William Galloway (mining engineer)

Sir William Galloway (1840–1927) was a Scottish mining engineer, professor and industrialist.

William Galloway was the eldest son of William Galloway (1799–1854), JP, a Paisley shawl manufacturer and coal and iron master from Paisley in Scotland and his second wife Margaret Lindsay (1818–1902), daughter of Thomas Lindsay, a brewer from Glasgow. He was educated in Scotland, and in Germany and London. He qualified as a mining engineer and spent much of his life as an Inspector of Mines, before being offered the post of Professor of Mining at the University College of Wales. His life was spent improving the lot of miners and working to determine the causes of explosions and accidents in mines and finding ways of preventing them or alleviating their impact. His efforts were recognised in 1924, when, at the age of 83, he was knighted.[1]

Education

Galloway attended a private school before going to Germany where he studied at the University of Giessen and the Technische Universitat Bergakademie Freiberg. He also studied at University College, London. He was proficient in six languages, and in later life received an honorary degree D.Sc. from the University of Wales, where he was employed as a Professor of Mining.[2]

Mining career

In 1861, at the age of 21, Galloway was employed as the colliery manager at Cambusnethan, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He held a first class certificate under the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1872 after being examined in June 1873 and June 1879.[3]As a mining inspector in Scotland he investigated the causes of between 60 and 80 accidents before moving to Wales.[4]

On 3 December 1875 at Old Pit in New Tredegar, after a minor explosion the previous day where no gas had been detected, the men entered the pit against orders and at 8:00 a.m. there was a tremendous explosion killing 20 men and boys instantly and two more died from their injuries.[5][6] Three days later, on 6 December 1875, at Llan Colliery, Pentyrch, another explosion killed 12 men and boys. Galloway as mining inspector reported his findings at the inquest. He found that both the timbers and miners furthest from the point of ignition were the most severely burned, reinforcing his theory that in dry mines coal dust spreads the explosion.[7] His conclusions were accepted by the coroner and 'watering' and spreading stone dust were introduced as a result of his observations at Llan. In 1876 he delivered lectures in Paris, France with Jules Pierre Callon and Sir Clement le Neve Foster, which have been translated and printed in 'Lectures on mining delivered at the School of Mines, Paris'[8] By the start of the 1880s his theories on the dangers of coal dust were being taken more seriously and have been discussed in many books and articles from then to the present day.[9][10][11][12][13]

In 1884 he was called on to give evidence at the Penycraig disaster and his evidence, as printed in the Cardiff Western Mail 1884, is held by the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers NEIMME,[14][15] along with a course of lectures on mining given by him for the South Wales Institute of Engineers in 1900. On 23 April 1887 he was elected as a member of the NEIMME.[16] and from 1896 to 1903 and 1907 to 1910 he was a council member of the Institute of Mining Engineers for Cardiff.[17] In January 1907 he was called before the Royal Commission on Mines to give evidence with regard to 'watering' the mine floor and its effectiveness,[12] and in 1910 his evidence was given to the Miners' Federation of Great Britain after the Wellington Pit Disaster.[18]

Not all the loss of life in the mines was caused by explosions. Some like the Troehydriw disaster of 1877 and the Townhead disaster of 1913 involved extensive flooding in which some men survived after air and supplies were passed to them through bore holes while they awaited rescue. The rescue took ten days in Troehydriw[19] and the country including Queen Victoria expressed concern for the men and she requested photographic proof of their safe rescue. The survivors at Townhead had to wait for five days before rescue in 1913.[20] Both of these were incidents that William Galloway had to attend as mining inspector.

