What was it like working in the Pits?

[Paddy O'Dors]

I worked with elderly people through Shiney Row in the 1980s. Most of the old blokes who were former pitmen had terrible breathing issues, and they were just the ones that managed to reach pensionable age. Many didn't even manage that.

 

[black-cat]

Is that new, or is it just the drift mine you mean?

There is actually a working shaft you can visit at the

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- it actually looks like the underground side is temporarily closed, but the site is worth a visit anyway if you are ever in the area (free entry and can while away a couple of hours eeven without the underground tour) They have a few ex-miners working their who can talk all day long!

Just the drift mine I reckon, as it's not new. The one you walk into and it gets narrower and more cramped the further you get into it

 

[Mousehold Mackem]

According to Google:

In 1970, average weekly cash earnings for National Coal Board (NCB) mineworkers were approximately £23.82. Surface workers earned slightly less than the average, while underground workers earned roughly £29.05. Despite the physically demanding and dangerous nature of the job, these weekly wages were slightly less than the national average for manufacturing industries.The breakdown of weekly wages for 1970 reflects these industry-wide averages:Average All Manual Workers: £23.82 per week.Underground Workers: £29.05 per week.Surface Workers: £24.10 per week.At this time, miners were falling behind the pay rates of other industrial workers. This wage stagnation compared to the rest of the manufacturing sector led to growing industrial unrest. These underlying wage disparities ultimately sparked the major national strikes in 1972, which resulted in the Wilberforce Inquiry recommending significant pay bumps

So in 1970 it paid the equivalent of about £22k a year. Shocking that.

Gold--plated pensions tho. Not.

 

[YorkMackem]

Would you apply for that job today if they were still open?

It seems like really hard work with all the dust and crouching down.

Massive respect to those that did the hard graft.

Get yourself down the shaft at the National Mining Museum in Wakefield. It is well worth a visit.

 

[SPUFF]

Well working in searing heat, covered in dust, no toilets, pitch black with a significant real risk of injury, long term health problems and physically exhausting.

Nothing like Nissan.

I honestly reckon some would choose the pits.

 

[DBStar]

Get yersel to Beamish, they've got an old shaft open there

Yeah even from that it doesn't feel a pleasant working environment in that little test area. My ex-wife's dad worked there for a while. Failed to declare his bad back on his application and was scared to tell them when he was assigned there

 

[JAZZMANB]

According to Google:

In 1970, average weekly cash earnings for National Coal Board (NCB) mineworkers were approximately £23.82. Surface workers earned slightly less than the average, while underground workers earned roughly £29.05. Despite the physically demanding and dangerous nature of the job, these weekly wages were slightly less than the national average for manufacturing industries.The breakdown of weekly wages for 1970 reflects these industry-wide averages:Average All Manual Workers: £23.82 per week.Underground Workers: £29.05 per week.Surface Workers: £24.10 per week.At this time, miners were falling behind the pay rates of other industrial workers. This wage stagnation compared to the rest of the manufacturing sector led to growing industrial unrest. These underlying wage disparities ultimately sparked the major national strikes in 1972, which resulted in the Wilberforce Inquiry recommending significant pay bumps

So in 1970 it paid the equivalent of about £22k a year. Shocking that.

Free coal and subsidised housing though
No idea how much we paid for the pit House .
My dad started 14 . Could read ,couldn't write . Decent option for him

I worked with elderly people through Shiney Row in the 1980s. Most of the old blokes who were former pitmen had terrible breathing issues, and they were just the ones that managed to reach pensionable age. Many didn't even manage that.

All I knew was my Dad coughing up stuff . He smoked too though

 

[YorkMackem]

Put it this way, at 16 I started a 24 year army career, with me fatha's blessing rather than gannin down the pit. There was great camaraderie but little else going for it, although, by then (1979), wages were canny.

Me fatha knew the writing was on the wall re. closures, and he was correct.

 

[tonyfromalnwick]

It must have been tough. My grandad worked down Shilbottle pit, and the day war was declared (1939), he enlisted to get away from it.

 

[vote quimby]

According to Google:

In 1970, average weekly cash earnings for National Coal Board (NCB) mineworkers were approximately £23.82. Surface workers earned slightly less than the average, while underground workers earned roughly £29.05. Despite the physically demanding and dangerous nature of the job, these weekly wages were slightly less than the national average for manufacturing industries.The breakdown of weekly wages for 1970 reflects these industry-wide averages:Average All Manual Workers: £23.82 per week.Underground Workers: £29.05 per week.Surface Workers: £24.10 per week.At this time, miners were falling behind the pay rates of other industrial workers. This wage stagnation compared to the rest of the manufacturing sector led to growing industrial unrest. These underlying wage disparities ultimately sparked the major national strikes in 1972, which resulted in the Wilberforce Inquiry recommending significant pay bumps

So in 1970 it paid the equivalent of about £22k a year. Shocking that.

Thanks mate. Lower than I expected

 

[Jarra Dicka]

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.

It was a mates Dad mate.
I had an application in but never went for the interview and went to the NEEB instead.
My Mates Dad always seemed angry and pi**ed off with life. Later found out he had a few health issues all related to the pit.
Poor Bloke must have been in agony most of the time.

 

[Hendon Mad Frog]

The fatha did Dawdon and the Vane Tempest in Seaham for a couple of decades. Said the work was absolutely shite but the sense of community and bond he had with the lads he worked with was miles better than anywhere else he worked after.

 

[Paddy O'Dors]

Free coal and subsidised housing though
No idea how much we paid for the pit House .
My dad started 14 . Could read ,couldn't write . Decent option for him


All I knew was my Dad coughing up stuff . He smoked too though

There was nee mains gas in Shiney Row until the late 1980s. There was that many people getting free coal it wasn't worth the gas board connecting the area up.

 

[DJP]

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.

This in a nutshell. Well said.

(I worked at Wearmouth for 11 years)

 

[JAZZMANB]

There was nee mains gas in Shiney Row until the late 1980s. There was that many people getting free coal it wasn't worth the gas board connecting the area up.

We had a gas fire in the front room ( posh bit )
Coal range in living room . No heat anywhere else in house . See your breath in the bedrooms in winter

 

[humbug]

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

johnny's cafe was great for lining the stomach before a nightime on the drink after a daytime on the drink for the home games at roker park
dave would regularly fall asleep in the ice cream van outside our street in hh. used to do a cracking trade after the pub shut.

back on topic, my dad worked at horden all his life and from what i remember loved it but he was pleased i got an apprenticeship elsewhere when i left school.
died at 59, i've only got a few months to beat him. i remember being with him when they showed him a picture of his lungs, half of one was a different shade to the rest and he thought that was the knackered bit but it was the other way round. being a proper chainsmoker didn't help either mind.

 

[SPUFF]

Free coal and subsidised housing though
No idea how much we paid for the pit House .
My dad started 14 . Could read ,couldn't write . Decent option for him


All I knew was my Dad coughing up stuff . He smoked too though

My uncle moved to Daw Mill iirc in midlands when Easington close.

Free coke for life.

Never refused a delivery n had a mountain behind his garage

 

[fishboy]

Went done on a school visit...no chance I was ever going to go back down...not for me.