Mine Workers Rescue Group - 1960s

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Photo posted by Davit Twist on the Bygone Bedlington Facebook group.

@HIGH PIT WILMA & @James - David says his dad worked at Choppington 'A' pit and that's him second left back row. he's not sure which pits the others worked at.  Do you two recognise anyone in the photo?

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Hi Alan!,definately Ronnie Twist!..he was a Deputy at the Choppington B pit,while aa worked there from 1959-1965..he might have been at the A pit,when he was younger,as on this pic,but he was in charge of the coal faces along with Eddie Teasdale,who was a Councillor for Bedlington at that time,down in the new Top Busty seam,which had been opened up after drifting doon ti it..at the High Pit.I was on Girder Leading with Keith Cooney,my Marra..and it was a seriously strenuousy difficult dangerous job..

Ronnie and Eddie were two old school Deputies who ruled with an iron fist,and inevitably,us girder lads and the Deputies clashed ,causing a lot of conflict..best left to rest!!

I'll eat grass if that isn't Jimmy Surphlis in the front row Centre..the big lad..Jimmy was  heed and showldaas above me at the high pit ,when a was aboot nineteen years aad!! ..a canny fella and a gud crack!!

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

A shud have said third from the left!!

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

50 minutes ago, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

I'll eat grass if that isn't Jimmy Surphlis in the front row Centre..the big lad..Jimmy was  heed and showldaas above me at the high pit ,when a was aboot nineteen years aad!! ..a canny fella and a gud crack!!

Cheers Bill - names updated and I'll post an updated copy of the photo for David Twist 

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

@HIGH PIT WILMA - I posted your comment and the updated photo for David twist to see. This was his reply :- 

 

[Dave Twist]

Hi HPW,thanks for your comment about my father ,I would love to hear more about your time together at choppington B pit (good and bad) .I know he was badly burnt in an accident before I was born.

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Hi David,life down Choppington B pit [aka "The High Pit"]was really tough..I should have said ROUGH!

I left school aged 15 years in 1959,and followed in my Father's and Brother's footsteps,as a lot of kids did in those days,and went to work down the mines.After preliminary training at Seaton Burn pit,The Coal Board sent me to The High Pit..even though at the interview stage,all the trainees were given two choices as to which pit they wanted to go to..I chose Bedlington A pit..[aka "The Aad Pit"],or as a second choice..Bedlington D Pit ..[aka "The Doctor Pit"]..

My Father went mad when he opened the letter informing me that I was being Posted to the High Pit...HE started down that pit in 1929,aged 14 years old straight from school also.

He told me stories about how it was "Aal rough and ready.."..and how men were being killed or injured on a regular basis..and he was going to see about putting a stop to me being sent there.

Whey,he calmed doon and within a haaf an hoor,said Billy,aa nivvor wanted ye ti gaan doon thi pit ,but ye wadn't listen ti me,ye med ya bed hard,so ye can lie in it!!

SO,a went into the timber yard at first,and also helped out on the screens,picking stones off the conveyor belt,to clean the coal up..then went down the pit at 16 yrs.

By the time I was 17 yrs old,I was on heavy transport and salvage work,doing a really strenuous job,trailing heavy bits of gear like Motors,Gearboxes,Conveyor belt driveheads,200 yard long heavy thick cables for the coalcutters,using  my pit pony and tracing chains.

Ronnie and Eddie were the Deputies in two adjacent coal faces,which were really rough,with roof water teeming in,constantly,bad roof conditions,swalleys of water 100 yards lang and up to the ponies belly..i.e. up to our waist in some places..men WERE getting injured and killed frequently,I have permanent injuries which I never reported and which have affected me my whole life..also the pit horses suffered cruel conditions and were frequently injured or killed,or had to be humanely put to sleep because of serious injuries.

In conditions like this,it is inevitable that tempers were raised sometimes ,and that happened with Ronnie and Eddie at times..they were both in conflict with me and my Marra Keith Cooney..[now deceased R.I.P. Keith].Not just with Dad and Eddie,but other Deputies as well,it was because we were under the charge of Joe Barratt,the Overman,who was in overall charge of the mine underground...including the Deputies,generally.[but when it came to Safety Health and Welfare of the men in the Deputies' charge..the Deputy was the Kingpin!!..Nobody,not even the Manager,nor the Chairman of the Coal Board..were allowed to enter a Deputy's District,until they met the Deputy at the entrance to that district..[i.e."The Kist"].But in practice we went into every district in the pit,cos if we didn't,the pit would close down..we supplied the men on the faces with girders,timber,coalcutters drillers..everything they needed to produce coal!..

SO!...sometimes us girder lads would be trailing girders etc right up to the coal face as close as possible to ease the burden of the faceworkers,and the Deputies would complain that we were "getting in the way of the men"..and would phone and complain to the Owaman..Joe Barratt..

