History of coal miners inventiveness in clothing their families. Mining has always been dangerous, because of methane gas explosions, roof cave-ins, and the difficulty of mines rescue. The worst single disaster in British coal mining history was at Senghenydd in the South Wales coalfield. On the morning of 14 October 1913 an explosion and subsequent fire killed 436 men and boys. It followed a series of many extensive Mining accidents such as The Oaks explosion of 1866 and the Hartley Colliery Disaster of 1862. Most of the explosions were caused by firedamp ignitions followed by coal dust explosions. Deaths were mainly caused by carbon
William Galloway (mining engineer) Galloway had to attend as mining inspector. By 1923 he followed his family tradition by becoming an owner/director of collieries. He became the chairman and a director of the East Kent Colliery Company and director of the Snowdown Colliery. In 1870, Galloway began investigations into the cause of explosions in dry mines, and became convinced that the cause was coal dust as well as fire damp. He was called on, as a mining inspector, to investigate the causes of between 60 and 80 explosions in Scottish mines and it became his life's work to find ways to reduce the risk