HIGH PIT WILMA

...Almost like "Heartbeat Country"....in those days!..hardly any traffic,life was plain and simple..and look how clean the street is!!

As an afterthought,I must add that these are "proper" rails,and not the "Plates " that I described above!

When My Wife and Me got wor first hoose,in 1970,at West Terrace,in Stakeford,our next door neighbour was Ed Fearon's Parents.A lovely old couple! He is instantly recogniseable in this pic..never changed!

Hi folks! ..Long afore my time...20 years if its 1924,and I don't know any one of those in the pic,but my eyes went straight to,and keep going to, No 19,the little lassie looks like the spitting image of one of my schoolmates who sadly passed on a few years ago.

Norman Furness was his name..I wonder if she was a Furness?...if my class pic at the Village infant school  in 1950 was overlaid,and Norman was lined up adjacent,maybe it would be more apparent,maybe a thoosand mile oot!

Hi Alan,lovely to see this [previously unseen by me] pic,which has my lovely Niece,No 14,Elizabeth Bell..["Liz" to all who know her.]..on it.She was,and still is,the most gorgeous personality you could ever wish ti experience if you met her..really lovely...wor Liz!

Also great ti see is Gary Usher,who went on to be one of wor "Cross-Marra's",[on thi oncoming shift after wor shift ended],at Bates Pit,in the Three-Quarter seam..not lang afore pit closure in 1986.

Gary and his two Marra's,who were freshly-trained for facework,[rookies!]...asked me if we wud pick them up as Cross-Marra's on a new Coalface,that we were gonna win oot.

I put it ti thi rest of my Marra's,who were a bit dubious,cos it was really rough conditions,wet,bad roof stone,...not like the training gallery where they just come from,but I convinced them ti give the youngins a go at it,so we aal agreed.

Gary and he's Marra's made a few cock-ups,at the start,bringing criticism,from the other shifts,and aa had a hard time persuading them ti let the youngin's get stuck in.

After a week or two,they were amang the hardest working,conscientious,miners at the pit.

Gud at the job,it was only a pity thatcher  ordered the ropes ti be cut...spoilt the lives of a gud team of youngins,and a hope Gary  sees this and smiles...thinkin' back!!

Billy McGregor's Parents moved inti the Hoose me Mother-in-Law and her Family lived in,when age and ill-health took it's toll,and my Ma-in-law moved into a sheltered bungalow.

I lived in for the first two years of marriage,before getting our own place.

Billy went on to tour the Country with his Elvis Presley tribute band,for many years.

Hi Alan,if No 19 isn't my gud aad nybor and friend's Son ..Lee Muter...aal eat grass!

Andrew Simm also lived in wor street and spent a lot of time in my hoose playing wi my Son,as did Lee.

Be great if Peter saw this thread and hooked with us !..we might find more about wor family tree!

This what aa like aboot this site,and thi power of the internet..aav hooked up wi a few long-lost friends since joining on here!

Thanks again Alan for the work ye put in for us aal!

Thanks a lot Alan,you've helped me make a little-known family connection!

This pic is of my Mother's Aunt Ada and Uncle Charlie,as she called him.

So Michelle Grant is a relation I didn't know about!

Could you ask Michelle if she would like to Pm me,and I can share more family information that might interest her.

There's plenty of evidence on this site that I am who I say I am..in case she is rightly dubious!

I have a colour[!] photo of Ada and Charlie,along with a load of family members,taken on Miner's Picnic day,somewhere around 1956-ish,with Ada's Brother,Alf Montgomery,and his wife,who came over from Massachussets ,where they lived,for a family re-union,with my GrandMother McDonald..[story attached to that one as well!!],who was Ada's Sister,and my Grandma's family..who included my Mother and her Sisters..quite a lot on thi pic,and it was in lovely colour...in thi days when not many had camera's at aal,in black n white...nivvor mind colour!![mind,it WAS Uncle Alf from America,who the camera belonged to.....WE hadn't lang been oot of the rations period......after WW2!]...just showed hoo was the richer...my Mother couldn't have afforded ti sail ti America ti see Uncle Alf!!

