The Llanerch Colliery explosion 6th February 1890.
The death tolls 176 men and boys.
When an explosion of firedamp occurred at the Llanerch Colliery on Thursday February 6th 1890, more lives were lost in the Eastern Valley coalfield in a few short minutes than during the whole of the previous twenty years. In and instant a shadow was cast over the locality that would be painfully slow to clear, and life for many families would never be the same again.
Much as been written about than awful day and the days that followed. Suffice to say it was a tragedy of immense proportions, and one that will be remembered as long as the coal tips continue to scar the hillsides between Cwmbran and Bleanavon.
It took some time for work to get back to normal at the Llanerch Colliery after the explosion, and throughout the remainder of the 1890s a further seven men died from injuries received in accidents there. The graves of two of them-18 year old Abiathar Stewart and 24-year-old Daniel James- can still be seen in Noddfa burial ground at Abersychan, the former having been crushed between some trucks during shunting operations on the surface on May 9th, 1890 and the latter killed by a falling stone on Feb 3rd 1897. Others to die included 24-year-old collier Thomas Franks on Christmas day, 1892, from injuries received in the previous June and 48-year-old William Mathews, five hours after being struck by a heavy stone on March 14th 1893. Williams Mathews had been a sergeant in one of the local Volunteer Brigades and was given a military funeral in Trevethin Church yard.
During the 1890s there were also 65 fatalities in other parts of the eastern valley coalfields, 5 of which occurred when a fire broke out at the Pontypool Glyn Pits on January 23rd 1890.
Excerpts from the Eastern valley mining Fatalities 1829-1899 by Brian Foster.
