1-158-971 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Coal mining accident, Tynewydd Colliery, South Wales, April 1877 (c1885). Volunteers digging through an obstruction to rescue colleagues trapped in flooded workings in the Tynewydd Colliery in the Rhondda Valley. They are working by the light of Davy safety lamps. 9 trapped miners were saved, 5 of them after being underground for 9 days, in a difficult and dangerous rescue operation. The drama enthralled the nation, and 25 of the rescuers were awarded the Albert Medal for their efforts, the first time it had been awarded for a rescue operation on land. From Heroes of Britain by Edwin Hodder. (London c1885).