In 1918, a total of 405 miners were employed underground and 248 of these were working below the surface on the morning of January 12^th 1918. Unbeknown to them, 155 were destined not to return to the surface alive. It was a cold Saturday morning and snow was on the ground. At 9.45am Colliery manager Joseph Smith saw smoke, soot and dust issuing from the fan chimney. On contacting the fan attendant he was informed that the ventilation process had reversed for some minutes but was know working normally again. The powerful haulage engine had stalled completely, he knew that only a cataclysm could have caused these things to happen.

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At the bottom of the pit shaft, workers had felt a tremor followed by a cloud of dust and debris. They were alarmed and telephoned the manager to ask to be raised to the surface.

Under-manager Mr. Weaver was sent down to the pit bottom where he found utter confusion. Everywhere was covered in an oily black dust, breathing was difficult and his eyes began to smart – all signs of a methane explosion. As he ventured further into the pit he found death and destruction everywhere. Section of the pit had collapsed and ventilation had been cut off. He soon discovered that the source of the explosion was in the Banbury and Bullurst seams. He contacted the manager who informed him that rescue teams were on their way. First down the pit was their own Minnie Pit Rescue team, on seeing the devastation its Captain exclaimed that the "guts had been ripped out of the Banbury and Bullurst seams". Rescue teams from all over North Staffordshire were involved in the effort and sadly the Captain of the Birchenwood team, Hugh Doorbar, was added to the fatality list due to a faulty valve on his breathing apparatus.

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Eventually all the survivors were rescued but it took over twelve months to retrieve all the bodies from the pit because of the destruction and collapsed sections caused by the explosion. The survivors told rescuers and the press, waiting for them on the surface, of acts of heroism and leadership of their work-mates. One such account was of Charles Greatbatch, a Deputy. After the explosion he and 47 men and boys found themselves cut off from the rest of the pit. Greatbatch immediately recognised the danger in trying to reach the pit shaft bottom because of the possibility of poisonous gas. He ordered his men to stay put. One boy panicked and tried to make it and died in the poisonous atmosphere. Their survival depended on getting air until rescue came. He managed to create a temporary air pocket by partially opening up two separation doors to produce back pressure, which kept the gas at bay. Deputy Greatbatch was aware of the ventilation shaft in the North District created in a natural outcropping called the Bosted Onion, because of its shape. He was able to lead his men there where they survived until rescue workers reached them. Another miner, Tom Brockley, stayed down the pit longer than was necessary in order to help friends he came across as he made his way through the destruction. Some of the miners received awards from the Carnegie Trust Fund for their heroism.

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The inquiry into the disaster took place at Stoke Town Hall in December 1919 with William Walker CBE, acting inspector of mines, officiating. All safety procedures were looked into and the mine painstakingly searched for evidence. The conclusion was that the explosion was caused by a build up of methane gas in the Bullurst seam, which ignited developed into an explosion of coal dust. Carelessness in operating procedures was ruled out as a cause of the ignition. For instance, Mr. Walker was satisfied that it was not due to matches being used by miners as searching of workers at the beginning of the shift was strictly carried out. He concluded that the probable cause of ignition was a faulty safety lamp or a fall of stone from the roof. However, the mine owners did not get off scot-free. The inquiry concluded that there were some breaches of the mine safety act. Failure to properly record the measurement of air current, failure to remove, as far as practicable, coal dust from the roadways etc. and assigning too large a district to the firearm such that he was unable to properly carry out his duties.

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The Coroner’s Inquest took place in Halmer End chapel, which had also been used as a temporary mortuary for the bodies as they were brought out of the pit. Coroner Hugh Adams and the jury heard that of the 155 killed, 144 died by the effects of after-damp (carbon monoxide) and 11 by the violence of the explosion. The fireman’s report for the afternoon of January 11^th stated the Banbury seam to be in good condition with no gas and good ventilation, that the roads were free from dust and had been watered. However, a prop found in the number 4 district was shown which was covered in burnt coal dust and this was one of many, showing that conditions must have been dusty. It was also stated that the man employed to clean up dust had left 3 months earlier and no one had been seeing doing it since. Damaged lamps were presented to the inquest but these were not deemed to have been the cause of ignition, which they decided could not be ascertained. No blame could be apportioned to any one individual but regulations should be issued for the treatment of coal dust. This was recommended because it was thought that the wholesale devastation of the mine was propagated by an abundance of dust.

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The effect of the disaster on the local community was great. Some families were effected more than others. The Holland’s from Shraley Brook lost four sons. A relation of mine, George Dean had three sons in the pit at the time, Jesse and Harry died whilst Harold was gassed but survived. Another son Leonard died fighting for his country. Father and son George and Jabez Burgess died in each other’s arms. Of the 155 who died, 20 were aged 14, 13 were aged 15 and 11 were sixteen. Sixty-seven women were widowed and 132 dependants were left. The fact that many bodies were unrecognisable and various personal effects had to be used to help identification intensified the trauma for the bereaved and there was at least one case of mistaken identity. In the first two months after the explosion there were sixty one burials and the last funeral to take place was that of Ernest Webb aged twenty, on August 26^th 1919. The colliery company gave each widow £5 with £1 added for each child. Wages were paid to the end of the week with a further £3 added for each coffin. Various payments were made from relief funds and public collections. Despite these payments life was hard for families left without the breadwinner. Many women had to find all types of menial work to survive and at least one family moved home to save 2 shillings on their rent.