大象传媒

I was conscripted into the pit when I was eighteen years of age and I had to do various jobs i.e. pony driving, running the rope which means coupling and uncoupling the tubs of stone and coal, to be taken to the surface.
It was dirty, dangerous work, as there were steel ropes lashing about around us all the time and it was easy to get trapped between the tubs, also, the tubs full of stone and coal were always coming off the railway lines and sinking into the mud which was always there, sometimes as deep as our anxles, so, we had to then lift them back on to the track by sheer brute force. Whilst working, we had to carry lamps, as there were no lights away from the main roadways below ground, so these lights were essential for us to be able to work, but the lamps we carried hung on our trouser belt and they got in the way when we worked, as they swung round and hit our legs, restricting our movement. The new cap lamps were a prize, as they were so easy to use, but one could not get one as they were like gold, so if one wasn't a creeper round the Overman ( the boss ) one had to put up with the belt lamp, which made work so much harder.

Sometimes, the ropes broke and we had to call for the rope splicers, who would join the two ends together by using special tools with which they were able to twist around the rope and by going round and round they could tuck the ends of the broken roped in and when they had finished, the rope was stronger than it was originaly.

Where I worked was called the North West Board and it was sloped at an angle of about one in seven, also, it rained all the time twentyfour hours a day and we had to wear waterproof clothing whilst at work, or we should have been soaking wet.
As well as the mud and rain, we had to cope with ventilation doors and air bags, about thirty inches in diameter, which directed fresh air around the various headings or roadways, the doors only opened one way and there were frequent accidents when the tubs ran away and smashed the doors to smithereens, which had to be replaced straight away, as otherwise the air would have become stale and poisonous to breathe.

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