johndawsonjune1955

Interesting newspaper article on the death of T J Smith, the undertaker who buried EWD. Another piece of history on EWD

There are many reports on women and mining in a new book just published. Will find the link for the forum members soon.

Patience Kershaw, aged 17, to the Children's Employment Commission, 1842 I hurry the corves a mile and more underground and back; they weigh 3 cwt* ... the getters that I work for are naked except for their caps, sometimes they beat me - if I am not quick enough.

Betty Harris, aged 37, drawer in a coal mine, to the Royal Commission on Mines, 1842 I have a belt round my waist, and a chain passing between my legs, and I go on my hands and feet. The road is very steep, and we have to hold by a rope; and where there is no rope, by anything we can catch hold of. ... I am not as strong as I was, and cannot stand the work as well as I used to. I have drawn till I have had the skin off me; belt and chain is worse when we are in the family way. Children's Employment Commission, 1842 I found at one of the side-boards down a narrow passage a girl of fourteen years of age, in boy's clothes, picking down the coal with the regular pick used by the men. She was half sitting, half lying, at her work, and said she found it tired her very much, and 'of course she didn't like it'. The place where she was at work was not two feet high... In great numbers of the coal-pits in this district the men work in a state of perfect nakedness, and are in this state assisted in their labour by females of all ages, from girls of six years old to women of twenty-one... although this employment scarcely deserves the name of labour [trapping], yet, as the children engaged in it are commonly excluded from light and are always without companions, it would, were it not for the passing and re-passing of the coal carriages, amount to solitary confinement of the worst order.

The 1842 Royal Commission into the Employment of Children in Mines found that children as young as five or six were working full days in some mines. They were mainly employed as trappers or door-keepers. This job involved opening doors so that the trucks carrying the coal through the mine could pass through and then making sure they closed behind them. It was essential that this was done so that the mine remained properly ventilated. Although not physically hard, the work was boring and was often done in complete darkness. As the children grew older they were sometimes moved on to opening the barrow-ways (larger openings designed to allow larger trucks and sometimes ponies through) before starting work actually moving the coal. The Commissioners were deeply shocked by what children were asked to do in the mines. They found that girls as well as boys were expected to haul and push trucks weighing up to 200 kilos through the mine, work which caused deformities and long-term injuries. In response to the findings of the Royal Commission, Parliament passed the Coal Mines Act of 1842. This banned all women and children under the age of ten from working underground and prevented anyone under the age of 15 from working the winding machinery. Although children could still be employed above ground, the Mines Act was at least a start in offering them some protection. Despite the terrible working conditions, few children complained about having to work. Most recognised that the few pence that they earned each day helped their families survive. However, it also meant that they missed out on the already limited opportunity to gain some education and were given very little chance to play as children today do.

Keith that pic from creeful is of women in the Wigan district. Got that and many more like it from Wigan M8.

Thanks for that Maggie.

Maggie. This is indeed a great piece of historic information. wonder what i can find out about him ?

Eileen, this is Jim Purdy and in uniform. Hope this is a big help for you with your family tree. I know i have other information too. Promise to sort it out soon, dont hesitate to remind me as i sometimes miss posts and respond weeks later.

Eileen i will post what i have for you. Just put a few up what you have seen and i know that what i say is correct. Spent my life on history and local history since 14 years old now 58 and it is really nice to help people. I do my best, and Maggie likes what i do too. What an insight she has too on local history. Its with people like her that makes this forum so interesting. I just visit here as it is interesting too as regarding of what you know you still learn from people like yourself and Maggie. The forum members really give an insight into the past. We can only learn from everyones experiences in life. Sadly not all is recorded, but this forum does and that is why i love to visit it. I would like to take this oppertunity to thank everyone who is involved on history hollow a big thank you, and this just shows how important it is to record our life experiences and those of our families.A big thank you to you all, and also to Keith for his memories, hard as they were to talk about, with the loss of his father in the coal mining topic. Just shows us all that we all take note and i am sure everyone knows i do. Take care and thanks Eileen and everyone else, if i can help or indeed the group let me know. I am going to ask other group members to get involved, its not just about the Sixtownships group but here as well, so i can say look out for new members very soon. I will be asking them to get on here and give input for all the members on here. You all make this an experience to enjoy, and it really helps me when i am unwell, it keeps me going.

