HIGH PIT WILMA

Hi Canny Lass! In case a didn't,then a wish you a happy and healthy new year! Noo!!, a "Jockey" was a type of haulage rope clip,by which means,a pit tub,or "Sets" of tubs would be hauled along the roadways underground...usually from the loader-end of a conveyor belt,where tubs were loaded with coal,then coupled up into "Sets" of whatever number of tubs in a set was applicable to a particular pit. To try and simplify it,start at the surface. "Chummings"..[empty tubs] were sent down the pit in the cages.At the shaft bottom,the tubs were pushed out of the cage by "Fullun's" [full tubs],being pushed in. The chummings ran down into the "Dish"..[a man-made swalley,or dip,in the road],which was a collection point for the chummings,and where the "Dish-lad" had the job of "Hinging-on" [Hanging on] sets of tubs at intervals of distance between sets,sufficient to allow his Marra inbye,to " Knock-off" the sets..and send them along to the "Loader-end,to be filled,and sent outbye,by the same method. Now this where the "jockey" comes in! I have explained about these in another comment a while ago,so here we go!...If you can picture a steel bar about 2ft-6inches long,and about an inch thick..[maybe a little more...],and with a two-pronged fork on the end,the prongs being about four inches long,then that was about the size and type of Jockey that i used while doing my training after leaving school at 15 yrs old. The jockey had to be dropped into two round holes which were formed from the steel banding which held the structure of the tub together,at each end of the tub. One hole was at the top of the tub,and the other hole was at the middle-height of the tub's body.[if you see any pictures of a pit tub you will see these holes.] Noo!Because of the nature of this forum,I feel it is important to adhere strictly to facts,and pit-terminology! The holes I describe were referred to as "Cock-holes",and it was an acquired difficult skill,to drop the jockey's,[which were canny heavy for a 15 yr old kid to hoy aroond!],into the holes,and quickly grab the MOVING! steel wired haulage rope,and press it into the fork,which grabbed instantly and jerked a stationary set of tubs into action,at a speed of aboot four miles an hour....doesn't seem fast....walking pace.....but it is really fast when you are standing directly in front of the set,and have to jump back like a cat as the set pulls away!![no H&S in those days!!] Now there were different designs and types of jockey's ,some had a swivelling fork-head,which could be awkward to get the rope into,and which were a lot heavier than the ones I have described. I can only suggest that the answer to your question,Canny Lass,was that in those days,when mechanisation,including rope haulages replaced pit ponies,the lad who we called the "Dish Lad",or his marra,up on the "Kip"[who removed the jockeys and sent them back down below him for the Dish-lad],were called "Jockey'ers". Does all that mek any sense ,Canny Lass?,sum things in pitwark were hard ti describe withoot ye actually being shown physically!! Aal these scum young'uns who create havoc on our streets,would just wanna get their dinner and have a sit doon at yem,if they had ti dae the job eight hours a day,after just leaving the comfort of their school desks....I can assure you!! Sets of tubs at Choppington High Pit were hung on in three'ses,20 yards apart,same at the High Main seam,at Bedlington A pit..,but down in the Harvey East plane,["Engine Plane"=Haulage roadway],my older Brother started in 1956,[15 yrs old],and he worked in the Dish,for a few years,and he had to hang sets on with 20 tubs [a "score"],in each set,only he used "Hambones"[another tutorial there!].He used to tell me stories about "Horsing" up to Forty-Score [800 tubs!!],all coupled together,and hung onto the powerful haulage rope,to take them to the shaft bottom area,ready for the next shift.That haulage road was about two miles long,stretching from the shaft-bottom area to the loader-end inbye. THAT was a sight I never saw or heard of even,at the other pits where I worked....an incredible feat for a rope hauler to perform!! I hope I have enlightened you even a wee bit,Canny Lass,if only to encourage you to further search for info and pictures of these methods of rope-haulage systems underground! Cheers!

