Story
John Sutton was born in 1860 in Greenhill, Derbyshire, and was the son of a coal miner Peter Sutton (1832-1895) and Catherine England (1837-1878) who had married in Belper in 1858. After the death of his first wife, Peter re-married Eliza, who was the widow of William Wallis, in Riddings, Derbyshire on 23rd February 1880, and the family moved up to Micklefield the same year, to start work at Peckfield Colliery. Peter’s eldest son, Isaiah Sutton (1859-1925) married and had a daughter in Micklefield in 1883, but moved back to Derbyshire the following year, along with Peter, and the rest of the family, with the exception of John, who looks to have enjoyed living in Micklefield. John had married Clara Jane Charlotte Atkinson (1864-1949) in her home town of Leeds in 1883, and John became a prominent cricketer, and leader of the Micklefield choir. On 5th August 1886, John and Clara had their first child, a son William Herbert Sutton, and they lived on Quarry View. In September 1886, he started work at 6:15am, and was working with Samuel Marriott, who would later survive the Colliery Disaster. He was setting some props, when George Mosby started work in the stall next to them. Mosby built a pack within a yard of the coal face and then removed some props. At 11:30am, Mosby threw his hammer and pick towards his gate, and Marriott asked him whether he was going to build another pack. Mosby replied no, and walked after his tools, and started work in place where the roof was 4 feet high. 10 minutes later Sutton and Marriott heard a roof fall and a groan. 8½ feet passed the pack, they found George Mosby with his legs trapped beneath a stone 4 foot by 20 inches thick. Along with two other miners, they were able to free Mosby within 15 minutes, and put him in a corf to bring him back to the surface, but he died 15 minutes later. The Inspector of Mines, John Gerrard, attended the Inquest into George Mosby’s death, which was conducted by Major Thomas. Less than 10 years later, both Major Thomas and John Gerrard would be at the Inquest into John Sutton’s death at the Peckfield Colliery Disaster. George Mosby’s son Lot Mosby managed to escape the disaster, whilst another son, Jess Mosby was involved in the rescue efforts.
On the day of the disaster, John was 35 years-old, and had been promoted to Deputy. His third child Clara (1891-2) had died in infancy, but they had a daughter Elizabeth in 1890, another son John Edwin in 1893, and Clara was 3 months pregnant with their 5th child. They were living at 4 New Row, Micklefield. John was stood in the West Level at the pit bottom, between William Radford’s Office and the stables when he was killed in the blast. His body was brought between 3am and 6am on 1st May, and identified the same day by his older brother Isaiah who had come up from Bolsover that morning. He described his brother’s body as being very burnt and black, but without wounds. John was laid to rest in Micklefield, during the second batch of burials which took place on 3rd May. Clara gave birth to their last child, Doris Annie Sutton on 18th October 1896, but sadly Doris died in 1899. Their son John Edwin Sutton died in 1902 aged 9, and their 19 years-old daughter Elizabeth died in Leeds General Infirmary in January 1909. She had been getting dressed for a meeting of the Micklefield Choral Society, and took a lighted taper to the outbuilding at the family home of 13 Bland’s Cottage, which caused her to burn. Neighbours heard her scream, and tried to rescue her, but it took a few minutes to open the door, as she had fallen behind it. Elizabeth died later in the Infirmary. Only John and Clara’s first child, William Herbert Sutton survived into adulthood. He was a Colliery Fitter at the age of 14 to support his mother, who ran a sweetshop, and did not re-marry. Clara passed away in 1949, and is buried with John in Micklefield:
William Herbert Sutton returned to Nottingham in 1910 to marry his first cousin, Beatrice Sutton (1887-1965), daughter of Isaiah Sutton. The couple moved back to Micklefield, and William changed professions to work as an Insurance Agent. William enlisted in the Royal Navy during the First World War in July 1917, and later transferred to the Royal Air Force. His service no. was 233744, and he was based in Italy. He survived the War, and passed away in Garforth on 19th December 1975, aged 89.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 