Story
Fred Shillito was born in Micklefield on 2nd January 1871, and was the son of George Shillito (1836-1896) who was killed in the Peckfield Colliery Disaster, and Jane Whincup (1842-1912). In 1891, the family were living at 19 Bland’s Cottages, and both George and Fred worked at Peckfield Colliery.
On the day of the disaster, George was stood outside William Radford’s office at the top of No.1 Dip, close to the Brakesman Arthur Simpson when he was killed by the explosion. George was burnt and blown into the sump, and as the explosion travelled up the main shaft, he was then buried under tonnes of falling debris. George was the last body to be recovered on the 13th May 1896. Fred was working in the lower Black Bed coal seam, 240 yards below the surface, with ten other miners and young lads who were training. Despite being a long way and on a different level from the location of the explosion, the strong blast travelled down to the Black Bed, causing miners to be knocked over, trap doors to fly off their hinges, and the lights to be extinguished. The eleven miners in the Black Bed had just grouped together to discuss what to do when a wave of after damp gas forced them all to lose consciousness for about an hour. Once they awoke again, they had to climb up a stone ventilation drift, which connected the Black Bed to the Beeston Seam, which was 65 feet above them. They were hit by a wave of after-damp upon reaching the Beeston Bed, and made their way with great difficulty along the East Level, until they reached the No.2 lift, and were helped by the survivors in Charles Ball’s group. Fred was listed as having escaped the pit before noon.
After surviving the disaster which killed his father, his uncle David Shillito, and his father’s cousin James Shillito, whose body he would have passed, Fred still continued working at Peckfield Colliery, supporting his mother, Jane, at 19 Bland’s Cottages. In 1901, Fred married Martha Hunt (1875-1908), and after her death, he re-married Lucy Smith (1889-1963) in 1910. By 1939, Fred and Lucy were living at 7 East View. At this point, Fred’s profession is given as Incapacitated Coal Miner, and he is likely to have been carrying an injury sustained from the pit disaster. Fred passed away in 1943 at the age of 72. His widow Lucy was the last subscriber to the Micklefield Colliery Disaster fund before it was wound up in 1963, and the press reported that she had been able to claim since her late husband had been injured in the disaster.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 