b. ? d. ?
DATE OF EM ACTION: 24/10/1922 Hickleton Main Colliery, Thurnscoe, Rotherham, Yorkshire.
Little is known about Henry Aspinall, a Deputy at Hickleton Main Mine in Yorkshire other than the incident he was involved in on 24th October 1922.
EM CITATION:
On the evening of 24th October, 1922, a miner named Bridges was removing timber in the Hickleton Main Mine, near Thurnscoe, Yorkshire, when a fall of roof occurred which completely buried him. His workmates, Dawson and Mason, heard the fall, and immediately proceeded to his assistance. They at once sent for Aspinall, the deputy in charge of the district, and for Parkin, the undermanager. They succeeded in clearing the debris from Bridges’ head, thus preventing his being suffocated, but further falls of roof continued to occur, and rendered the work of rescue very difficult, as the rescuers themselves ran great risk of being buried. The rescue party worked continuously throughout the night, sometimes shielding Bridges from the falling stones with their own bodies, and finally succeeded in freeing him after more than sixteen hours’ work, though he unfortunately died from the shock some hours later. All the men concerned in the rescue were working in very adverse conditions, and they displayed fortitude and courage of a very high order.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
