大象传媒

My dad , Frank Mallett, was a Bevin Boy during the war, called up to work in the coal mines. However he was born and raised a long way from the nearest coalfield, in Kessingland, a fishing village on the Suffolk coast. When war broke out he was 16 years old and working at a coach builders. This was a reserved occupation. So dad worked there, and joined the local Home Guard.
Being on the East Coast the threat of invasion was very real and close. As a child I remember stories of him being given a grenade launcher (no instructions) which he kept at home. In the event of invasion he would be woken by a soldier from the local camp, then he was to cycle to wake up other members of the Home Guard. Cycling with a grenade launcher was not easy, so eventually it was swapped for a sten gun and 3 rounds of ammunition. He only fired the sten gun once (to see if it worked!) and then only had 2 rounds of ammunition.
Dad was desperate to join the Navy, (and at the age of 82 still resents the fact that he never got to). Eventually in 1943, after many attempts he was released from his reserved occupation. His anticipation of joining up was shortlived however as he was immediately conscripted to work in the pits.
His sister Mary was a school teacher and had been evacuated from Kessingland to Shirebrook, a village in the North Notts coal field. Mary asked around and told dad that Langwith would be a good place to work. So dad requested he be sent there.
Dad never really said what it felt like to be far from home and in such an alien world doing such a horrible job. I do remember as a child walking with him in the fields near Langwith. we stood at the top of a hill and could see for miles in all directions. Dad said he remembered standing in that spot when he first arrived in the area. The fact that he could see so far and stiil not see the sea had brought home to him how far he was from home.

On VJ Day,August 1945, dad met a local girl, Joan Hurton, at a dance. They married in March 1947. This year they celebrated 58 years of marriage and still live in Langwith Junction. Dad worked at Langwith pit until it closed in 1978 and then worked at nearby Warsop pit until he retired in 1983.
Dad suffers from severe pneumoconiosis - his sister commented recently on seeing him struggle for breath that 'Mr Bevin has alot to answer for'.

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