I will post thi pics if ever I find them,I also have letters from Alf,written to my Mother when I was a wee bairn,he used to entertain in a country showband,which included comedy and light drama,as well as music,he writes about having stage make-up on and other bits about the Show Business..fascinating hoo the other half lived,when aal my mates' families were struggling ti just live a simple life in Bedlington..aal pitfolks!

Hello and Cheers to Michelle for sharing with me!!

Bill Allison.

P.S. It is a lovely photo of the bride and her GrandParents...Ada is the spitting image of my Mother at that age..it is freaky looking at it and seeing my Mother's head tilted and smiling!

Update on 29-4-2019....I was 42 yrs old then!...now approaching 75 yrs,and faaling ti bits! Tom is sadly no longer with us,having passed away a few years ago.R.I.P. Tom.

Small world,Alan!..[a think ...am pretty sure..but not 100%..!]..one day,around 1963,I was getting ready to gaan doon ti Cambois,Sandfield Road,ti see one of me Marra's,and me Mother,oot thi blue sed,"Haad on Billy,aal come doon wi ye,and aal caal in ti see me Aunt Ada.."..when a asked where she lived she replied Sandfield Road..and that she hadn't seen her for a few years.[a thowt it was queer hoo a hadn't heard of her before!].

So we went ti Cammiss and a sed ta-ta when we parted company..[it turned oot that her Aunt  lived a few doors away from me Marra,Geordie Stephenson,who sadly departed this life  at  a very early age..R.I.P.  GEORDIE.]

NOO! This pic has jolted me memory of that day..precisely because of the fact that me Mother telt me that her Aunt Ada was married to a fella whose surname was Calumboski!!

A canna mind me Grand-uncle's first name noo..but a surname like that sticks in ya mind..so a bet Peter..[No 6],is a Cousin,once removed..[is that reet..?],of mine...probably ten or more years younger than me..more my youngest Sister's age...[who is ten years younger than me..].

It would seem to me to be a very rare name to have in a small community,so if Peter sees my comments,it may be that I have the relationship slightly mixed up...as to "Second Cousin"..or.."Once removed"...etc,but I am 100% on My Mother's Aunt Ada being married to a Calumboski.

Aye,a small world..as I said.....!

Hi Eggy! Been off the scene for a wee while,especially this last week gone...nasty real flu bug....not a heavy caad!....aam taakin aboot being felled onti be back in bed like being hit wi a mel!!

Noo! This team comprises seven of my classmates who I went through school from aged five years,at the Village Infants............block of flats!![opp. thi church]..reet  up ti Westridge from the Whitley.  Noo! A knaa aam not bright when it cums  ti fitba' ,but tha's summick odd aboot this team!!

Forst off, wheor's big Richie,[Brian Richmond],wa best goalie ever?...a reckon he musta had the flu an aal!!

Then no 10 definately isn't Joe Hale!....more like Mike Rutherford,[my neighbour and playmate of my older Brother and me]....if you check out other Whitley team pics..Mike is on there.

No 13 definately isn't,to my mind,Bobby Cross...!

How they made up a team from differing age groups beats me ! ? Scantlebury,[no2],and Mike Rutherford,[no 10] ,are nearly three years older than Ray Mack,Alan Wilkinson,Malcolm Spiers,Jimmy Neil,Davy Kane,Tommy Logan,and Tommy Holmes,all of whom are the same age as me,and would have been either 12 years old,or approaching their 12th Birthdays when the pic was taken.[I was 12 yrs old in July 1956].

BUT,... the queerest thing is HOW Peter Smith is in the team!!......he went ti Netherton School ...until Westridge opened,then he started there with me on the first day it opened..cos we were close friends,and nieghbours.

I would love to know what the exact date was,when the pic was taken!!

Great ti be able ti just click on the gallery and see the pics,Eggy,instead of faffing aboot wi Flickr!

Canna thenk ye enuff,marra!

Heh heh,Eggy  ya reet there!Nae chance  o' me getting inti mischief!  O.H. , and Lbj see ti that!!

It is queer hoo a lot of people cud be mistaken for others,with nae disrespect intended,like  one of the next pics alang in the gallery,a cud swear one lass was Lorna Barker,but the lass in question was named as Christine ? [aav forgotten aal riddy from a few minutes ago!!],and another was named as Lynda Mathews,who I wudda tuk for Lillian Moore.....!

