HIGH PIT WILMA

Sorry Alan,canna help here,but mind there are two lads who I thought I recognised but they have been named..Cheers Bill.

The aad photo of the shop is hoo aa remember..broon painted shop front..roller shutters in later yrs,probably after the break-ins..the war hadn't been owa just four yrs prior ti my first seeing this Aladdin's cave..the only sweets I ever got at that age was when me Mother tuk me ti Doctor Hickey's Surgery,at Choppington,just up the bank from where a lived in Storey's Buildings,doon aside the Willow Bridge at Choppington Station..Dr Hickey aalwis kept a big tin of sweeties on his table at the side,and every kid who went to see him,even if it was their Mother who was the Patient,they got a sweetie..that was the way to befriend the kids and allay any fear aboot gaan ti see him!![dinna forget..we didnae hae the drugs we hae nooadays..us kids picked aal sorts of infections up..!!

Hi Folks,Wemyssies was a confectionery wholesaler when aa was a bairn livin doon Hollymount Square from 1947..as a got ti aboot five yrs aad,me aader Brother,who would be eight yrs aad,[taakin aboot 1949 noo!],used ti tek me aroond and up Bell's Place,and aroond the corner..and we used to gaze in the windae of Wemyss shop,at the piles and piles of big sweet jars of sweets of aal description..we kids had nowt..me mutha cudnt gie us a jam sammidge in the afternoon when we hungry between meals..so we used ti drool owa the sight of aal these big sweet jars..we used ti watch vans coming and gaanin,loading and unloading whacks of these jars at a time and wondered what was gaan on..we didn't knaa wat the words "Confectionery Wholesaler" meant!..we were pitmans kids..a still wasn't at school yit..[a started in the Autumn term at the Bedlington Village Infants school in 1949].In later years,some of the Millfielders broke in and stole jars of sweets,the same ones broke into the Clayton Ballroom..they got caught and fined..it was a big crime scene in them days..hearing of local lads being taken to court..Bedlington was a quiet peaceful little village!!..It seems that building hasn't changed much owa the yeors...but Bedlington sure has!! Cheers!

First chance a get,aal hae a luk in at the aad school and tek a picta..aam not shy o just waakin in and asking the Heedmaster and tell him/her aam a historian and original first day of oppenin pupil!!..in 1956...![dinna want ti open that ancient debate again mind!!],,aal see wat a can dae folks..it's difficult gettin oot noo..me Wife is ill,and aav just been diagnosed wi Glaucoma in both eyes..!!..me bike riding days seem ti be owa sadly!!..itll be me driving the way things are gannin!! Cheers folks!!

Hope everybody has a better 2024 than this year!! Aal thi best Folks!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you C.L. Cheers Bill.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you Maggie! Cheers Bill.

Just caught up Sym..better late than nivvor aad Nicky [wor Heedmaster at thi Whitley] used ti say!!..Aal thi best for 2024! Also to all in here..a reet canny lot!! Cheers Bill!

p.s. Working Man sung by Rita McNeil says it all!![live version!]

Canny Lass,ONLY those who were pitfolks knew the hardships the families of the Miners faced in times of tragedy and distress,AND ,in normal day to day living..When an employer takes Six year old bairns carried on their Father's backs asleep,to work underground from midnight to midday..they HAVE TO BE EVIL..they even employed women,some pregnant,to work underground,and on the Screens on the surface...in the real old days..but even when I was 15 yrs old,in 1959,the NCB Training scheme,had us learning underground,how to attach pit tubs to a moving haulage rope,by lashing a heavy chain round the rope three times..[rope moving at two miles per hour..some 4 mph!!],and then clipping the end of the chain to the middle "Cock-hole" on the tub with a Sheckle and pin..all the time this was happening,we stopped the chain from pulling the tub away till required,by holding our pit boot OVER THE ROPE ON THE GROUND.letting the rope pass under the sole of our boot which was held against the chain to stop it from clicking away prematurely..talk about insane?...no health and safety then..many a kid and adults also,were run over by a loose wire strand on the rope snatching the chain away and tripping the haulage lad onto the ground,the pit tub running over their legs or arms..hard to describe..wish I could find a training film showing how this was done..I had many a near miss ,same as everybody else who had to do it!!Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!

10-12-2023..UPDATE!..LOST KEYS RETRIEVED AT LIDL THIS MORNING.MANY THANKS TO THE KIND AND HONEST PERSON FOR HANDING THEM IN!

10-12-2023..UPDATE!..LOST KEYS RETRIEVED AT LIDL THIS MORNING.MANY THANKS TO THE KIND AND HONEST PERSON FOR HANDING THEM IN!

