Peerless Powell Duffryn of the South Wales Coalfield by Leslie M. Shore

Powell Duffryn's growth as Britain\u2019s foremost coal company is a remarkable aspect of the nation\u2019s mining heritage. After 1935, Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries employed over 30,000 miners, operated around sixty collieries, and produced nearly forty per cent of the South Wales Coalfield\u2019s output. Sir George Elliot founded Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company in 1864 by raising capital to buy steam coal collieries from the sons of Thomas Powell. PD then mined coal that was the first choice in quality for fuelling steam ships. Sir George ran the company in a style that gave rise to controversy amongst the company\u2019s shareholders. Providently, in 1883 Elliot put Edmund Mills Hann, a County Durham mining engineer, in charge of the company\u2019s collieries. Hann helped steer the company away from the edge of bankruptcy by harnessing engineering to ensure that the company\u2019s collieries in the Cynon and Rhymney Valleys became models of efficiency. Progress was impede.