By 1923 he followed his family tradition by becoming an owner/director of collieries. He became the chairman and a director of the East Kent Colliery Company and director of the Snowdown Colliery.[4][21]

Inventions and research

In 1870, Galloway began investigations into the cause of explosions in dry mines, and became convinced that the cause was coal dust as well as fire damp. He was called on, as a mining inspector, to investigate the causes of between 60 and 80 explosions in Scottish mines[4] and it became his life's work to find ways to reduce the risk to the lives on miners underground. He carried out tests with safety lamps, finding that the flame was deflected through the gauze when shots were fired,[22][23] measured the varying size and colour of flame depending on the atmospheric conditions and composition.[24] He wrote papers on his findings and presented them to the Institute of Mining, the Royal Society, the Athenaeum Club, London and anyone else who would listen.[25]

In 1872 he wrote an article together with Robert H. Scott F.R.S., Director of the Meteorological Office entitled 'On the connection between colliery explosions and the weather in 1872' showing there was more likelihood of explosions in dry weather than wet in shallow mines.[26] The article was published by the Royal Meteorological Society in its Quarterly Journal of 1875, Vol. 2, Issue 12, pp 195–205.

He undertook numerous experiments to determine the size of the flame in lamps that determined the percentage of fire damp in the atmosphere,[27][28] but details that were ridiculed at the time have since been found to be extremely accurate.[29][30]

Galloway devised an improved walling cradle enabling two teams of workers to operate on different levels at the same time.[31] He also devised a means of substituting the cages with water tanks to remove large quantities of water from flooded mines quickly. They became known as Galloway pneumatic tanks[32] In 1875 he patented the idea of using twin guides or guide ropes for the kibble, allowing two kibbles to be used to sink a shaft. He also devised improved counterbalanced doors to cover the shaft top, speeding up operations and reducing the danger of injury to men , and damage to the shaft. He designed a steel bucket to carry the coal underground with wheels lubricated from hollow axle boxes and buffers giving a smoother ride and lessening the amount of coal dust dropped on the road, and he also devised an engine small enough to be taken down in a cage and which could run along the tracks and be operated by compressed air removing the need for pit ponies for hauling coal trucks. He installed a compressed air system using two engines to raise and lower equipment at Llanbradach colliery.[33]

Later life

Being unable to gain promotion in to senior inspector, possibly because he was a Scotsman in Wales, Galloway resigned his post as assistant Inspector of Mines. He became the first Professor of Mining at the University College of Wales in Cardiff.[34] Resigning from there in 1902. He became a consultant engineer and took on work in Britain and abroad, for example, Assam,[35] and the Cape of Good Hope.[36][37]

On 22 February 1917 he presented a paper to the Commission on Mines at the Houses of Parliament with regard to his findings on the explosive properties of coal dust.[38]

Sir William Galloway died 2 November 1927 at his home in Park Place, Cardiff where he is buried in Cathay Cemetery. His grave is marked by a very distinctive memorial.

Honours

Galloway was awarded an honorary degree, D.Sc from the University College of Wales. He was knighted in the New Year's Honours List of 1924, becoming Sir William Galloway[39]

Galloway was awarded the Shaw Gold Medal by the Royal Society of Arts, a Medal by the Institution of Mining Engineers[40] and a special Gold Medal by the South Wales Institute of Engineers in 1925.[26]

His portrait was presented by the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coalowners Association, and he was also presented with a gold watch.[2]

Family

Galloway's father William married Agnes Muir (1803–1830) by whom he had three children: John Galloway (1825–1899), coal master of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and Margaret (born 1827) and William (born 1830) who both died young.

In 1837 William Galloway snr. married Margaret Lindsay (1818–1902) in Paisley and they had six children:

William Galloway junior married Christiana Maud Mary Gordon (1853–1880) by whom he had four children: Sarah Christiana W Galloway (1877–1878); William Albert Denis Galloway (1878–1957); Christiana Margaret Gordon Galloway (1879–1880) and Christian Francis John Galloway (1880–1960)

He had two daughters by Ada Rose Cliffe (1867–1949): Marjorie Galloway Cliffe (1894–1976) and Gertrude Galloway Cliffe (1896–1957)[41]

His second marriage was to Mary Gwennap Douglas Killick, formerly Wood, who had three children from her former marriage to Richard Killick (1850–1930).

