大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Rebecca Hood of the People's War Team in Wales on behalf of Bert Mitchell and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The story was gathered at a meeting of the Bevin Boys Association held near Cardiff in May 2005.

I was called up for the Navy originally and my friends were going in the services and on the great day when the postman was coming round with the envelopes to the door there was 鈥渞eport to the coal mines鈥� which was a bitter blow when you saw all your friends going in the services. Anyway I went, much against my better judgement. The conditions were diabolical I dreaded it from the moment I went there I just couldn鈥檛 get attached to it at all. I actually hated it.

The conditions, crawling along two or three miles to the coal face to work鈥lus the fact that the people weren鈥檛 very kindly to us because they seemed to think that we were doing what their sons ought to be doing. And eventually it came to such a stage that I had an accident underground鈥 was taken to hospital with a broken foot. I was told then when I come out of hospital afterwards to report back to work on the Monday, which I told them I couldn鈥檛 do鈥o I left 鈥� I went back to my home town and eventually I was sent to prison.

The agreement was that if you didn鈥檛 work in the pits you would have to go to prison鈥o I had a choice of going back to the coal mine or go to prison 鈥� and I chose the prison.

I was sent to Horfield prison and did a month in prison 鈥� diabolical conditions, clogs, socks short trousers it was more or less a month of solitary confinement. And when I came out I was told that I would have to go back鈥ut three weeks later my papers came for me to go into the army which I went and as an when the war ended I stayed on 鈥�.I did ten years in all and came out as a staff sergeant 鈥� which is what I鈥檇 wanted to do in the first place.

To me it was diabolical鈥 know Mr Bevin planned it鈥ut it was a killer. It was ridiculous鈥ou had no choice 鈥hatever the last digit was of the number that came out for you ..if it was the one in ten then you had to go. You had no choice. You couldn鈥檛 say well I鈥檇 like to go鈥�.and even when I went in front of the judge she said to me and several of my friends 鈥� we all done the same thing 鈥� and she said 鈥淚n theory you could be tried for treason in a sense 鈥� but because you鈥檙e not refusing to do a service, all you鈥檙e objecting to is the type of service they鈥檝e put you in. So you鈥檝e either got to do as we tell you, or you go to prison.鈥�

I still feel bitter about it now鈥� I feel sorry for all those who went down there. There was no sense - you had people going down there who had never seen a lump of coal in their lives and you had people in the army wanting to go back to work in the pits and they wouldn鈥檛 let them go back but they sent us down there. It was an experience which I will never forget鈥ut whatever a miner earns, especially in those days, he earned every halfpenny.

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