Story
William Atack was the first child born in 1860 to Thomas Atack (1839-1917) and Mary Haigh (1841-1919) who were both from Whitkirk, and married 7th April 1860 in Manston, Crossgates. Caleb was their second child and was born 9th September 1862. Thomas Atack was a coal miner, and his sons followed into the same profession. William married Harriet Hoyle (1860-1918) in 1880, and Caleb married Mary Elizabeth Dennison (1863-1924) in Kippax on 24th March 1883.
After William married, he had a daughter in Crossgates, then a son in Kippax, before the family moved to 14 Crescent, Micklefield around 1888 and he started working at Peckfield Colliery. William and Harriet had three more sons in Micklefield before the colliery disaster. William was the local secretary of the West Yorkshire Miners’ Association, and played cornet in the Micklefield Brass Band, of which he was also the Club Secretary. William was 35 years-old at the time of the disaster, and was part of the third group of survivors to be rescued around 12 noon, which meant he was amongst the last group to escape the mine, along with Joseph Day, Henry and John Hardwick, Lot Mosby, Fielding Pickard, John Render, George Turner, Dan Warwick and Reuben Winfield. The West Yorkshire Miners’ association expressed some surprise that they had not been informed about the disaster immediately, but William would have been the man responsible for informing the association, and he had been trapped in the mine at the time! After the disaster, on 7th October 1896, William became a member of the General Committee of the Micklefield Colliery Relief Fund. His son, Walter Atack, died 22nd August 1918 as a prisoner of war in Marle, aged 25. He was a private in the Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment, 1st 7th Battalion, service no 48743. Another son Oscar (1889-1955) also served in the No.1 49th Division Royal Horse and Field Artillery during the First World War. He married Nora Bella Edington (1893-1954) in 1917, who was the daughter of James Edington (1866-1942) who also survived the Peckfield Colliery Disaster. William passed away on 24th September 1920, aged 60, and is buried in Micklefield.
Caleb started working at Peckfield Colliery in 1886. His wife Mary Elizabeth Dennison was originally from Micklefield, but they lived at 5 Kippax Lane, Garforth with three children, only moving back to 19 Crescent, Micklefield in 1892. Caleb and Mary had two more children before the colliery disaster. Caleb spoke to the press in the aftermath of the disaster. He revealed that he had arrived at the pit around 7am, and had just reached his position in the No.1 Rise Bord of the Beeston Bed when the explosion took place around 7:20am. Caleb was just in the process of stripping ready for work when he felt a big gust of wind which blew the cap from his head and lifted his shirt over his head. Caleb fell down to the floor and his lamp was extinguished. He was working with Isaiah Evans, and when they both recovered, Caleb said to Isaiah “Let’s be going, it’s fired”. They moved out of the No.1 Rise Bord in time to avoid the secondary explosion which killed Fred Bellerby, Louis Pickard, James and Fred Benson, and also claimed the lives of Noah Ball and Charles Swift. Caleb and Isaiah Evans were able to meet up with Charles Ball and his son John Charles Ball, and the survivors of the district formed a group of around 14 miners, which is also known to have included William Appleyard, Samuel Clark, Josiah Godber, Sam Grimbley and John Sissons. They tried various ways to escape along the East Level without success, and had to walk all the way around the workings to reach the bottom of Black Bed shaft at 8am. At this time, the group heard George Hicks crying for help near the Office and went to rescue him. Caleb found George suffering from severe burns about his hands and face, and used his handkerchief as a bandage, wrapping it around George’s most severe burns. John Ball gave George some ginger beer, and the survivors did everything they could relieve his pain. As he was near the Office, Caleb decided to check whether the underground manager, William Radford had survived. Caleb reported that the office had suffered terribly from the explosion. The doors and windows had been blown out, the lights were extinguished, and they found William Radford and a deputy, John Wallis lying face down on the floor, quite dead. He said the group of survivors could do nothing to save Radford and Wallis, and had to leave them, returning to the bottom of the shaft. Soon after they arrived, Caleb stated that seven men working in the Black Bed arrived at the bottom of the shaft and were very sick from afterdamp poisoning, and so became engaged in helping them. At this time, Caleb said that he had heard some moaning coming from the West Level workings, and went to see if there were some other poor miners like George Hicks who were in pain. He walked back passed the office, and found that the noise was coming from the pit ponies in the stable, who he described as being in “a state of great agony” and added that they were “rolling about in all directions.” Caleb returned to the bottom of the shaft, where he had to wait two hours before the cage was sufficiently repaired to take out the first survivors. Caleb said those who were the most poorly were taken out first, three or four at a time. Caleb escaped the pit between 11am and 12am, and reported that his brother William was still in the pit as soon as he reached the top. In reply to a question from the awaiting journalists, he said he could form no opinion as to which area of the mine the explosion had occurred, but he thought the damage at the bottom of the shaft was worse, although everything seemed to be fearfully smashed up and in an awful state. After he had been out of the pit a while, he said he did not feel any the worse for his alarming experience in the morning.
Caleb and Mary had a further 4 children after the disaster, and Caleb continued to work at Peckfield Colliery. He also enjoyed cricket, and was an umpire in the Barkston Ash Cricket league for many years, and was actively interested in Bowls. His son, Norman Atack (1889-1963) lived at 12 Oak Avenue Garforth and had a large family, including a son Dennis, who went on to serve in H.M. Forces, and lived in Halton. Caleb retired in 1929 after 43 years service at Peckfield Colliery, and lived at 30 Kelm Scott Garth in Crossgates. At the time of his death in 1941, aged 79, Caleb had lived to see some of his great grand children.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 