That bomb i talked about. They searched and could not find anything. However, when they came to taking the hay in they came across it and it was made safe.

i also know that Jim Purdy saw the German aeroplane crash during WW2 beside the brickworks. Its bomb that was left was in the field just up from Earth Ballance. The bodies of the Germans were taken to Bedlington and kept in Tallytyres paints outbuilding. Will look for pics for you later. I know i have a pic of Jim Purdy in uniform and another with his brother, Bill as kids too.

Heres a one for you all who know the Lattys This is Bob and his family taken at Hirst Head Farm, Bedlington. Sorry no date Hope it is of interest to you.

Eileen, this is Mr and Mrs Purdy. Not sure where it was taken or date.

Lovely photograph Maggie. Isnt it good that we can also learn so much from headstones from many years ago. ?I used to go to old churches just to read them.

The storry is interesting. They were originally Laffertys. They left Ireland and changed their name for some strange reason to Lavery. Ian Lavery the MP is my half cousin and his dad and mine were full cousins. There are family in Newcastle upon Tyne too, who i recently met about 2 years ago. She traced me and i got the family tree from her too. Last time she saw me i was sitting on her knee at my grandmas as my grandma was a Lavery until she married my grandfather Tom Dawson. He was gassed in the Battle of the Somme.

Thats great. The story of George as a POW is so sad and gives an insight into what went on in them camps.Eileen, was George's parents caretakers for the school at Bedlington Station ? I got a lot of pictures too if it is them. Did you know that Grorge also used to padlock his bedroom drawers as to keep his belongings safe, after he returned as a POW ? Just shows you the effect it had on them. Another man from our area was Charlie Dick. He was the tattooist and moved from Alnick, to Bedlington then Blyth. Now he was a master forger and forged the documents for escapees . He told me that on one occastion they got word that the Gestapo were to raid them and they had just finished destroying everything by burning them, when the Gestapo arrived. Can you imagine what would have happened to them for that ? They also had their radio reciever and it was hidden, and never ever found. How important that was. BTW. Got my first tatoo done of Charlie Dick and kept in touch with him for many years. The stories he told me i could write a book. Maybe i will when and if i get better from this illness. But the stories are out there and i have recorded a vast ammount. Lets know on the family connection, and the Lattys, i believe i have info on them too, and will check them out in the future Thanks Eileen

Never come across this find at all. The only ones i know of are the coffin at the Millfield and the bronze age axe head from Bebside. Will ask some contacts.

At Guide Post, West Avenue, we had a three bedroom house. Coal fire upstairs too in the master bedroom. Me Dad used to carry the lighted coal up there when me mam was bad. In the winter the frost was inside the windows. Bloody cold with single glaze windows.

