Springhill Mine Disaster of 1956

Springhill Mine - 1956

As with many historical events in Nova Scotia, my family was deeply affected by the Springhill Mine Disaster of 1956.  Three cousins were among the men who died on that cold November 1st.

George Thomas Ward

George (or Jack as he was often called) glanced up at the weak steel-grey November afternoon sky, pushing his miner's helmet to the back of his head, the lamp facing upward, and tucked his lunch under his arm.  The news on the radio today was pretty grim with stories about the battle over the Suez Canal and the invasion of Hungary by the Russians.  He breathed in the damp, cold air, waved to the neighbour lady,  and headed off to his afternoon shift at Number 4 Colliery.

Springhill Miners

Born in 1909 in Springhill, George had gone to work in the mines in 1949 as a hoist operator and was well respected by the men as one you could depend on. His mother, Phebe Ann Cook was a member of both the prolific Cook and Campbell families of Colchester County, Nova Scotia and George was my 6th cousin.

At 5:07 that evening, a mine train carrying fine coal dust derailed and hit a power line causing a massive explosion that shook the town of Springhill and sent the inhabitants running towards the mine to see what had happened.  Within a few hours the place became a bedlam of doctors, ambulances, police, Red Cross volunteers and hundreds of dragermen (mine rescue specialists) from other mines nearby.  For the first time in history, the story was covered - live on CBC and was followed by people across Canada.

In the end, 88 men were rescued from Colliery Number 4 and 39 lost their lives - among them George Thomas Ward - whose body was the final one brought to the surface before the mine was sealed off, leaving 26 men below.

Benjamin Herbert McLellan

Ben and his wife Rhoda Wilson lived in Springhill, and at the age of 50, he was beginning to feel the effects of a life underground.  He had four teenage children at home - 3 boys and a girl and was an active participant in the day to day life in the town.  He was my fourth cousin, twice removed and also my fifth cousin, once removed - being descended from William Nicholson on one side, and Joseph McLellan on the other.  The family originated in the Five Islands area of Colchester County, but Ben's father, Thomas had moved the family to a farm near Springhill when he was a young man.

On the evening of November 1st, Ben was working near the site of the mine railway when the explosion happened.  He was killed instantly.  A correspondant, Joanne Finlay sent me these lyrics from a song about the event:

In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia

Down in the dark of the Cumberland Mine

there's blood on the coal and the miners lie

In the roads that never saw sun nor sky (2x)

In the town of Springhill, you don't sleep easy

Often the earth will tremble and roll

When the earth is restless, miners die

Bone and blood is the price of coal

Benjamin Herbert McLellan was buried in the Mapleton Cemetery.

David Henry Vance

Springhill Miners Monument

David had just celebrated his 20th birthday earlier in 1956 and had been working at Colliery No. 4 since he left high school 2 years before.  He had big dreams of going west and working in the oil fields and finding the right girl to settle down with.  He was my 5th cousin, once removed being descended from the original David Vance who came from Northern Ireland to settle in Great Village.  His great grandfather, John McLaughlin Vance had moved his family to Springhill in search of opportunities in the mines as the Acadia Mines in Colchester County became depleted.

David Henry Vance was working on the mine railway at the time of the accident and took the full brunt of the explosion.  His body was recovered and buried at Leamington.