On one occasion,Dad was livid,and spitting blood,so to speak..we were trying to do our job,he was doing his..and we ended up in a confrontation..so when he complained to Joe Barratt,he was told to "Leave my Lads alen..tha daeing wat aa telt them ti dae..ye hae nowt ti dae wi it"..!..Sixty odd years later it seems funny that a row could brew up oot of nowt ,but like a said..in hostile conditions,where everybody's lives were at constant risk,tempers flared,and a lot of shouting went on..but ye see ,David,pitmen fell oot,and a quarter of an hour later,they would have forgotten aal aboot it,they HAD to watch each other's backs for roof falls of stone..Comradeship was second to none doon theor!

We had to jump wor horses OWA fast moving rubber conveyor belts ti get them into other roadways..totally against the law,but we were threatened with "wa cards" if we stopped the belts ti get the horses owa..so horses like my Dapple Grey Charlie,who a bonded with very closely...got so seriously injured,trapped between the moving belt,and the steel structure poles,that he had to be put to sleep by the Vet.I was in tears at 19 yrs of age,and still well up thinking about him..he was as close to me as my LBJ..my black Labrador/Cross who was put to sleep four yrs ago..I miss them both terribly.

SO,David,life wasn't a picnic doon theor,and aa was pleased as hell when they announced that the pit would close in 1966.

Other pits I worked at were rough as well,but nowt like High Pit.

Cheers David,every word I write is purely my own experience and every word is true.

Hope aav given ye an insight how tough it was!

Bill.

p.s. I haven't any knowledge about Dad being burn't..maybe before my time even..

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Hi David ,aa get so wrapped up in my recollections that sometimes I forget to add important details..

Aa wud just like to say that aa never knew ya  Dad was in the rescue team..till a saw your Dad's pic..aav gotta impress ti folks that these lads were a very brave team..they had to endure some gruesome sights throughout wor mining industry nationally..not just locally,and many a family are greatly indebted to the bravery of these fella's who went inti thi mines..sometimes when it was styphed oot [Blackdamp-Carbon Dioxide concentration in poorly ventilated mineworkings],other times after a fire or explosion..facing the deadly dangers of Firedamp..[Methane CH4],and/or Afterdamp..[result of fire or explosion..CO- Carbon Monoxide],whilst it might have been major roof falls where roadways were closed completely,trapping men in danger of injury or suffocation due to lack of Oxygen.

There is a myth that the Rescue Team knew it was time to retreat from the workings when the Team's Canary dropped off the perch dead..even just yesterday,on Radio 2,Jeremy Vine discussing some political topic,used his favourite phrase,which irritates the hell out of me.."Yes,this is like the Canary at the coal face"..he doesn't even knaa wat a coal face looks like!!

The Rescue Teams valued their aan lives,as well of the men they were trying to rescue,and the Canary was taken down the pit,because he would detect a drop in oxygen levels,and noxious gases,way before the Rescuers could detect danger,and he would start to get anxious and chattery,and start flapping about..so if ye think aboot it..wud the Rescue team proceed FURTHER..into a danger zone,wait till their bird drops dead..knowing they had to come oot the roadway the same way they went in,and the airflow direction is one way only!...and by then,Oxygen levels cud be dangerously low or even non-existent..

The Teams had their own Oxygen supply on their backs,but the first stage in situations like that,was to improve the ventilation,to dilute dangerous gases..if there was a Methane blower in the main roadway..the danger was..one spark accidentally generated..could set off an explosion,which usually also set off a self-propagating Coal Dust explosion,which would rip through every roadway in the mine,as it did in the Easington Colliery disaster..ripping through 22 miles of roadways underground..and into several seams..

So a think that the Rescue teams were really unsung heroes,and never got the recognition they truly deserved.

Dave,ye shud be proud of what ya Dad did ,they were the Miner's lifeline in times of disaster.

Cheers Bill.

p.s. ...and the Canary was always brought out to safety after a mission,well looked after by the Rescue team at the Mines Rescue Station,at Ashington top end next to the town hall..they kept the Canaries next ti thi window in their cages so they could get daylight and be used to people and a lot of activity..they could be seen by everybody that passed the station!..bonny healthy birds!

[Dave Twist]

Thank you for such a detailed an interesting story

[Dave Twist]

Hi Bill ,I've just read your post about the high pit,I knew mining was a dangerous job ,but I didn't  realise how bad it really was.Dad never talked about it.Your story of the pony being trapped in a moving conveyor belt was really sad.What I know about the explosion that burnt Dad;my sister was a baby so it must it have been 1945/6 Mam and the other wives gathered at the pit head when Dad was brought out Mam didn't recognise him he was so badly burnt.He was given a cigarette to make him feel better.There was 7 of them and they were taken to a hospital along the tyne valley.they had to have name tags on their beds as they were all covered in bandages.Dad always thought someone on his shift had lit a cigarette

 

 

[Canny lass]

OMG! That is horrendous! There should be a national 'Miner's Day' when we pay homage and give thanks to all miners for their efforts.