I don't swear,but the mention of the greedy wealthy coal owners makes me want to! When I was being born,my Mother was in Hospital,[in 1944],my Father collapsed and was taken to Hospital with a burst duodenal ulcer,seriously life threatened,at the same time..SO...because my Father wasn't at work at the pit,the coal owner sent the cowardly bailiffs around to my Mother's house in the middle of the night,when they knew most men would be down the pit in foreshift,so no risk of resistance,and threw [literally]all my mother's few belongings into the street..to house another miner's family who was able to go down the pit. My Mother had a nervous breakdown,and I was taken away from her..till she recovered..well that was the best treatment in the world for depression and a nervous breakdown..keep your newly born child away from you..never knowing if it was alive or not..and Choppington and Bedlington were being bombed at the time..yeah,I could easily swear at those evil greedy b......s..no apologies for getting wound up...

Sadly,I just caught up with this post..R.I.P. Rigger.

KEYS LOST ON 8-12-2023,PROBABLY BESIDE TILL 1 IN LIDL,BEDLINGTON,OR AROUND THAT AREA,MAYBE EVEN IN THE DISABLED BAYS ADJACENT TO THE TROLLEY PARK.I WOULD APPRECIATE IT, IF THEY ARE FOUND,THAT THEY BE HANDED TO THE STAFF IN LIDL,BEDLINGTON,AND I WILL GO BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE..[HOPEFULLY TOMORROW!].I CAN PROVE IDENTITY AS I HAVE DUPLICATES OF THE KEYS AND MY SHOPPING RECEIPT SHOWING THE TIME AND DATE.THANK YOU .BILL.

Yes,all for it 100%

Maggie,just checking if you sent this to my Watsapp messenger private contact chat line?..[aam wary of scammers!!]..Thanks if you did!!,a dinna watch the telly and knaa nowt at aal wat this is aboot..so didn't open the link!..Cheers and aal thi best for Christmas and the new year! Bill.

Hope everybody's keeping well,apologies for absences,Hope 2024 is a better year than the last four years!![we keep saying that..!!] Cheers Bill!

As to injured men underground,even fatalities,every man was stretchered out the pit usually by his own Marra's..not necessarily First Aiders like myself..if a man needed Morphia [Morphine],after a serious accident,only a qualified Official [usually the face Deputy],was allowed to administer by injection to the injured person,and only if that person requested it..then whoever administered Morphia,HAD TO...BY LAW..escort the that person to the surface and hand him over to the Ambulance team...after tying a named and dated bracelet to the injured person's wrist. Morphia was kept in securely locked safes built into brickwork in every Deputy's District underground.The Deputy was the ONLY person,other than a Doctor,in any industry in Britain,who was trained and certified by Law,Mines and Quarries Act 1956,to Adminster Morphia by needle injection,when requested by an injured person.That,was the level of responsibility of a Mine Deputy.[UNLESS..a Doctor could reach the injured person within TWO hours..over that time period..the Law would apply..]

Alan,from my experiences,going back to 1959,normal injuries like broken legs or arms or other minor injuries,the Blue Coal Board Van took men across to the old Ashington Hospital..[which was originally built by the Miners]..more serious accidents of an urgent nature,men were taken by Ambulance..which was basically just a van with a stretcher and first aid kit..bandages etc..in it!![nae Defibrillators or Cardiogram machines in them days!!]..reet till bates closed..less serious injured men were still taken in the Pit van!!..aav been it a few times owa the years!! Cheers Bill!

Also,Adam,no person under the age of 15 yrs was allowed to work underground after Nationalisation..and here they are recruiting 14 yr olds!!

[31-8-2023]...I jus caught up again,a bit late,but just to explain what the detbox was for.As you can see,it has the title stamped on the plate.."HUMANE CARTRIDGES"....This box would have been taken down the pit by a Deputy or other AUTHORISED person,for the sole purpose for use with the "HUMANE KILLER" GUN...and usually accompanied by a qualified Vetinarary Surgeon,to put a seriously injured pit pony to sleep,in cases where the the pony was too far inbye to be brought out by walking him..usually broken legs. The gun didn't fire the cartridges like an ordinary gun...there was a very sharp metal spike contained within the barrel which had a limited travel,purely designed to be activated by a cartridge,and which,when held at the pony's forehead,fired the spike into the pony's brain causing instaneous death..no pain whatsoever..as opposed to the old method which consisted of placing a hand held spike to the pony's forehead,and striking the spike physically and sharply,with a heavy mallet..which sometimes had to be struck more than once..definately causing pain to the already injured animal.These events are the sort of thing which was never talked about in publications of any kind concerning Mining. But when a horse got really badly injured,the men would pass the word around in the pit.."Aye..Bobby's had the Spike"..it was always a sad thing to hear..