Redding Pit Disaster Source List - Falkirk Community Trust

Redding Pit Disaster
Pit 23 of Redding Colliery was the site of a flood in September 1923. Sixtysix
men were trapped by the flood, and most of these men died. Some of the
survivors were in the mine for up to nine days before they were rescued and
some of these men never fully recovered from the effects.
The flood itself occurred because a sump had been cut in a dyke to collect
water, but the location of this sump was not properly recorded and coal was
stripped from the area, weakening the sump and so flooding the mine. The
disaster was compounded by poor working practices, which meant that noone
knew exactly how many men were in the mine at the time of the flood.
The rescue effort was hampered by the lack of reliable plans of the mines and
by the difficult access above ground for the ambulances. Gas, rockfalls and
more flooding were hazards throughout the rescue.
In 1923 Redding Colliery was owned by James Nimmo & Co. The land was
owned by the Duke of Hamilton who also owned the rights to the minerals in
the whole area.
Following the disaster, a public inquiry was held in Glasgow as well as the
statutory fatal accident inquiry which was held at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
The public inquiry recommended that correct records be kept of who was in a
mine at any one time, that better telephone communications should exist
below ground and that new legislation should be put in place regarding mining
in areas approaching water.
The flood was a disaster for the people of Redding and the Braes, where
most of the men had come from. Quite apart from the grief of losing
husbands, fathers, brothers and sons, the families affected also lost their
breadwinners. Many of the survivors were never able to work in the mines
again and it was some months before the mine itself re-opened.
The Redding Disaster Relief Fund was opened by the Provost of Falkirk a few
days after the disaster and subscriptions poured in from Scotland and from
other countries, including Australia and the United States. The Fund was
used to give allowances to the widows and children of the men who died and
allowances to the men who survived because most of them were unable to
work again. In the 1920s Britain did not have a national welfare system.
Also, as there was no National Health Service, any medical needs had to be
paid for, and so the Fund provided expenses for the survivors to go to
convalescent homes.