Story
George was born in Rothwell in 1858. He was the son of John Hicks (1827-1915) and Maria Taylor (1834-1912), who had married in Leeds on 4th November 1855. The family lived at Stourton in 1881, and worked in the Rothwell Collieries. George married Myra Mitchell from Low Road, Hunslet in her home village on 21st May 1881, and George moved to 70 Low Road, and still worked in the Rothwell Collieries, until around 1893, when George and his family moved to 39 Crescent, Micklefield, and started working at Peckfield Colliery. His older brother Robert Hicks started at Peckfield Colliery at the same time, after moving to 47 Crescent.
George was a Hanger-on, based at the bottom of the No.1 shaft. His duty was to put corves (strong osier baskets in which coals were conveyed from the hewers to the bank, pictured below) into the cages. His wife Myra reported that 3 weeks before the disaster, George had fallen into the sump, and had barely recovered from those injuries, but on the day of the disaster, he went down in the lift at 6:30am, and started work as usual.
Seconds before the explosion, George went into the Underground Manager’s Office to get his lamp, and saw William Radford sitting at a small desk writing, with John Wallis opposite him. George then heard a great rushing noise, followed by a terrific explosion, which blew down a wall of the office. George saw it replaced by a wall of flame which he thought had been caused by the oil stored in a building, but this was apparently unaffected. In one report, George was blown several yards into the workings, but in two other reports, he fought through the flames with his hands to escape the office, and took refuge in a hole between two props. George’s next memory is of two men helping him into the cage, but in fact whilst barely conscious he had overheard miners calling up the shaft for help, and had cried out to get their attention. He was found lying in the workings by Caleb Atack, who reported that the first thing George had exclaimed when he was found was: “God help my mates”.
George was taken to the bottom of No.2 shaft with other survivors. Samuel Grimbley said that a handkerchief was tied around George’s head to help with the burns. The fire had burnt off his hair and whiskers, and a miner from the Black Bed also took off his shirt to wrap around George’s head, although Caleb Atack said he also did the same. John Charles Ball had a bottle of ginger beer, which George gratefully received. George was the first to be taken out of the pit as soon as the lift had been restored. He was conscious when he arrived at the surface, and his brother Robert was seen to pour oil onto George’s face to help with the burns. The Yorkshire Post wrote:
“One of the most seriously injured of those brought to the surface yesterday morning was George Hicks […] when brought out he looked a pitiable object. His hair had been burnt off almost to the roots, his face was swollen and blistered, and his left arm so badly charred that it had the appearance of mortified flesh.“
Despite his severe injuries, George was initially taken back home, which was recalled nearly a year later on 20th March 1897:
Within hours though, George asked to be removed to hospital, so as not to be a burden to Myra, who was looking after their 4 children, one of whom, Clara, was only one year-old. George arrived at Leeds Infirmary at 3:50pm, laid in a basket with a covering of sacking, his head still in bandages. He raised his hands in a feeble attempt to rise and vomited. Fortunately, George recovered at the hospital, but his injuries were so severe, he was unable to return to mining. As late as October 1896, his case was raised at the inaugural meeting of the Peckfield Colliery Disaster Relief Fund. It was pointed out that he had been injured in the explosion, and would not, in the opinion of the doctors, be able to work again. Hicks had not yet received any relief, but his was certainly a deserving case. He had a family of seven. It was stated that his case had been considered by the committee, and it was intended that it should be effectually dealt with. Eventually he did receive a pension from the Trust, but to supplement his income, George began work as the Micklefield Postman, continuing to live at 39 Crescent. George and Myra had 11 children in total, but only 5 lived into adulthood. George passed away in Micklefield on 26th January 1928 aged 69. Myra died in 1941, aged 79.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 