......Late as usual!!!....HAPPY NEW YEAR CANNY LASS.....AND TO ALL !! Hope 2018 treats us all very well!! My resolution???????????????.....dinna even think aboot worrying aboot thi day....an' let thi morn luk efta itse'll...!!!!! AAL THI BEST!

Thanks for that info,James,I played down the free woods and in the river,from age 5 yrs ,Circa 1949-ISH....and when I grew too old for "playing",went down frequently for walks with my family/friends/etc...later on in recent years with my Little Black Jess.[Lab x].Noo for years,from being a wee kid in short pants,we aal referred to the stretch of woods on the Humford Baths side,from the steppy-stones up-owa,ti thi controversial dam[!],as "The Piper" woods.We smaa kids aalwis thowt that thi woods were so-named 'cos of the two huge pipes that spanned the river next ti thi dam.Ah weel.....!....ignorance is bliss!!The woods that lead ti thi left of the bridge,on thi Bedltn side of the waata,as yi tek the bend,where the tunnel entrances are,we aal caaled the "Battery".We nivvor thowt aboot it,it was just a nyem,but noo that we are on thi subject,wud it have been caaled that 'cos of an WW2 Artillery battery station being there at the wood-head? ,[what used ti be a bandstand],where the Salvation Army Brass Band used to give recitals on a Sunday mornings?

With regard to my last post regarding the sad loss of Brian Besford,may I take this opportunity to correct the date of the accident. It was on Friday , the 24th of November,and obviously this was a serious error on my part. I sincerely apologise for any distress or confusion this may have caused to anyone,especially Brian's Family. Bill.

Merry Christmas Brian,and hope ye hae a guid new yeor!

Friday 24th of December brought the tragic loss by road accident,of one of our old members,who went by the name of "The Lone Ranger". He was a very good old pit Marra,going back to my very first day underground at the Choppington B pit,[the "High Pit"]. Brian Besford was his name,and since we hadn't seen each other since Bates Pit closed,in 1986,it appeared that he couldn't remember me,when we posted comments in earlier topics such as the Mining pages. My condolences and thoughts go out to his Family and close friends,he was a reet canny lad. R.I.P. Brian Besford. Bill.

Geordie Burt in the front smiling away as usual! A reet canny fella,when I was in charge as a Deputy, he would dae owt that ye asked willingly. Nae relation ti Derek Burt in thi pic further up.

Gud ti hear that Andy!!

A went owa ti North Seaton a few days ago,ti gaa ti the "PlumbCentre,[beside Frank's Carpet warehoose],and tha was a notice in thi windae saying closed doon! So a nosed aroond the units,and found "FLAME",opposite Cavendish Kitchens. It's run by a lad caaled Gary,and even though a wasn't buying owt,a just wanted sum info,he was real pleasant and sociable,and gave me the time of day wi sum gud advice,even though he's phone was ringing,he let me finish wat aa was asking him. Aal be gaan ti him when a need any plumbing bits and bobs...as ye dae...! Well recommended! Noo,just this afternoon,a went ti Swarland Motor Parts,doon Glebe Road,up from Leanne Todd's Barber shop,ti collect a parcel delivery by UPS,[an online click and collect order]. Alan,who runs it,was exactly the same as Gary at "FLAME",and Leanne,the barbaress!!! Top marks for these guys,they knaa who ti treat people,like they were thier only customers....that's a dying oot skill nooadays!!! A like ti gie credit where it's due!

Naa!!...if it was HPW,ya ginger snaps wud just be crumbs on the floor!!...LBJ has a nose like Concord!!

