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John, Two points - > the Wankie >(Zimbabwe) explosion in 1971 or 1972. > It's >not really British Mining except for the fact that about half the supervisory >people killed would have been British. Please do not confine discussion to 'British' mining. Mining is an international industry, and has been for centuries. We made the decision some time ago to change the list's remit and broaden the area for discussion >What amazes me in hindsight is that we all took these things so fatalistically: >attitudes have changed so radically throughout industry within my lifetime that >it's hard to understand the people we were. > There are probably at least two factors affecting our changing view of mining as a dangerous occupation. Fatalism amongst miners, influenced to a large extent by a religious upbringing which promised eternal salvation, was commonplace up to the 1940s. Safety education also colours our view of the mining industry. Promote a safe working environment and the workforce expect one - if something then goes wrong the impact is all the greater. Another factor would be the reduced subservience of the 'working' classes'. The society which sent millions to their deaths in the trenches in the 1st World War, and expected its energy requirements to be supplied by a mining industry which killed hundreds every year, is long gone. Peter ______________________________________________ Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE. Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 07831 427599 University of Exeter - School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies (Centre for South Western Historical Studies) E-mail: [log in to unmask] Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list. See http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/files/mining-history/ for details. Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/ _____________________________________________