Story
Daniel was the oldest survivor of the Peckfield Colliery Disaster. He was 64 years-old at the time, having been born in Woodhouse Mansfield in 1832. He was the son of John Warwick, who passed away when he was very young, and Ann Bowler (1798-1876). In 1851, as a widow, Ann was looking after her mother Sarah who was 85 years-old, so Daniel went to live with a 62 years-old widowed pauper who already had 3 lodgers in the village of Staveley, Derbyshire. On 28th March 1853, he married Susannah Johnson (1836-1864). After the early death of his wife, Daniel lived in Killamarsh, North East Derbyshire. His son, also called Daniel (1855-1944) moved to 10 Bland’s Row to work at Peckfield Colliery around 1887. Daniel snr. was still in Killamarsh in 1891, working as a coal miner, but living by himself. Like many others from the Midlands, Daniel moved up to Micklefield, to work in a modern pit, which was considered safe. He could not have been working at the Peckfield Colliery a long time by the day of the disaster, and was likely to have been staying with his son at 10 Bland’s Row.
The newspapers make the distinction that it was Daniel Warwick snr. who had been rescued. Daniel Warwick jnr. did work at Peckfield Colliery, and a George Warwick was mentioned as belonging to one of the early rescue parties, which may well have been Daniel Warwick jnr, as there is no record of a George Warwick being present locally. On the day of the disaster, Daniel snr. was working close to the No.1 Dip, which sustained severe damage after a secondary explosion travelled down it. Daniel was amongst a group of around 15 survivors who were able to gather together in the darkness, and sat down for around 15 minutes to discuss how they should get out. As the levels of after-damp gas grew around them, the debate quickly became immaterial, and they opted to take the most direct route out, back up the No.1 Dip. Thomas Crosthwaite and William Dobson battled the roof-falls and gas to clear a route for the rest to follow. Daniel was amongst the last group of seven survivors to be brought out of the pit alive. John Hardwick, Lot Mosby, Fielding Pickard, William Atack, Reuben Winfield and Joseph Day were the other miners in his party.
After the disaster, Daniel continued to work at Peckfield Colliery, but he became the first of the 42 survivors to pass away, when he died in Micklefield in 1899, at the age of 66. His son Daniel jnr. married several times and moved away to Glasshoughton, and died in 1944 aged 87.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 