Pitmen's Humor

[Damian Robson]

I was going through some old photos and documents belonging by my dad, when I found some funny caricatures drawn on the back of old mine documents. They were probably made by someone my dad worked with down the mine years ago.  I hope the artist can be identified as they are very good. My dad is called David Robson, aka Davey and Mixer. He worked at Netherton Colliery in the late 60’s / 70’s then Bates, Ellington and possibly other pits around the 80’s and 90’s.  The jokes centre around my dad and poke fun at him at work and for other things. I had to photoshop the phallus out of one drawing as it may offend someone. If anyone can shed more light on these drawings then I’d love to hear from them.

Regards,

Damian.

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

@Damian Robson - I wonder if @HIGH PIT WILMA, who worked at Bates, would have known your dad?

If you are on Facebook there is a group - Friends Of Bates Colliery. This is a direct link to the group :- https://www.facebook.com/groups/batescolliery

 

[Damian Robson]

Thank you, the wife uses Facebook so I'll ask her to take a look. I'm sure he worked at Bates Colliery in the 80's, perhaps early 90's then went to Ellington Colliery after that. If other's worked there at the same time, then they would probably know each other.

Damian.

Edited Sunday at 21:21 by Damian Robson

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

On 07/06/2026 at 22:12, Damian Robson said:

Thank you, the wife uses Facebook so I'll ask her to take a look. I'm sure he worked at Bates Colliery in the 80's, perhaps early 90's then went to Ellington Colliery after that. If other's worked there at the same time, then they would probably know each other.

Damian.

@Damian Robson = any luck identifying the artist? 

I could ask around the local FB groups as there are ex miners on the groups. That would mean posting one of the drawings you have posted above. the groups I would check on would be Bygone Bedlington, Bates & Northumberland and Durham Pits.

@HIGH PIT WILMA was at Bates until it closed in 1986.  

Was your dad from Bedlington?

Edited 9 hours ago by Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)

[Damian Robson]

Hi Alan, my dad was born in Guide Post and lived there most of his life. As a family In the late 60’s, we briefly lived in Stakeford, East Hartford and Netherton Colliery village in the early 70’s until demolition, then Guide Post after that. Sadly I can't ask my dad anything about the pictures because he suffers from Dementia and doesn't remember much of anything now. In the drawings there are jokes about his Lada car which I drove after passing my test in June 1988, so the drawings were most likey made during the period he owned the car, which was bought brand new and kept a long time during the 80’s. I know he worked at Ellington Colliery as I remember running him to work, which was quite a while after Bates closed. The more I think about it, the drawings had to have been made while at Bates or Ellington Colliery's. The funny things I remember about the Lada, it was very basic with no power steering, my mother would have difficulty steering it, especially at slow speed as she wasn’t very strong. She would have found it easier driving a tank. Dad coated the whole car with Finnegans Waxoyl, protecting it from the elements. It went through an amazing transformation, once a beautiful brand new red Lada, to a scruffy looking horrible old waxy brown colour, like it hadn't been cleaned for years. People standing at the bus stop outside our house would comment on how much it needed a wash hahah. People took the piss out of me for driving it also. I remember parking the Lada along Station Road in Ashington, there was a shop window with ads in, I was browsing for cars as I wanted one of my own but not a Lada lol. A group of young women who looked like they were out on the lash passed me by. One of them said, "can we come for a drive in your new car handsome?”, I was just too embarrassed to answer. Normally I'm quite witty and can fire back with some cheeky comments, but not on that occassion, I was devastated and too lost for words. At the time there were lots of jokes about Lada's, their drivers and how cheap they were etc. Whoever made the drawings was poking fun at my dad for having a Lada. My dad liked the drawings, otherwise he wouldn't have kepth them.  Alan, feel free to post the pics in any groups you see fit, my aim is to re-discover the history surrounding the drawings and share the past with everyone.

Damian.

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Cheers @Damian Robson - I'll see what I can find out.

I enjoyed reading your post above . At least you dad had a car, mine had a pushbike so we sometimes got a lift on the crossbar.