Finally with Charlotte Jane Sparkes (1887–1977), he had two daughters Constance Olivia Galloway (1914–2004) and Ruth Viola Galloway (1919–1991)

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ The Compact Edition of the Dictionary of National Biography Vol. II The Oxford University Press 1975
  2. 1 2 "The Times/1927/Obituary/Sir W. Galloway – Wikisource". En.wikisource.org. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Durham Mining Museum – Management Certificates [ga*]". Dmm.org.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Family, Training, and Career in the British Coal Industry in the Era of Decline" (PDF). H-net.org. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Old pit New Tredegar". Welshcoalmines.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "New Tredegar Colliery disaster". Welshcoalmines.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Lan Colliery". Welshcoalmines.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Chemical news and journal of ... – Sir William Crookes – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  10. ↑ Gas poisoning in mining and other ... – John Glaister, David Dale Logan – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  11. ↑ A history of the coal miners of the ... – Andrew Roy – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  12. 1 2 Elementary chemistry for coal-mining ... – Lucius Trant O'Shea – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1920. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  13. ↑ Mine gases and explosions; text-book ... – James Thom Beard – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers: Wales". Mininginstitute.org.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Explosion at Naval Steam Colliery, Penygraig, 1884". Genuki.org.uk. 28 December 2002. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  16. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20080829111046/http://www.dmm-gallery.org.uk/transime/n38-m.htm. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20080907233957/http://www.dmm-gallery.org.uk/transime/u13-c.htm. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "Durham Mining Museum – Newspaper Articles". Dmm.org.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Jammage. Bignall Hall, Staffordshire. 5 January 1876" (PDF). Cmhrc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  20. ↑ "Townhead 1913 – Heroes of Mine". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ "North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers: Custodians of the Industry's Heritage". Mininginstitute.org.uk. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  23. ↑ William Purdy. "An Essay on Colliery Explosions and Safety Lamps" (PDF). Cmhrc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Full text of "A treatise on practical and theoretical mine ventilation"". Archive.org. 5 September 1924. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  25. ↑ "Full text of "Mine gases and explosions; text-book for schools and colleges and for general reference"". Archive.org. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  26. 1 2 Transactions of the Institution of ... – Institution of Mining Engineers (Great Britain) – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  27. ↑ Mining: an elementary treatise on ... – Arnold Lupton – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  28. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/20080723114316/http://www.thewandofscience.co.uk/Gas%20Detecting%20Develops_download.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/20111030072016/http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/pdfs/bul020.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ↑ "Full text of "First[-thirty-ninth] annual report of the chief inspector of mines .."". Archive.org. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  31. ↑ "Coal Mining, a Reader". GENUKI. 23 October 2002. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  32. ↑ "Coal Mining, a Reader". GENUKI. 23 October 2002. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  33. ↑ "Full text of "A text-book of ore and stone mining .."". Archive.org. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  34. ↑ Course of lectures on mining ... – William Galloway – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1900. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  35. ↑ Report on the Daranggiri Coalfield ... – William Galloway – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1904*. Retrieved 23 November 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ↑ Minutes of proceedings of the ... – Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  37. ↑ Report[s] – Great Britain. Royal Commission on Coal Supplies – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  38. ↑ Papers by command – Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1 January 1980. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  39. ↑ Chemical age – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  40. ↑ Transactions of the Institution of ... – Institution of Mining Engineers (Great Britain) – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  41. ↑ Will of William Galloway dated 7 August 1907
  42. ↑ Essays on the Prevention of Explosions and Accidents in Coal Mines – Wilfred Creswick, William Galloway, William Hopton – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  43. ↑ Course of Lectures on Mining Delivered in the Lecture Theatre of the South ... – William Galloway – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  44. ↑
  45. ↑
  46. ↑ Subsidences Caused by Workings in Mines – William Galloway, South Wales Institute of Miners. General meeting – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  47. ↑ Report on the Daranggiri Coalfield, in the Garo Hills, Assam – William Galloway – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  48. ↑ Report on Pittenweem Coalfield – William Galloway – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  49. ↑ Mining accidents and their prevention: with discussion by leading experts ... – Sir Frederick Augustus Abel – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  50. ↑ Mine Gases and Explosions: Text-book for Schools and Colleges and for ... – James Thom Beard – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  51. ↑ Bulletin of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers – Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2013.

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