Ah weel,like ye say,pressing and guessing!!

...Er.....summik escapes me here...aam aa glaaky?.....or just ignorant?![Dictionary terminology for the last one mind!].....

But I count 17 Prefects......where did the "Fourteen Club" come from?!

This pic must have been taken....at the very earliest.....in the new term of September in 1959-I left school at the start of the 1959 Summer Holidays,and Bobby Cross,Len Thompson,Eddie Hedley,Ian Cambell,Micky Lucas,and Trevor Hale were all in my class till the day I left,and none of them were Prefects,and the Fourteen Club didn''t exist!

Carol Patterson was Head Girl,and a lovely lass at that,and Davy Lees was Head Boy,and a very well liked lad also.

Trevor Hale wasn't exactly known for smiling,more like self-appreciating![trying desperately to be diplomatic and not sound sour here!]

He was a very broad-shouldered lad ,not so tall,and the greatest runner the school had!.. a human greyhound!!

He represented Northumberland in the County Schools competition,and was like Mo Farrow....nobody stood a chance against him,that I witnessed anyway!

To me,I would have put No 15 as Davy Lees,cos that's how I remember him.

Davy was a tall lad,and you can see  that he towers over everyone in his row,second only to Micky Lucas,who was the tallest lad in the school,at the time,[one of my most sincere mates,along with Len Thompson,and Eddie Hedley].

Whey that's hoo aa see things,if me brain is starting to gaan,a apologise ,and will forivvor haad me gob!!

Nae apologies for negative comments aboot Trev Hale...if a told me full story aboot Trev,Ian Cambell,Jimmy Scott,and little Billy Broon,[herinafter referred to as "The Gang" !],it would spoil the tone of this excellent discussion and   nostalgic forum,which a just luv ti be a part of!!.....so.......Zip up Zippy!!

On 30/10/2016 at 10:28, Eggy1948 said:

Message from Raymond Barrett, via his wife, No 5 not him he was never in this class.

Ray Barret was in my class aal the way from the infants school as weel!

He aalwis sat next ti Ian Darling,who were considered ti be the two brainiest[!] lads in the class.

He WAS in the class with me and most of these,from the Whitley,[not THIS class!],but would have went straight into the Upper Remove the minute it was formed in the early days of opening.No 5 was Norman Taylor,who,like Alan Wilkie,and others,NEVER changed as they grew older....always instantly recognisable.

Sad to hear that Joan Hartill passed away.She was a real quiet lass in the class,and always very likeable.R.I.P. Joan.

A bit late but it just struck me after reading back through the thread.

Hi Eggy! Thanks for the update!

No 6 did have a bit of mixed feeling,cos a wasn't so sure after studying the pic over several sessions,and even thought Joe Hale [Deceased R.I.P. Joe.],might have been him,so many memories of classmates,easy ti get mixed up,but No 12,a was so sure of Tommy Tyler,not forgetting there were two lads with that name,a stockier lad,[in later life!] who lived in the Doctor Pit Rows,and who aa worked with at Bates Pit.

That Tommy Tyler used to have a moonlight job,in between shifts at the pit,.......grave-digging with a spade,[no machines in them days, like the council have now!],along at Horton Church,past Bebside,on the way ti Deaton Delaval!

No probs if aam totally wrong,aal we want is the proper names ti gaan ti the faces in thi pics!!

Noo!!What's bugged me since this pic was posted,is the lassie sitting next ti Mr Bebbington,on his left,as we look at it,[No 26].In my mind,a can see a lass caaled Marie Wakenshaw,who was a lovely smiley natured real pleasant lass,and who was Bob Wakenshaws Sister..[or I always remember thinking that when a was at school.]

Remember,Westridge brought pupils from aal thi schools and had a weird way of forming classes,cos when aa started,at least 15 of these pupils were in my class,along with Vic's other Half,[Doreen]and a lot of others who aren't on this pic.

I never took Biology,and never had Mr Bebbington as a teacher there,[but I did have him for Maths at the Whitley School...along with his Ear-wiggling lessons!].

I sat in the same desk with Alan Wilkinson ,[No 1 ] as my deskmate aal the way through school life reet back from the first days at the infant school.