This was compiled early in coal mining in the Northumberland coalfield. Its interesting to refer too. What do the members think ? baff weekend - then fortnightly pays were the custom, the baff week was when there was no pay. bait - a packed meal. baitpoke - a bag to carry the meal in. bait time - a stop for a meal. bank - the surface. barney's bull - anything broken beyond repair was said to be like barney's bull b------d. bat - to strike a blow with the fi3t or a hammer. blogged up - a pipe stopped up with dirt. bonny gan on - serious trouble. bord - a working place in the pit. brat - a black inferior sort of coal. bray - to beat or punish. "you cannot bray him back with a mell" (large hammer) described a pushing inquisitive person. bump the set - anyone taking unnecessary risks was described as "he'll bump the set some of these times". a set is a number of tubs or trucks pulled along by a rope from a fixed engine. canch - the stone below the thill or floor of a narrow coal seam that has to be removed as coal-getting proceeds. cankery water - impure, poisonous water, red in colour. cant - anything leaning over is said to be "on the cant". carvinarce - a smooth backed fossil easily dislodged. catheid - a nodule of iron ore found in coal seams. cavil - a working place in the mine selected by a draw. cavilling-day - the day the draw takes place. chinglees - pieces of coal the size of a marble. clacks - pump valves. clag - to stick. clarts - mud. cogley - unsteady. coin - to turn from the straight. corve - a wicker basket used in coal mines prior to the tub era. cow - a device attached to the back of a set of tubs to prevent them running back if the rope breaks. crab - a winch used in sinking operations. dab-hand - a capable or efficient worker. dad - to hit as, "i'll dad the lug". daddin - to beat the dirt out of pit clothes. deputy - an underground official. deputy's-end - the easy or lightest part of the work. deputy's kist - the box in which he keeps his tools. devil - a device for detatching the rope from a set of tubs whilst in motion. dogs - nails for fastening down tram rails. dollyshutting - blasting down coal without undercutting. dreg - a wood or iron stave put between the spokes of a tub wheel to prevent it from turning thereby retarding its progress. duds - clothes. dunched - to run into with force as "tubs dunching". ettle - to arrange beforehand. nb# fairly - steady. fash - trouble. fast jenkin : a bordway driven in the middle of a pillar. femmer - weak or delicate. fernenst - opposite to. fettle - to repair or mend. fizzle - a faint crackling noise caused by gas escaping from the strata. fizzled out - the end. flacker - to flinch or turn back. flackered - finished, unable to do any more. flayed - frightened. flusher - a squip that fails to do its work. forbye - besides. for-fairs - no trickery or underhand work. fullick - a blow with great force. fullen - full tub. gar - to make or force anyone to do something. get-thi-blaw - to rest, to regain the breath. gis-a-low - give me a light. glinters - curved sails to guide a rope on to a sheeve. graithe - to make ready or repair. grove - a space in a seam from which coal has been taken. hacky - dirty or filthy. hedgehog - if a strand of a wire rope works loose and gets fast, it coils in a mass of wire on the rope. this is a hedgehog on the rope. hinny - a term of endearment. hitch - a fault in the strata. hoggers - shorts miners wear in the pit. howk - to dig or scoup out, or punish. hoy - to throw. hunkers - the buttocks. a favourite posture of pitmen is sitting on their hunkers. inbye - to go from the shaft bottom into the workings insence - to make someone understand - "insence it into him". jealoused - anticipated, something would happen. joley - shakey, unsteady. jowl - to test the roof in a coal seam by tapping it with the end of a stick, also a threat as "al jowl tha". keeker : surface foreman who deals with the coal. kenner - the end of the shift. kep - to catch. kep-clack - the foot valve in a pump suction pipe. keps - props on which the cage rests at bank while the tubs are being changed. ket - filth or rubbish. kibble - a large iron bucket used in sinking operations, also a small low tub with open end. kink - a twist in a coil of rope that would damage it if pulled tight. kip - the highest point on the rollyway where the tubs are detatched. laid outs - if a tub of coal contains more than a certain amount of stone it is confiscated, the stones and the hewer's token numbers are laid out for inspection. limmers - wood shafts with an iron bow and a catdh to clip on to a coal tub carried on the harness of a pit pony. marra - when two men work together each calls the other his marra, meaning equal. mell - a large wood or iron hammer. met - a measurement marked on a stick. midgey - open fronted naked flame lantern. mizzled-off - gone away. nigh-hand-gannen - a shorter way. onsetter - the man in charge of the cage at the shaft bottom. outbye - travelling from the face to the shaft. plote - pluck or bring down. plunger - the piston in the water end of a pump. powder-reek - smoke caused by firing a short in the pit. progley - prickly. rammel - stone that gets mixed with the coal in the pit. rid - to clear out or tidy up a place. rising main - the pump delivery pipes in a shaft. rive - to tear. rolleyway - engine plane. roven - torn. scapipen - getting coal without blasting. scrush - crush. scumfish - to suffocate. shine a low - shine a light. skeets - guides for the cages in a pit shaft. slush hewer - a hard working coal hewer. smart-money - compensation. snore holes - holes in the strainer that make a snoring noise when the sump is drained. spangued out - a prop forced out by pressure. spelk : a splinter of wood that has stuck into the skin, also a small person. spigot and faucet - a type of pipe joint. spiting - storing up loose stone after a place has closed to make a way through. sprag - a wood or iron stave put between the spokes of a pit tub wheel to retard its progress. stowbord - an old working place into which refuse is put. strum - the strainer on the end of a pump suction pipe. stub and feathers - the stub is a wedge driven in between two tapered wedges in a bore hole to break down stone. stythe - bad air. sump - at the bottom of the shaft, a standage for water. swapes - tub rails bent to go round a turn. swalley - a dip or hollow on a roadway. tageing - a hard fatiguing time or job. tarry towt - a tarry rope. tewed - fatigued as "it's been a tewing job". tokens : pitmen's tallies. tommy hack - a combined hammer and chisel ended pick used by rolleywaymen. tuemmen : empty tub. usually pronounced chummum. varney - very near. viewer - obsolete term for an underground official. wedger : anything large or outsize. weeken - lamp wick. whimsey - a turntable from which a rope is uncoiled. yard-wand - deputy' s stick measuring one yard. yebbel - able.

