大象传媒

I will never forget the day my mum gave me the letter telling me I had been directed to work in the coal mines by the Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin in February 1944. I said 'I'm not going down there' but when my Dad came home from work and read the letter he said 'you have got to go or the alternative is prison!'

Fifty-thousand of us had to go on a month's training in Creswell Colliery, in order to get you use to the cage, my colliery was Huchnell. No pit had showers, I went home filthy dirty on the bus. I was billeted at a place called Sutton in Ashfield. My job was uncoupling 15 to 20 tubs, then pushing them up to the loader end to be filled with coal. I distinctly remember saying to myself 'I'm not doing this anymore' and went home at about 3pm.

The very next day before going underground, the Deputy, with the overman said 'you don't go home until the coal face is clear', I told him that 'I am not doing this job anymore!'
I remember very well, walking away from the pit bottom and then sitting along side the Canaries. Not long after, the Deputy came up and shouted at me 'GET THESE ON !' and then threw me a pair of kneepads and a shovel and told me to come with him.
The roof was getting lower and I was soon on my knees, coal face three foot six.
I was very proud to be working alongside these very brave men, the miners.

One day, when 15 to 20 tubs had been filled with coal, the cable broke and brought the roof down, we could not get out.
When they made contact with the surface to tell them what had happened, the Deputy was told to get us out through the new workings.
We managed to get out okay but we had to swim most of the way out, there was so much water which was very frightening as the water came up to our face.
I was promoted to work on the loader end, but I was soon injured because of a faulty belt, and it was impossible to stop the coal falling on top of me.
I was taken into the miners wing at Mansfield Hospital and from there I was discharged from the mines aproximately January 1945.

I met Eric Morecombe, (then Eric Bartolomew), who was also working in the mines, in the miners club, he was working in another pit which I believe was Gelding.
I met him again when he was entertaining, and I kept in touch with his widow after his death. I am still in touch with Alfie Larkins, a colleague who lives in Norwich.
Approximately three months after my discharge from the mines I was conserifted into the army.
Thereby hangs another story which 大象传媒 television are already working on.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.