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What was it like working in the Pits?


I only knew a few that worked underground but every one of them said that they wouldn’t want it for their children.

Most of the lads from my neighborhood went into the Heavy End of the Steelworks and those that are left are coming close to retirement.

I’ve always thought that this is a beautiful, maybe romanticised look at mining in Wales by Richard Burton.

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When I left school in the late 70s my mates Dad told me that the pits wouldnt be going in 10 years time.
He`d been at Westoe for years and hated it but it was all he knew.
Oddly enough, both his sons joined the NCB and were based at Westoe as well.
 
I’d have asked my grandad but he had difficulty talking, what with the cancer, tuberculosis and pneumoconiosis raging though his body whilst it trembled as he slowly died.
 
Bluebird of Happines said:
I only knew a few that worked underground but every one of them said that they wouldn’t want it for their children.

Most of the lads from my neighborhood went into the Heavy End of the Steelworks and those that are left are coming close to retirement.

I’ve always thought that this is a beautiful, maybe romanticised look at mining in Wales by Richard Burton.

You must be logged on to see media items
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Beautifully told, but on balance I think I'd prefer being a millionaire actor pretending to be a Roman all day and bucking a young Elizabeth Taylor all night.
 
spitfire said:
It really wasn’t that bad. Main roadways had plenty of height. You rode to the face on a conveyor belt or a loco even. Okay there was no lighting, bogs or running water, but that just made you more self sufficient in yourself. You learned teamwork and you all had a role to play to make everything work. Any shyness you had was soon dispelled. You made mates for life. The craic was great and the pisstaking relentless. Those of us who learned trades down there really benefited when we left the industry. Yes it could be noisy and dirty at times but it could also be very serene at times. Turn your cap lamp off and see what true darkness is like. I always said that when I started I went from having one dad to having many. Great times and helped shape me to be the adult I became.
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That last sentence isn’t the thumbs up to the Coal Industry you think it is.😉😂
 
riffraff said:
That last sentence isn’t the thumbs up to the Coal Industry you think it is.😉😂
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You are not wrong there😄😄

BiG said:
I’d have asked my grandad but he had difficulty talking, what with the cancer, tuberculosis and pneumoconiosis raging though his body whilst it trembled as he slowly died.
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It wasnt without risk, however from when I joined in the late 70s these diseases associated with mining were very much on the wane. Conditions had improved so much compared to what went before. The H&S act had come into being in 1974 and whilst the mines were basically covered by the mines and quarries act, the “new” H&S at work act also played a part in getting more improved conditions for the miners. My grandad died with Pneumoconiosis too. Modern mines were well ventilated in comparison to conditions many years previous. More dust suppression was employed on the faces where the cutting of coal was happening. The old hewer never had that and had a lot worse time of it than we did, hence why mining diseases were much more prevalent before that. Silicosis was another risk. The last of us who worked the mines in the north east are now in our 60s, 70s and above, and not many of us are suffering from any of those diseases that I am aware of.
 
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SydneyFan said:
I think the OP is talking more 70s 80s rather than 1912. :lol:
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Me Granda was a coal miner all his working life, not quite that far back but not far behind. I used to work in cellar's and get really pissed off at working conditions at times, opened up my eyes when I saw the types of thing my old Granda might have had to put up with. Didn't quite feel as bad stuffed into a cramped cellar after that

Gennaro Savastano said:
They've got a 60s village there now man. Being from Ryhope it was like visiting the future.
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John's Cafe that's there was where I grew up when it was a real place. My Granda (mentioned above) went to school with John, the owner (it was John's fatha owned it first). Great to see it in Beamish but a real shame places like that don't exist in the villages any more. My Granda grew up in there, my Ma did, and then my generation did too. They did a great job with it like, it has to be said. It's not quite identical to how it was, but it's not far away in terms of looks. You even get served the coffee's in the same mugs :)
 
Jarra Dicka said:
When I left school in the late 70s my mates Dad told me that the pits wouldnt be going in 10 years time.
He`d been at Westoe for years and hated it but it was all he knew.
Oddly enough, both his sons joined the NCB and were based at Westoe as well.
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That’s weird as it was sold to us as a job for life when I joined at a similar time, especially if you worked in one of the bigger coastal super pits like westoe , wearmouth, Dawdon and Easington etc. of course it didn’t work out that way at all. Your dad was very astute.
 
