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Stephen - you wrote: "... he was in the home guards during the second world war (don't know if he would still be working down the pit at that time)...". It's likely that he continued working down the pit at the same time as being in the Home Guard - my Maternal Grandfather was in a similar situation in County Durham. One of the tasks the Home Guard had was 'guarding' their own pits and linked railway lines. They would finish their shifts, home for a wash in the 'tin bath' and a bite to eat, then down to the local hall for parade and patrol/guard duty.

Good idea, Eggy! Consult the 'oracle'!

@HIGH PIT WILMA - does the name Stephen Miller ring a bell with you?

Hi My great uncle was called Stephen miller 1919 - 1999 from Blyth i know he was a miner in 1939 as the census has his occupation on it and he was in the home guards during the second world war (don't know if he would still be working down the pit at that time) then went back to mining after the war

Canny - I remain unconvinced that loads of women were able to benefit directly from the facilities offered in the Mechanics Institutes even where there was a half-price subscription. I suspect that it was only those with some disposable income who could afford the subs; I’m not sure that the vast majority of ‘working poor’ women fell into this group. I can accept that perhaps those women from the ‘trading classes’ – wives and daughters of the butchers, bakers and candle stick makers were the ones who had the time and resources to access these places. The Institutes in the big cities would have had much bigger populations to draw on so the proportion of women wishing, or able, to use the facilities would have been greater. I can’t see many poor wives and mothers in places like Bedlington, enslaved to the tyranny of the poss tub having the time, energy or resources to join the Institutes. Of course, there would have been exceptions but I can’t see it being widespread. My own maternal Grandmother was an exceptional woman who led an incredible life – I’ve posted her story on the Facebook page of her Co.Durham home village … perhaps I might copy it here to illustrate that Victorian/Edwardian working class drive for self-improvement that we’ve been discussing. What do you think?