Albion Colliery Remembered.

Subscribe to my youtube channel for 281+ coal mine tributes and counting. Albion Colliery,Cilynydd, Wales was sunk in 1884. Before this there was no settlement of note, just a few scattered farms supporting a population of less than 100. Within a few years of coal production starting, that had all changed. By 1890 terraced houses clung to the valley hillsides running north-south in a series of parallel rows. The population had grown to over 3,000 and a school, several chapels, pubs and a workmen’s hall formed the building blocks of a tight-knit community.

But the Albion survives in the memory of more than just the local population. It is more widely remembered for the devastating explosion which took place there in 1894, a disaster which claimed the second worst loss of life in any British colliery accident; only the Senghenydd explosion of 1913 took a greater toll.

For 7 years after the colliery was opened, Cilfynydd flourished until disaster struck in June, 1894. Like many collieries in South Wales, the Albion’s coal produced large amounts of fire-damp, a highly inflammable gas. On Saturday, 23rd June, 1894 at around 3.50pm two loud explosions were heard at the surface of the colliery. Dust, debris and smoke rushed out of the 2 shafts and men at the surface were blown over. No one knew for sure how many men were underground at the time. It took until the inquest in July for a figure of 295 to emerge and only 5 of these survived, 290 men and boys were killed by an explosion at the Albion - 123 horses were also killed.A large number of those who died were from north and west Wales, lodging in the village while working to raise enough money to bring their families to Cilfynydd.
They included the great grandfather of Miss Moneypenny actress Samantha Bond, who discovered the fact while researching her family history for BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? programme.
"Hardly a house in the village wouldn't have been affected in some way, either by the breadwinner or people lodging there being killed," said David Gwyer, assistant curator at Pontypridd Museum.
"People gathered at the pit head when the news spread, relatives and sightseers turned up en masse.
"Also, a typical thing with so many disasters at the time, there were ghoulish tourists and people who took advantage of that, turning up with barrels of beer to sell."
Eleven of those killed were never identified and a memorial for them now stands at St Mabon's Church, in Llanfabon, near Nelson.
Such a traumatic event could have killed the village but, with remarkable resilience, the people rebuilt their shattered lives and by September 1894 the pit was back in full working order producing nearly 45,000 tons of coal a month. It was to stay at the heart of the community until its sadly closed in September 1966.