shaft. However, the wind direction at the surface was carrying smoke over it from the drawing shaft, which was pulled down the pumping shaft at increasing velocity due to the fire's heat below. Valuable time was lost in creating a barrier of boards and tarpaulins obtained from neighbouring farmers to prevent much of the smoke from entering the pumping shaft. Below ground, there were around 35 men and boys in the mine, lower than the usual complement of 50, as some had left early. Others had not turned in for work that day. Below ground, the alarm had been raised as soon as the fire was discovered. The men had assembled at the foot of the pumping shaft, awaiting rescue, knowing it was their only means of escape. They had attempted to tackle the fire with water from the pumping engine reserve and buckets, but there was insufficient water and only one bucket. The heat and smoke were overwhelming. Two explosions occurred, one slightly after the fire broke out and a second around a quarter to midnight. None of the men were injured by either of them. A few minutes before four o'clock in the afternoon, beating and thumping were heard from the foot of the pumping shaft, the first indication of survivors. They were unable to signal, as the shaft was rarely, if ever used, except for repair. Raising and lowering men through the pumping shaft posed many hazards. Smoke continued to enter the mine through the shaft with increasing velocity. Water from springs tapped in sinking continued to fall down it in large quantities. The rescuers required immense courage descending into the mine, unaware of the fire's progress or the state of ventilation below. The instrument used for this purpose was a ‘horse’, a triangular piece of wood, raised and lowered by a ‘gin’ and pulley. The men would sit with their feet hanging down, tied or holding on to a rope at its apex. However, there were no means of guiding the 'horse' in its ascent, meaning that rescuers had to be deployed at two staging points in the shaft, one 40 yards from the surface and another about 60 yards from the bottom to prevent it being dashed against obstructions. The horse was successfully lowered by six o'clock in the afternoon, and the first man rescued, Richard Blackburn, was brought to the surface. The miners had waited in darkness for several hours, not knowing the efforts made above ground to affect their rescue. During this period, the fire had continued to progress. The doors across the main tramway were already in flames before the recovery commenced. A state of panic became apparent when the rope was first let down. Ten or more men attempted to cling to it, and valuable time was lost in convincing them to relinquish their grasp. At around 10 o'clock, the wind direction changed, significantly improving the conditions. Difficulties remained in getting lights safely to the bottom because of the quantities of water falling down the sides of the shaft. Eventually, the problem was overcome by using the lamps of police officers, several of whom by then were present. At around 11 p.m., two fire engines and brigades arrived, one from the Sheffield Office and Liverpool and London. However, it was considered too dangerous to throw any quantity of water down the shaft until the men could be got out, and their services were not required. The Secretary of the Sheffield Office had travelled to the incident by cab in advance of the fire engine and offered his cab to convey the injured and survivors. It was not until four o’clock on Friday morning that the last man that could be found alive, George Gee, was brought to the surface. Later that morning, at around 9 or 10 o’clock, the bodies of Naboth Kirkby and Hugh Bird were recovered and placed in the club room of George Booth’s ‘British Oak’. After all those alive had been brought out, the fire engines played water into the upcast shaft until around 8 p.m., at which point they left. A further attempt to recover the bodies was made on Sunday morning, but it proved unsuccessful owing to the heat and smoke at the foot of the downcast shaft. A fan was erected at the top of the shaft