Sometime,when the new school got onto it's wobbly feet,they started shifting pupils aroond,for what reason,still beats me,[age-groups?...education-potential?....],except I do know why upper-remove was created cos I went into that class and it was the biggest mistake of my school life!

So this class has been formed in a shifty-roond,after aa went inti the Remove class.

Mr Bebbington wasn't even up at the school when it opened the first day,and a canna ever mind seeing him,when the teachers aal sat on the stage in a row behind Mr Hemming the Headmaster.

Obviously that's my grey matter torning even grey-er!,cos he was....a see noo!

Aal thi way through school,up ti leaving the Whitley , the teachers used ti come ti us in wor class,then at Westridge,yi had 500 pupils teeming through the corridors,running up and doon the stairs,gaan from end ti end,in the lang corridors,ti change classes and gaan ti thi teachers!!!....Maths wi Mr Freeman at the far end of the school,then after break-time,it was doon ti the classroom nearest the the main entrance,[near the main road...so ti speak...],for History wi Mr Abrahart,or Music with Mrs Nicholson!....thinking back,if H&S existed then,risk assessments wud have had ti be put in place,cos the stairs used ti be like the London Undagrund!!,at shifty-class periods!

A lot o' big lads for being under 13 yrs¬Danny was aalwis a stocky little fella,when aa was at Westridge,luks like we musta worn him doon afore we left in 1959,cos he luks as smart as a carrot!! A saw Danny and he's Wife a few times owa thi years,the last time being shortly before he passed away,and he nivvor changed,aalwis sociable and just Danny!!

R.I.P. Canny Danny.

One of the best,most liked teachers gaaning at the time,alang wi Matty Hall,Mr Abrahart,Mr Johnson,and Mr Freeman.

Heh heh!....ind hoo aam aa ti taak?!!!!!!

Similar type of driller to an "Elliot" machine,whereby the "stand" is ratcheted to the roof,and the drill is wound into the seam by sheer hard work!

Note his "Centre - line" on the roof.

Note also the rail-ends,which were referred to as "the plate-ends",in the days long before rolled-steel rails came along,they were flat "plates",four feet long,with a raised section running the length of the plate,where the tub wheels ran on.

Hence the old pitmatic saying...." A hevn't been nae fartha thin the plate-ends owa the weekend..."!!

Meaning "I haven't been anywhere over the weekend.."

"Riding thi Limmas".....[Limbers...shafts..].

I knew one lad who was riding the limmas,in the 1950's,and his pony "crossed oot" on him,that is to say,the pony went into the opposite roadway to which he should have gone,[say....right instead of left...for instance..],and the limma's nipped his leg severely,causing gangrene to set in quickly,and he had to have it amputated.

He played football,cricket,etc,just the same,with his false leg,and in those days,the leg was heavy !!

When he batted for runs he used to walk the wickets,and his mates would do the runs for him .

Very close-knit community spirit in those days!

Great!Look at the size of the coals...going to households in them days ..there were usually two coal,and one stone tipplers,two are being tipped together so they will be coal...priority over tipping stone obviously!!

Thanks for uploading this from me also!

Great pic,as all these are in the set!!

Forgot to add,due to very slow,painfully slow exposures in those days,these men had to keep this pose for maybe a few minutes!!!!...holding a heavy mel in the air like that!!

Correct me if I am wrong on that point!!

This could be mid-to late 1960's/early 1970's.

Approximately four feet-six inches high,soft coal,and it looks like a Plough -face,judging by the large coals on the chain conveyor.[A spiral-disc shearer threw very small coals out for power stations.].[also no sign of a cable trough on the side of the conveyor,a plough is pulled along the face by a heavy chain mounted near the floor on the face side and so is obscured by the heaps of coal.]

Dowty five-legged hydraulic face chock supports,which,when fully down onto the leg "collars" stood 23 inches high,so you can estimate the height to which they are pressurised to the roof,as about 48- 50 inches high.

As we  old miners used to say...."She's stannin' like a Palace"!![wish the Three/quarter seam was like this at Bates,or the Top Busty at High Pit Choppington!]

.......and LIGHTS!! [what are they...??????????????]!!

"D.A.C" phone can be seen hanging on a chock leg. [tannoy system.]