Pretoria Pit Disaster - Aftermath

Aftermath

This was the second worst mining accident in England, and the third worst in Britain.

Many of the fatalities were from the same family. The worst affected was the Tyldesley family in which Mrs Miriam Tyldesley lost her husband, four sons and two brothers. A relief fund was established for the families and dependents and a total of £145,000 was raised. In 1911, dependents were compensated and given annuities from a number of sources (including the fund). All the victims were members of Permanent Relief Societies to which they paid contributions weekly and most had private life insurance with friendly societies and all were covered by the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1906 which brought together all (except the private insurance) the compensation to produce a lump sum and annuity for the dependents.

John Baxter was the last recipient of payments from the Hulton Colliery Explosion (1910) Relief Fund when he died in January 1973 (The Westhoughton Journal 26 Jan 1973). The fund was dissolved in 1975 and the remaining assets transferred to other miners' relief funds.