A kinda fancy,seeing as the white paint is still on aal the props and chocks,cos the fyess was bone dry and stannin' like a palace,in the beginning,that the Coal News[British Coal paper], and The Miner[N.U.M.PAPER],had these pics tekkin' when we broke the production record for the whole country. The top Chiefs in the Coal Board couldn't believe we were gettin' five shears a shift,they aal came ti see wi daeing it! Mind,when the shearer was ploughing back,aal the bumpers advanced thier back "k" bars on one back prop,aal the way doon thi face,and as soon as the snakers snaked the conveyor belt owa inti thi new track,aal they had ti dae was put the front props in,and pull the Desford chocks in. At the head-end of the conveyor,and the first stretch of supports ti be advanced,even the Deputy and Owamen used ti muck in and work like hell ti get the Shearer turned roond and away shearing again. Ivrybody wanted thi pit ti survive,and aam not being romantic,ask anybody who worked on them faces near thi pit's end of life!! Rhonda Ritchieson was the Fore-Owaman,and HE was the driving force behind aal thi pit's success,at thi time. Another record we broke,on "11" face,was changing the whole face conveyor belt in one Weekend! Rhonda organised ivrything the previous week,he practically lived on the face,and from breaking the conveyor chain,on the Friday night 12-o midnight,Rail sections were laid the whole length of the face,[150 yards],and as we were lifting the steel 5' conveyor pan sections,and stowing them in the goaf,[which we had previously prepared for in the days leading up to the pan-change,by timbering the goaf up leaving massive areas ti stack the old worn-oot pans up ti the roof!],lads were wheeling a smaa bogie wi five new pans at a time,aal thi way doon the face,and spreading them oot in the new pan-line. It was a mad race as ti hoo would be the fastest,either us lads stowing the pans in the goaf,or the lads supplying the new ones!! The whole project went like clockwork,and we had the new conveyor up and running for the Monday fore-shift men coming in ti start shearing. Rhonda,[Overman],aal the Deputies,Fitters,Electricians ,and faceworkers,pulled thier weight like aa nivvor ivvor saw again on any face at any pit. Frankie,the fitter went ti South Africa,not lang after thi pit closed,he was at Bates by then,Jimmy wa Electrician,followed me years later ti a Furniture factory at Cramlington,in 1989,Rhonda bought the garage aroond Stakeford,[the "Mobil" garage as it is noo],another smashing fitter had he's two middle fingers taken clean off wi a haulage chain accident,and a canny few of me Marra's from them days are aal deceased. A wonder if anybody apart from me and Alan Dickson would remember this amazing achievement! A hope Alan comes on ti confirm aal of this!!

.....er......a think ye did a typo there noo....Eggy,it's not spelt "CL" ...it's spelt.....HPW....!!!!!

The guy's hat was one of the new plastic composite material hats ....mid-late 60's,new eggshell shaped....weren't thowt of when the Harvey seam was working!!

Thanks ivrybody for the Pics and Maps...great stuff...exciting bed-time reading! James,aad luv ti think yi are the lad standing next ti me on wa class 2 pic at the Bedltn Village Infant School....nae disrespect if yi are just a youngin',and aam totally wrang mind!!

