Miner David Anderson of Alva was a drawer at the Furnacebank Pit at the Devon Colliery which belonged to the Alloa Coal Company.

His main job was to take full hutches from the coal face to the top of the wheel brae, and to bring back the empty hutches.

Shortly before one o'clock on Saturday, September 4, 1897, two miners, 38-year-old Robert Nicolson and 32-year-old Peter Crow, were working at the face when Anderson arrived to take a full hutch away.

The hutch was not full at the time, although another miner, 15-year-old Alexander Adamson, was still scooping coal into it, so Crow helped to fill it.

Nicholson continued to work the face while Anderson went to the rise side and began to hew the coal, which was near to where Crow was working.

He was seen cutting out the bottom coal as this would have released the top.

Suddenly the coal burst and it fell. Anderson cried out and both Nicolson and Crow went to see what had happened.

Anderson was under the coal, with part of it resting on his arm.

The seam had collapsed onto him, having fallen outwards and into the space where the coal that had been taken away had been.

The coal had rolled over him after it had struck him.

Nicholson managed to remove it and the pair, along with Crow, went to the pit bottom.

Throughout, Anderson screamed with pain. When he left him about 2 o'clock he was conscious.

A short time afterwards Anderson was brought to the surface so he could go home, but died at 2.20pm at the pit head.

Dr William Love-Cunningham, who had a practice in Alva, was called for, but on his way to the mine, he met a cart taking the body home.

It transpired that Anderson was not supposed to be digging coal as he only had very limited experience of mining.

During the fatal accident inquiry into Anderson's death on October 6, before Sheriff Substitute Tyndall Bruce Johnstone, Adamson stated he saw Anderson shear a bit coal with a pick.

After the incident, he said Anderson complained that the coal had struck him on the lower part of his body. He also stated he went to the pit head with Anderson.

Following the incident, James Fyfe, the manager of the pit, visited it on the Monday and drew a plan of where it had happened. He presented this to the court.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, corresponding with the incident.