The Hartley Colliery Disaster. A Tribute.
Sat 16/01/202110:30 - 11:30
Event Link - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-hartley-colliery-disaster-16th-january-1862-159-years-ago-a-tribute-tickets-131457203033
Presentation delivered as a Tribute to Hartley Memorial Committee:
This presentation will be delivered by Eur Ing Norman W Jackson CEng; FIMM; FNEIMME as a tribute to Hartley Memorial Committee on behalf of NEIMME
This special presentation is delivered on the 159th anniversary of the day of the 1862 Hartley Pit disaster.
The lecture will take place on the 16th of January 159 years to the day of the disaster. 204 men died but mining legislation was permanently changed to ensure two shafts to escape from a mine were available.
Speaker - Norman W Jackson offers the following introduction:
I am delighted to be given the opportunity of presenting this paper to you.
As my first slide indicates I will offer you my version of the Hartley Disaster which I presented to the North of England Institute in January 2012 as a memorial to the events of over 150 years ago.
I have delivered this lecture several times on the anniversary of the accident including in Johannesburg at The International Mining History Congress in 2012.
The terrible impact of the horrible Covid19 virus that has impacted so much on all of us, it has severely disrupted normal activities for all of us. The traditional Church Service and Memorial Concert and other events are not possible this year. To partially fill this void The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers has asked me to deliver this paper. It is an acknowledgement to the Hartley Disaster Memorial Committee for the huge amount of work they have undertaken over many years keeping this awful accident as a reminder to all of the injustices of that time.
It is particularly relevant at this time owing to the sad passing of John Seymour on 7th November He was a huge contributor to the Memorial Garden and a man deeply respected in the village.
I have many connections with Hartley, I did my first Pit Shift at the adjacent Seaton Delaval Colliery in 1958 over 50 years ago. Seaton Sluice where I live exported much of the coal produced at Hartley and my home overlies the workings of the mine.
I am conscious that today we have a very mixed audience of none mining people and I hope I have chosen the right balance between technical and none-technical material. I will attempt to describe the events that took place in a manner that is readily understandable to us all.
In doing my background research I have become even more aware of the tremendous data base of original material that we are attempting to preserve in our Institute at Newcastle and I commend anyone interested to search out some of this material in particular the account of one of our early members Mr. George Baker Forster and also the inquiry report prepared by J K Blackwell Inspector of Mines Midlands. I have researched all the other documents of the time and believe these accounts the only ones to present the facts accurately. I find many of the press reports to contain many and varied versions of events
I have based my presentation on the records of papers that were presented to the Institute in 1862 and the records of the Inquiry and Inquest that followed.
Some of the opinions and descriptions are my own based on my experience that I have been privileged to have observed during my career.
There are many brave stories that have been told in the various publications that have been produced over the years and time will only permit me to give a brief insight into many of the brave people involved including those who sadly lost their lives
NEIMME Introduction to our speaker:
Norman W Jackson is an acknowledged authority on mining engineering and industry restructuring including the environmental impacts, and played a leading role in the closing down of the North East coalfield in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner. Since leaving BCC he has embarked on a successful career as an independent international management and mining consultant and has worked in association with many clients over a number of years on projects in the coal industries and as an expert witness to the Courts.
Norman has delivered this lecture several times on the anniversary of the Hartley accident, and has many connections with Hartley, doing his first pit shift at the adjacent Seaton Delaval Colliery in 1958. The research for this talk was carried out in the archives of the Institute in particular the account of one of our early members Mr George Baker Forster and the inquiry report prepared by J K Blackwell Inspector of Mines Midlands.
Schedule:
10.30 - Start of Live stream
10.30 - Welcome and Start of Lecture
11.15 - Question and Answer session
11.30 - End of stream
About the Institute:
The Mining Institute is the Royal Chartered membership organisation for science and technology in the North. Founded in 1852 by some of the most important contemporary Northern scientists and engineers, our members still actively contribute to academia, industry and public life across the region.
To find out more about us visit: https://mininginstitute.org.uk
To support the Institute by becoming a member see: https://mininginstitute.org.uk/membership
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