Ashton Reporter
21 August 1909
THE WHALEY EXPLOSION
Cause Still a Mystery
THE INQUEST
On Friday afternoon, in the dining-room of the Fernilee Gunpowder Works, Mr Sydney Taylor, B.A., Coroner of the High Peak, and a jury, of which Mr T. Hutton was chosen foreman, held an inquiry into the death of Jos. Hill, aged 32 years, of Bridgemont, who was killed in an explosion at the works on the previous day.
There was present Major Cooper Key, Chief Government Inspector of Explosives; Mr J. Law, Inspector for Factories, Stockport district; Mr Kraftmeir, managing director of the Chilworth Gunpowder Co., who own the works; and Police Superintendent Durkan, of Chapel-en-le-Frith. The relatives of the deceased were not legally represented.
The inquest was originally fixed for half-past six in the evening, but it was held at half-past three, and the alteration of time caused some little confusion. Several fresh jurors had to be obtained, as some who could have been present at half-past six had gone away without knowing of the alteration. The jury and others early had an example of the precautions which are taken at the works to prevent accidents, for before entering they were searched, so that anything in their possession likely to lead to something untoward could be removed. This kind of thing the men have to go through every day, and it illustrates the very dangerous nature of their employment.
The viewing of the body was a gruesome business, it having been charred and mangled beyond recognition. The arm which was blown off was found that morning.
Abraham Higginbottom, Horwich End, Whaley Bridge, stated that he was employed at the works. Between two o’clock and 20 minutes past on the day of the accident he was in the corning house. It was witness’s duty to remove gunpowder from the press room to the corning house. When he left the corning room George Raven was working upstairs, and there were two machines running. Deceased was downstairs attending to the sifting boxes.
The Coroner: “Did you notice anything unusual or untoward?”
“No. There was nothing at all unusual.”
“What did you do after that?”
“I had got to the top of the yard when I heard a loud explosion. When I got back I discovered that the corning mill was wrecked.”
“Did you see anything of Hill?”
“No, but I saw Raven in the brook close by.”
Witness added that he did not see Southern, the other young man who was injured.
Answering Mr Law, witness said that when he brought the powder to the corning mill it came straight from the press house.
A juror: “Did he say anything to you when you saw him?”
“He just asked me the time that was all.”
Higginbottom was the last person who saw Hill alive.
Samuel Hill, a coachman, of Fernilee, identified the deceased as his cousin.
He had great difficulty in identifying the remains.
Witness knew deceased worked at the corning mill, and was known as a “powder man.” He was 32 years of age. He did not know how long deceased had been employed in the corning mill, but he had been employed at the works about eight years.
THE FOREMAN’S TESTIMONY
John Thomas Mellor, foreman at the works, stated that he was in the building at seven o’clock when the machine started, and everything was in good working order. The machine ran very steadily, and there was no complaint of any description. He was in the room again at 25 minutes to eleven, when he signed the visiting book, and there was nothing about then to suggest an explosion. He saw Hill about 40 minutes before the accident.
The Coroner: “Hill made no complaint to you?”
“No; nobody made a complaint to me”.
“Was there any chance of a foreign substance getting into the machinery?”
“No; there was a rubber band placed upon the rollers which opened and shut when anything passed through. The machine was examined daily by the engineer, and he also looked at it every day”.
Witness added that it was a rule of the works for the machinery to be inspected daily.
The Coroner: “Have you found anything since to account for the explosion?”
“No. Although I have looked carefully at the machinery I cannot find anything”.
“Of course, there is not much chance of that?”
“Well, we have examined it thoroughly, and it is hardly likely we should find anything after the explosion”.
“You think everything has been obliterated by the force of the explosion?”
“Yes.”
Major Key asked what precautions were taken against the men taking anything dangerous into the works.
Witness replied that they were searched every day, and, in addition to that, they changed their clothes for those belonging to the factory.
Major Key: “How many times is the material sifted?”
Witness said it was sifted twice a day before it was milled, and every precaution was taken to prevent any foreign substance getting into it.
Major Key: “The machine in this house was examined and overhauled during the holidays?”
“Yes: the machine was examined, but it was not pulled down. Some rollers were taken out, cleaned, and put back into their places. The machine was afterwards run empty for three hours, and on the day of the accident it had run from seven o’clock.
Witness thought if anything had gone wrong it must have been found out earlier in the day.
THE ENGINEER’S EXAMINATION
Charles Smith, of Fernilee, the foreman engineer, stated that whilst the works had been stopped for the Whaley Bridge wakes holidays the machinery had been nominally under repair, but really the rollers had been examined. Some of the rollers were taken out, cleaned, and put back again. On Wednesday the machine was run empty for three hours. He always had to see that everything was in good order for receiving the powder. He signed the visiting book at a quarter to four on Wednesday afternoon. On the morning of the accident he went into the building at seven o’clock to see that everything was right and ready for the start. He signed the visiting book at 10.45 a.m., and everything was then working in perfect order.
Witness was asked by the factory inspector whether the bearings in this machine ever got heated, and in reply, witness said that during the 22 years he had worked for the company he had never known a hot bearing in the corning house. It only ran about 60 revolutions a minute. The examination was made for cleanliness only.
The Coroner: “You think that the trial given to it afterwards was amply sufficient?”
Witness: “Yes, a three hours’ trial is a very severe test.”
Major Key: “Do you think the sun caused any ignition? There are no windows on the west or south side, and what glass there was of the ordinary plain kind.
Witness added that up to the present there were no reliable grounds on which one could form a theory. It was a very hot day, but gunpowder required 540 degrees to fire it.
Major Key made some observations, in the course of which he said he had always found this factory in the very best condition, and never in any of his visits had he to find fault. Everything in relation to the machinery was satisfactory.
The Coroner said the case was a rather difficult one, the probability being that the only man who knew anything of the accident was killed. It was probable they would never know anything more than they did now. However, he could not shut his eyes to the fact that there was a man living in the Devonshire Hospital who was working in the building at the time of the accident. He might be able to throw some light on the accident, and something might be elicited which would lead to the discovery of the cause of the explosion. He considered it his duty to adjourn the inquiry until this man, if he got better, had had an opportunity of giving evidence.
The Coroner expressed sympathy with the bereaved, and the hope of himself and the jury that the injured would recover.
Major Key: “I hardly think it necessary for me to come down again.”
The Coroner: “No. The only question is when to adjourn to. I should like to know the latest particulars as to the man Raven.
Major Key: “I have inquired, and he was so seriously ill that I was not permitted to see him.”
It was ultimately arranged that the inquest should be adjourned until two o’clock on Thursday, August 26th, in the Parish Room, Horwich End, Whaley Bridge.
The proceedings occupied only about half-an-hour.