The Seaham Colliery was a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

in County Durham in the North of England. The mine suffered an underground explosion in 1880 which resulted in the deaths of upwards of 160 people, including surface workers and rescuers. Among the dead were 36 non-commissioned officers (NCO)s and men of the

2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps The 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery raised in County Durham by the Vane-Tempest family during an invasion crisis in 1860. It became a permanent part of the Volunteer Force and later ...

, a part-time unit of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

who were recruited from workers at the mine. They had been commanded by the mine's owner, the

Marquess of Londonderry Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...

.Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, , p. 69.

Notes

{{coord, 54.8401, -1.3607, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Coal mines in County Durham 1880 mining disasters 1880 in England Coal mining disasters in England Seaham