Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Edward Medal of the Second Class awarded to Mr. E. Nurse for the gallant ten-hour rescue of an entombed miner at the Ireland Colliery, Staveley, Derbyshire, on 28 February 1916

Edward Medal (Mines), G.V.R., 1st issue, bronze (Edward Nurse.) edge bruise, very fine £1,000-£1,400

E.M. London Gazette 27 June 1916: Edward Nurse, Stallman, employed at the Ireland Colliery, Staveley, Derbyshire [in a joint citation with Harold Gregory, Under Manager’ Charles Benjamin Franklin, Day Deputy; Charles William Hudson, Contractor; and Thomas Smith, Stallman, all similarly employed]
‘On the 28th February 1916, at 7:00 a.m., a fall of roof occurred at the Ireland Colliery, by which a filler named John William Fieldsend was imprisoned. Gregory, Franklin, Hudson, Nurse, and Smith at once set to work to open a passage through the fallen roof in order to rescue their fellow workman. The roof was everywhere very uneasy and a further fall was liable to occur at any moment. Owing to the narrowness of the place, only one man could work at the head of the passage (the most dangerous place), while the remaining four, one behind the other, passed out the material removed, the men taking by turns the post of danger. After about three hours’ work, at 10:00 a.m. a further fall occurred, closing the passage which had been made for three yards. Fortunately the workers escaped without injury. Work was at once resumed, and Fieldsend was reached. As soon, however, as an attempt was made to remove him from under a piece of timber, by which he was pinned down, a third fall occurred, blocking up the passage for about four yards, and displacing much of the timber which had been used to prop up the roof and walls of the passage as it was made. Finally, at 5:00 p.m., after 10 hours’ continuous work, Fieldsen was reached and taken out of the pit. He was not much injured. All five men ran continuous risk, during the whole 10 hours, of serious injury or death from falls of roof.’

Harold Gregory’s own statement reads:
‘I am Under Manager at the Colliery. I heard of the fall at about 8:00 a.m. and I went to the place following Hudson, a contractor, and got there at about 8:30 a.m., where I found the place on left side broken down for about 15 yards along the face to the buttock end, and for about 7 yards back towards the goaf from the face. Charles Franklin, the deputy of the District, and Tom Smith and Ted Nurse (Stallmen in 105 stall adjoining) were working at the fall in 105 stall, and John Kelly and John Davis were working at it at the other end of the fall in 106 stall, but they were later withdrawn, as gas was coming off strong and there was a danger of a further fall occurring here. Work was therefore confined to the 105 stall end.
Fieldsend replied to a shout. We set to timber sprags from the coal to hold back the fallen material. We had set about 5 split bars and 2 long props and got close to Fieldsend at bout 10:00 a.m. when a further fall of about 10 tons occurred and closed the place again for 3 yards back. Hudson, Franklin, Nurse, Smith, and myself were engaged in Indian file fashion removing the dirt as there was only room for one man at a time at the place. The place was on weight all the time. We removed the second gall and got to Fieldsend again and could see he was fastened down by a gob prop across his back and neck and there was little dirt on him also. We could not get at him because of a piece of bind at the end of the tub barring progress. As soon as we broke this bind a further fall occurred about 1:30 p.m. This time about 30 tons fell and closed the place again for about 4 yards back; it also pushed 3 or 4 props out about 12 inches at the foot. Work was proceeded with and we got this third face cleared sufficiently by 5:00 p.m. to enable us to get at Fieldsend and pull him out. He was not much injured but was bruised and was taken out of the pit and examined by Dr. Court on the surface and then taken home.

For their gallantry the five rescuers were invested with their Edward Medals by H.M. the King at Buckingham Palace on 11 July 1916; they were also each awarded £20, and a framed certificate, from the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust.

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