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Hi Canny Lass!Long time since we chatted![Health issues with my Wife]

Aye,bonny lass,sadly,not many of us are left noo,apart from the last influx of younger lads before the pits were aal shut doon.[They worked the super pits like Ellington,Westoe,etc..and they had machines ripping coal out at the rate of 1 million tons a year..they didn't realise they were cutting their own throats as well as cutting so much coal]

Us old timers worked in the little tettie pits like the High Pit at Choppington,where we really did risk wor life every day..often we would be travelling through Scotland Gate,upstairs on the Double Decker United No 47 bus,and we could see owa the fields,ti the High Pit's Headgear,and when we saw the cage wheels standing...we knew we would likely be getting a "Bevan"...[meaning a sharp lowse..early finish..]

Sometimes a pit tub full of coal would accidentally override the "Monkey"..[a device on the cage floor which allowed the tubs to roll into the cage,but prevented them from rolling back out..until the Banksmen,or Onsetter at the shaft bottom,pressed a foot operated lever to disengage the Monkey from the tub axles...so allowing the tubs to be rammed out of the cage by pushing two empty ["Chummings"] tubs into the cage.When the tubs came out of the cage halfway up the shaft,travelling at 50 per second ,being wound on coalwork,by the powerful steam winder,the buffers on the tubs used to rip the Buntings and Skeets..[Cage guides running all the way down the shaft,front and back of the cage]...out and render the pit shaft unusable.

Because that only left the "Backshaft" [Men only rode in this shaft.]..and one means of egress from the pit..it contravened the Coal Mines Act regulations,and so any men IN the pit had to be got out quickly,as the pit used to "Stythe" out totally if there was a sudden Barometric Pressure drop.

On such occasions,we had to get dressed in our pit clothes and clock in as normal,then hang around for a while,and if the Engineer made a statement that the shaft would take more than two hours to repair and test for safety,then we were allowed to clock back out,get bathed and go home with a full day's pay.

Well,as a young miner,with other things rather than pitwork on my mind...it was a relief to go back home..one less day to be risking our lives..I tell you,no other mine was ever like the High Pit!!

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Hi David,Dad never talked about his rescue work,well none of them did,and I never knew he had been badly burned..that really was a savage way to be injured..and his thinking about the accident being caused by an illegally lit cigarette,underground,was 99% justified..[at the High Pit that is..if that is where the accident happened..].I never saw anybody smoke in any other pit where I worked..the High Pit was different..I have never smoked in my life,therefore I could,and still can,now,at 79 yrs of age,detect cigarette smoke a mile away.

I remember being threatened by one Deputy underground,when I was about 17 years old,to be reported and sacked by the Manager,if I didn't get off my pit horse's back..[okay it was illegal..and a horse carrying me wasn't suffering..it was safety issues that made it illegal!]...anyway,I got down off the horse,but as I did,I blurted out to the Deputy.."Ye report me ...and aal report ye for sitting there smoking alang wi the coalfillers..ye are risking blowing us all ti pieces..ya mad..!"

He didn't need to reply to me..aal the coalfillers [a dozen of them],said Wilma,ye better f.... off noo the time thi game's gud or else we'll hing ye.."..[hang you]..I quickly went and got on with my work,and they all went inbye to their jobs on the coalface,they had stopped at the halfway point to rest,as all the roadways  going inbye were on a steep rise to the west..the coal seam outcropped over the fields past Hepscot.

Nowt mair was ever said about the incident,and I got on well with that Deputy,he was a real canny sociable fella,who was the spitting image of the old Television Comedian ,Arthur Haynes..if anybody can recall watching his shows in the 1960's!

Choppington High Pit had very poor ventilation,and was really wet throughout the mine..so wet and with never any evidence of Methane being detected,it was considered safe to smoke..the Chief danger down that pit wasn''t Methane,it was Blackdamp..[more correctly known as "Blackdampfe"...from German "Dampfe"= GAS]...and which miners called "Stythe"..or "Styfe"..

it was a dead cert that if the Barometric Pressure dropped sharply..the roadways and faces in the pit would quickly fill up withthis deadly gas,which isn't poisonous,it is Asphyxiating to the exclusion of Oxygen..and therefore men used to just suffocate when the mine got styfed out before they got to bank..[the surface!]...that pit should never have been opened in the first place!!

Hope I haven't gone on too long David..Cheers Marra!

 

[Dave Twist]

Hi Bill ,

Thanks for replying to my request about what life was like at the high pit.Mam and Dad lived at choppington colliery then moved to Bedlington station  were I was born in 1952.

One thing I can remember is that Dad used to cycle from Bedlington to the high pit and on returning he would use the pit head baths at Bedlington A pit .I suppose there were no baths at high pit

The Bedlington miners were horrorfied at the state of him soaking wet and all clarty.

I never fully appreciated what Dad went through to provide for his family.

Thanks again

David

[Canny lass]

On 31/08/2023 at 00:45, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

Hi Canny Lass!Long time since we chatted![Health issues with my Wife]

Don't you forget to make time for yourself! Caring for a loved one can be hard work at times and you need time for rest and relaxation if you're going to cope and keep your health intact.