports showed that the firemen had been very careful in the performance of their duties.

Mr. Clark thought the ventilation was sufficient and he did not agree that it was necessary to use flameproof machinery in the section as it was a section in which inflammable gas was not likely to occur. In his opinion, the section could have been worked by naked lights during the last nine months.

On the day of the disaster, John Clark was coming to the section when he came to the conclusion, judging by the air current, that the fan was out of action and he started pumping in fresh air. He also recalled the rescue operations, the second rescue brigade getting to the scene of the accident about 7.30 p.m. It was, however, about 3 a.m. on Sunday before anyone could go in without rescue apparatus. This was about 16 hours after the accident.

Samuel McGuire was under-manager and he was in charge of No. 1 Pit and the development in the East Conveyor section. On the day of the accident, the roof was weighting (a technical description) at the point where the fan was situated. As it would take a few hours to move the fan, McGuire instructed Donaldson, the oversman, to get a squad of men and move the fan on Saturday October 31, which was an idle day in the pit.

The squad left the pit bottom about 6 a.m. and McGuire came out of the pit and knew nothing of the dreadful accident until 1.20 p.m.

When he reached the scene of the accident, the poisonous gases had spread about 50 yards down the coal face and 150 yards down the return airway.

The rescue team toiled unceasingly during the night while the wives and mothers of the men entombed kept an anxious vigil on the pithead.

Mr. Charles C. Reid, General Manager of the Fife Coal Company, apparently went underground and worked alongside the rescue party, and on hearing the news of the explosion, Mr. William Adamson, former Secretary of State for Scotland, hurried to the scene from Dunfermline.

When the first rescue team, exhausted and ill from the fumes, returned to the surface, their work was instantly taken up by others. They had done well and had reached within 50 yards of the entombed men before the gas drove them back.

After working all through Saturday night in endless relays, the rescuers drew near to the scene of the tragedy ... their way barred by a heavy fall of coal.

John Birrell, oversman, was the leader of the second rescue team and they got to the seat of the accident about 7.45 p.m. where they would eventually find the men lying dead in the return airway.

Although four safety men wearing breathing masks had got through to the bodies by crawling on their hands and knees, these brave rescuers’ lives were seriously endangered by the presence of gas.

Slowly and grimly, a way was cut through the coal and at last all the bodies were within reach. Nine of the bodies were bunched together in a corner. The explosion must have shot them from one end of the section to the other after which the terrific fall took place.

It was no easy task to convey the victims back to the main level and not until Sunday morning, at 11.30 a.m., did the bodies of the victims reach the surface where it is estimated around a thousand villagers were gathered on the pithead, near to the colliery store which improvised as a mortuary.