Like a said in me last post,fact and figures not being accurate.....whilst aam chuffed as hell ti see this pic,[which is new ti me!],THIS is not the Harvey Seam! The Harvey Seam varied in thickness between 2ft-2" ...high,down to 1ft-10",sometimes a wee bit lower... When I was transferred ti thi aad pit at Bedltn,in 1965,the only Seams working were the Harvey East,and the High Main. Being a pit "Foreigner"..[as we were called!],we Choppington lads could only get spare shifts to cover for men idle,so one day we might be in 10feet high Bord and Pillar workings,up in the High Main,or the next day reet in the Harvey east,cramped doon almost on ya belly!![dinna forget that with wood timber planks supporting the roof,ya height is lost by average 3inches...sum a bit thicker or thinner.[on longwall faces..handfilling-no Dowty props or Desford hydraulic face chocks...like those in the pic!] Getting back ti thi pic,if ye notice the gud height he is working in,[at least 3feet],plus there's a few inches of top coal left up ti keep a gud "ground"..[..meaning a good roof!!],this seam is aboot 42" high......and at the Aad pit,thi only place where Dowties and Desfords,and also "K" bars were used,was on the two new faces ["1";s...and "11"'s],doon the new drift which went doon ti the Denton Low Main,and which teemed coal off so much that the old-fashioned loader-end at the shaft-bottom area,couldn't cope,couldn't load tubs fast enough,so they had ti stop the belts frequently!! "1"'s face broke the National Productivity Records a few times for a face with props and bars....most faces at big pits were fully mechanised with powered face chocks..[so-called "Waakin' Chocks..."]! We were achieving five shears a shift,for two shift system,plus usually one or two shears in the night -shift,which was supposed to be the "Prep" shift..i.e. preparing the shearer and the face generally,for a push-button start for the fore-shift coming in.....oddly not Midnight like other pits........but 1-40am start!!![who the hell thowt that one up baffled ivry bugga at thi pit!!] Them two faces kept the pit profiting till we reached the boundaries,and conditions deteriorated.So by 1968-ish,[just after my first Son was born],I was on the development team..["Composite"...at other pits!],winning new districts oot. "21"'s face came first,with powered face chocks,[five-legged manual controlled],then after we installed the A.F.C.[Armoured Face Conveyor...all-steel sections,with flygt chain bars],and the powered chocks..[150 of them!],we put the two shearers on.A.B.[Anderson-Boyes] main shearer,and a B.J.D [British-Jeffrey-Diamond],as a "Sumpa" ["Sumping"],at the tailgate end of the face,which only sheared aboot 20 yards each time,to create a "Stall" for the main shearer to "Sump" into,allowing the face conveyor to be snaked over and turn the main shearer around for a fast plough-back to the maingate.[before "Bi-Di" ...Bi-Directional" ...shearers came in,the shearer had a plough trailing behind,on the shear cycle.] When that face went away on coalwork,we then started winning out "11"'s face,again,by arcing out with an A.B.15 coal-cutter,and drilling,firing,and hand-filling onto a rubber conveyor belt. That was mighty hard work,killing,cos the belt box-end was always at least five yards behind the cutter,and every shovel-ful had to be cast [singly!...nae double-casting!!]...owa the top of the cutter and ti thi other side of the face ti eventually slide onti the belt.....very hard ti desribe so folk will understand. By 1970-ish,thi pit was scratching aroond for coal,and drove a roadway owa ti thi Bomar pit,ti steal coal what they had left,we caaled it "Thi Bomar Road"....["Burma Road" ,,,,for thi youngin's!!!],noo a think,if me memory serves me reet,that thon roadway was drifted up from the Denton Low Main,ti thi Brass Thill seam....but a stand ti be corrected on that one,cos they did the same thing at Bates,only we drifted up and owa ti Newbiggin pit,under the North Sea,ti steal the coal what they left. It might have been that one wat was the Brass Thill. Alan Dickson would be the best one ti help oot there,cos a think he might have worked up there....[aa was imprisoned doon the Three-Quarter hell-hole aal thi time,after the Beaumont Seam closed at Bates.!] LBJ waakies....AGAIN!! Hope a haven't bored anybody!

Phew!!!!!!! Too much ti tek in on a late neet after lbj waakies!! Wat a did notice was the facts and figures weren't exactly accurate! A didn't see any reference ti the Aad pit at Bedltn Station working the High Main Seam,where it was 10 feet high and full of bands every few inches apart...basically rubbish hoose coal!....then it went doon ti under five feet high at the finish. The Denton Low Main was the last Seam worked before closure of the pit,and aa knaa,cos aa was on development,winning oot new roads and coalfaces in that seam..coalcutting etc.[handfilling wi a greet nasty pan shuul!] Choppington High Pit worked the Top Busty for the last couple o' years before closing in 1966.The Beaumont Seam was the only other Seam worked before that for a lot of years before aa started in 1959! Aal the seams mentioned in the report such as the Bensham etc were long long long gone by the late 1950's,cos aad timers used ti tell me aboot them,plus aa had ti gaan inti aad workings ti salvage girders etc oot,when a was only 16 yrs aad!![Nae hanging aroond the station corner for lads like me in them days!!] Time for zzzzzzzzz's!! Here's wor lass seeking me thinking aav faalen asleep.again!!

