大象传媒

This contribution to People's War was received by the Action Desk at 大象传媒 Radio Norfolk and submitted to the website by Tracey Gray with the permission and on behalf of Peter Horn:

I left school in Dec 1940 aged fourteen years. I started work as an ironmonger鈥檚 errand boy in Boston, Lincs. I then went to work as a baker鈥檚 rounds man. On Jan 8th 1945 I was conscripted into the mining industry. I did four weeks training at Creswell Coll, in Derbyshire. I was then posted to Bilsthorpe Coll, Notts. I worked as an haulage hand. I then progressed as a fitters mate. In 1948 I went to work at Mansfield Coll, as it was nearer home, again as an haulage hand. From there I went as coal face worker filling coal onto a conveyor. I did this for about three years. I then applied to study to become a shot firer, which meant I had to attend night school one night in my own time (per week). I got my shot firing certificate, then carried on for my deputy鈥檚 certificate. I eventually got my own district. There were forty men working on coal, all hand filled, with which I had charge of. All the seams in the colliery where eventually cut and filled out by machines called trepaners, German made. The coal was filled onto panzers, an endless chain conveyor. I stayed in industry until 1971 when I left to take over a public house in Lincoln. I never received any notification from the government when I had served my time as a Bevin Boy.

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