Black Gold, written by Jeremy Paxman, is a good book that walks you through the history of coal mining, with a lot of it North East based.

It's an eye opener and has a fair bit of local history included.
 
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My Dad hated it. My Dad said to me once when I was 17, if the pits were still open he’d never force me and my brother to work down them, and also try to sway me if I considering it.

Started when he was 15 years old. He wanted to join the Army, but my Grandma forbid it and made him go down the pit.

He started his training at Kimblesworth Colliery, before moving Langley Park pit. His first job there was looking after the pit ponies, before moving onto the pit seams.

My Mam told me a few years ago, after they were married, he’d be having nightmares every night, around about 1975 I think, she managed to convince him to leave the pits behind and get a job in factory instead.

Even now, (he’s 84) he cannot any watch any tv show or film where somebody is exploring a cave, or where a cage lift is descending into darkness :(

My uncles and grandfather, great grandfather etc were all pit men.

My Dad’s brother moved to Stoke to get work in pit down there, sadly he died in 2000 from emphysema and COPD. One of my cousins at first was looking at a career as a footballer he changed his mind after deciding he was bored with football (had a trial lined up with Stoke FC), my Uncle signed him on to work down pit with him, cousin decided to join the police instead :lol:
 
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Lived in a coal mining village in Yorkshire early 60s. Dad granddad and uncles all miners,99% of the men worked down the pit.
Dad crawled in a tiny mine shaft digging for coal. No toilet facilities.
He took a metal snap tin with him (you call it bait) used to share his snap with the rats in the shafts. They chewed tobacco which helped them spit I believe.
Three shifts mornings afternoons and nights. All developed breathing problems and all died aged 70ish. Hard lives but the camaraderie helped.
 
The wife's family male all worked down the pit her brother was the first not too her dad made sure he didn't, I went down muton just before it closed 1 and only time pleased I didn't go down , my dad told me that the shipyards had no future and to look for work that was not tied to the yards when a had the chance of a job as a burner.
 
spitfire said:
For us tradesman life was very canny. You need to appreciate this was the modern mechanised coal industry and the days of the hewer with his pickaxe were a thing of the past. The NCB had great apprenticeships. I won’t go into the politics of what happened in 84/85 as that should be for another thread, but what an adventure those 12 months were. I refer to it as my gap year. As a 21 year old lad looking for an adventure, I certainly found it.
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Friendships and stories to bring a smile and take to the grave. Definitely a few over a few pints to still laugh about.
Fortunately looking back, leaving school at 16 it worked out for me.
I guess you had some decent role models early on in life, I definitely did and their advice to pay into pensions and get on the property ladder early I cannot thank them enough.
Credit you for getting into an apprenticeship as well mate.👍


On a side note a Spitfire flew over our house only last week. That purr of the engine gets me everytime. Soft old bastard 🤣🍺
 
contrarian said:
Seems to be this exaggerated mythology and yearning for the ‘good old days’ of working in the shipyards or the mines.
My dad, his brother and their father worked the yards all their life
My brother in law’s dad as well as lot of my mates worked the pits
They all said it was , apart from a couple of years in the golden era of union strength and solidarity, dirty, boring hard work and in Winter, even worse
The camaraderie and craic ( mainly gallows humor) was one of the main things most missed when darling of the black shirts Thatcher closed both industries down.
It’s like those who yearn for a return to standing on terraces at footy but who only really know what they see in old footage
It’s reminiscing through rose tinted specs and harsh dark realities are conveniently forgotten about
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My Dad ,brother, brother in law and uncle were miners . My brother and best mate worked at the yards . Its all they knew ,I heard plenty stories but not a lot of moaning. It was work. You did it ,got paid and tried to enjoy your down time . Bit like a tough upbringing ,you know no different .
 
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