Foxy,easier ti post a razor oot ti Vic!!!.......mebbe a cap might be a better option...if he's owt like me!!

Noo.....!!....aa was tempted ti ask her if Sweeney was any relation,an aal,but she probably wudda thowt a meant him wi the bullnose Jag!!..[too young ti knaa owt aboot THE Sweeney!!!!] Seriously,a worked with Her Dad a few times at Ashington pit,afore it closed,and they were our neighbours alang at Stakeford,afore a moved away 17 years ago. Noo Ashington pit closed in 1987,so aav knaan Leanne's parents a lang time,but only found out who she was when a went ti get me hair cut,and found that she was thier Daughter...she wudda been a wee bairn when a lived alang there. She's a real pleasant lass,gud at her job,and the walls in the shop deserve a visit even if ye dinna get ya hair cut!! Loads of old historical pics of Bedltn,and the Dr Pit,as weel as ancient haircutting tools etc!! Noo the time aam on heor,will the Mods please tell me why aa hev a notification that APPROVAL is required before me post can be put up..[in another topic...]?...hev a been a bad lad sumtime?!

Can sumbody tell me why aav got ti hae approval from a moderator before me post is put up please?....aam a bad lad?

Hi Eggy,no,a haven't seen him,but a aalwis carry a smaal lanyard wi me ,for that reason alone,that a might see a stray or neglected dog,so that a cud tether him and get help. If a see him aal dae that. When was he last seen? The only dog that a dae knaa that wander's owa the fields belangs ti sumbody living alang the road,who aav warned before aboot neglect. A divven't think this one is his,but aal dae a bit fishing and let ye knaa. This one luks too weel cared for ti be who aam thinking of!!!....on second thoughts! Aal keep an eye oot anywheh.

Hi Folks! If you need a haircut,go to Todd's Barbers at the top-end,which was formerly run by Alan and John. You get a gud haircut,with a gud crack from Leanne,who now run's the shop,and the shop itself is a mine of interest..[no pun intended!] Aal thi best wishes to her and hope she is there for many a year!!

LEE HUTCHINSON...TEL.NO. 07735312406 Gas-safe registered,has done work for me,including fitting a new Baxi Platinum boiler in. Pleasant,quiet lad,very religious in his approach to his work,couldn't say owt rang aboot him. Will be asking him ti do me annual service on the boiler when it comes aroond. Also Gary Bowman,[a knaa aal his family....we were neighbours for donkeys years at Stakeford] He is also very pleasant and competent..has done work for me....would recommend him also. His Tel. No. is :07985110872 Hope ye get sorted Andy!

Echoes of the past...first my old school....the Whitley Memorial...many years ago.....now my last school...[it was Westridge then..].....St Benet Biscop. As I said in the topic of the last arson attack on the kids summer house at the Whitley,if the arsonists want ti play wi fire...put them inside a bonfire on November 5th,and light it! Cheapest and quickest way ti get shot of scum! That's my personal opinion.

Whey at last we've getting a nice new bus shelter at the stop adjacent ti Earth Balance....aa griped on aboot for a few yeors,not for mesel,but for the benefit of the client workers of the Horticultural therapy unit,who aav waatched for seventeen winters,huddling together in the pouring rain,and snow,when we've had snow...like!...frozen ti the bone after working ootside,and stanning waiting for late buses! Noo,aam wondering if we can get back wor shelter wat was tekkin oot at the entrance of the new Proton Beam Therapy Unit building site,and currently in use by the contract workers onsite,as a smoking shelter,INSIDE THE SECURITY FENCING AROUND THE SITE!! It's oot of sight of the public eye,hidden behind the reet high fence,but aav got pics and video of it standing there,when it should be re-instated where it has been promised.....on the opposite side of the road ti the one that's just been put in afore-mentioned!! As a little further gripe,wor new shelter is missing the nice "East Bedlington Parish Council" decals at each end,wat let's visitors to Earth Balance knaa where they are!! Aam gaana get onti the Coonty Cooncil for info as ti wat's happening!!