The following list of words gives an explanation of some common terms used by the mining communities in the North East of England. Just thought i would break our twang down for Coal mining B Bait - A packed meal. I am also told that "Snap" was used for bait too. I have heard this but not sure if its from the North East. Maybe L.R or others can confirm either way. M,y uncle Bart used this term and worked at the Choppington High Pit and Pegswood. Bank - The surface or above ground. Brattice - Screens used to direct currents of air in the mine. Buzzer - Electrical signalling or warning device. C Cage - Lift in which men travelled down the mine-shaft. Canch - Stone that is above or below a seam of coal that has to be removed to get at the coal. Cavil - A working area which has been drawn for by lots. Chummins - An empty tub. Clarts - Sticky mud. Cracket - Small stool used by miners to rest on when hewing coal. D Dad - To beat the coal dust and dirt from work clothes. Deputy - An underground official responsible for the management and safety of a district in the pit. Dreg - A wooden or metal stick put between the spokes of a wheel to act as a brake. F Femmer - Very delicate. G Galloway or Gallower - A small horse or pit pony. H Hand Putter - A man who puts or pushes the full tubs from the hewer to the onsetter. Hewer - A miner who actually cuts the coal. Hoggers - Shorts worn by miners underground. Horse-keeper - A man who looks after the pit ponies underground. Hoy - To throw. Hunkers or hunkering - Sitting on the backs of your legs and heels. I In-bye - Travelling from the shaft bottom into the mine workings K Keps - A rest or block on which the cage is held to prevent it moving. Kist - A chest or the Deputies' office underground often used as an assembly point for men to find out where they will be working. L Limmers - Wooden shafts which could be attached to a coal tub and to the pit pony's harness. M Marra - A work colleague; an equal. O Onsetter - A man who works at the bottom of the shaft taking the empty tubs out and putting the full tubs of coal in the cage travelling back from the mine workings to the shaft bottom. Out-bye - Travelling back from the mine workings to the shaft bottom. P Pitmatic - Language used by miners both above and below ground. Pony Putter - A man who uses a pony to pull the tubs to coal to the onsetter. S Screens - A noisy dirty job on the surface where young boys, usually straight from school, had to sort out the stone from the coal. Scumfished - To feel suffocated. Shaft - Vertical access to the mine. T Token - A miners identity disc or a tally. Trapper Boy - In the 19th century very young children were employed to open and shut ventilation doors underground. Often they had to sit in the dark for many hours. Tub - A container for carrying coals W Winding Men - Men who raised and lowered the cages down the shaft.

Tell you a story here. Left school this day and walking home with the lads. This laddy came along on his racing bike and i asked for a go. Straight on and away i went down Cleasewell Hill. The coal wagon was out delivering the coal and as i was going down the bank and the rear of the wagon was facing me i applied the breaks as traffic was comin towards me. Guess what ? no breaks working. Heading fast toweards the coal wagon panic enters as i close in on the rear of the coal wagon. I had my hands on the bend of the racing handles and moved them and duck my head as i went under the lower part and come to an abrupt CRASH. Luckily i may have been seriously hurt. but me quick thinking saved me . Never again and mind that lad got some nasty words told him for not telling me about the breaks. I was only about 13 at the time. Could have been unluck 13 too

Ye i did it as did my brother and friends. We had our regulars and coming back from school seeing the coal dropped off, straight on with dirty clothes and away to get the coals in for pocket money. Canny enjoyable when you got paid.

Ye i remember it well Keith. You are right it was so cramped inside. I was unfortunate not to get a look through the periscope tho. Many of our class did, but sadly i was too far back. Those bunks too, bloody hell, not for me tho. But what an amazing visit it was Keith.

thanks Maggie