HIGH PIT WILMA

Damn! Where does time go? I intended ti gaan doon ti tek pics of thi shops,like Keefy did,too late noo! A was very ill last year,and ain't been aroond that way for yonks...so wat's happenin' noo?

When I was still 15 yrs old,my older Brother [three years older and born on the same day as me!],took me to Newcastle,and around from the City Hall,to Kitchens' music shop. Well,back in 1959,they were a shop for serious classic or jazz true musicians,and were a bit slow at catching up on the rock and roll scene! They DID eventually,and they had a blood and custard Selmer Truvoice 15 watt,[bert Weedon type] amp,inside the shop,which was visible from the window.[No carousels in the windows....yet!]. While I was drooling over it,this being the first time I had ever seen anything like this,my Brother brazenly went in,with me trailing,terrified,behind him,and said to the OLD...OLD! male assistant..[who spoke like eton college twang..!]...."Wor youngin' would like a go at that amp...is that aareet?..." The fella kindly got a Hofner Committee acoustic-electric..[NOT A SEMI-ACCOUSTIC!..IRRITATING TERM!],guitar,and plugged it in,with a lovely amp-tremolo setting,and played a few chord progressions,and a bit of finger picking.Gorgeous! He gave me the guitar,and all aa cud play was little bits of single note stuff,not even complete tunes! But a was thrilled ti bits,and buzzing like hell. A told the fella a wud luv one,but cudn't afford one just noo....JUST NOO!....15 years aad,and mekking fowa quid a week,before off-tyeks,tipping me pay up ti me Mutha,and getting five bob pocket-money,as aalriddy said before,paying for me Rosetti Lucky Seven!! Then Johnny Tillotson released "Dreamin'....aam always dreamin'........"!! Aye,they WERE happy days! Bert Weedon always used this set-up...Hofner Comittee guitar and "blood and custard"Selmer truvoice amp..pure and clean sound.

Sure is John,it was given to me by my dear old friend and nieghbour,Ada Fearon,[deceased R.I.P. Ada],and so has great sentimental value now.

Hi Joanne,maybe a different family,but a Father and adult Son lived two doors away from my family,at Hollymount square,in the early to mid-fifties. They both had the nickname of "Pop" Robson. The Father used to drive a massive old 1940's Wolseley car,with the old-fashioned running boards,and huge Lucas "King of the road" headlights mounted on the front wings...green,if I remember correctly. This was in the days when your milk,groceries,ice-cream,rag and bone men,and everything else,was horse and cart driven...so this car really stood out in our street. Did you have other relatives who might have been driving a car like this? Hope this is of some use,if only to eliminate!

Hi James and welcome!

Very interesting Maggie! Mind,it's a gud job evolution is a powerful force in nature!! Wor lass wud be using an oak tree insteed of thi rowlin' pin on me!! Never been in Belsay Castle,gone past millions of times though... It reminded me of the male figure who was supposed to be roaming thi woods aroond Bolam lake,a year or two back... ...any more news aboot him,Maggie?

New day,unusually early in the evening,[for me,that is],a gotta eat grass! Clear brain tells me it WAS Jimmy Shillinglaw,but he wasn't Manager,he was a deputy at Bedlington aad pit,not lang afore it closed,in 1971. He was a canny fella,at a time when aad-fashioned deputies were very strict. A can be excused for the mix-up,cos Jimmy the Manager at the High Pit,was the spit o' this Jimmy,so aam still searching for a surname here,even though a was so sure a had got it! A WILL get it,cos aam hoping me aad marra who a worked with at thi High Pit,in thi '60s,will remember him. One day,in aboot 1963,[a was 19 years aad], a was tekkin' a full tram-load of arched girder legs up a steep bank,wi me pony pulling and straining he's back legs,and steam rising from he's body with being soaking wet,and sweating at thi syem time. Ye cudn't see past the horse for aal thi steam coming from him,and aa was at thi back wi a six-foot wood plank under the back of thi tram,paizin' ["levering"] ti try and help poor charlie,me horse. There was a newly -installed "drop-girder" safety device,on thi bank,and this was designed to arrest any runaway tubs or trams etc.['cos there wasn't any machine rope hauler in this roadway]. The roadway was a steep incline all the way for a quarter of a mile or so. Normally,we used to tie this drop-girder up near the roof,out of thi way,cos it was a nuisance,but this day,a had a feeling,with this heavy load a was tekkin in,summik might gaan wrang,and sumbody might get hurt or killed,if me tram went amain doon thi bank.[runaway out of control..]. Whey,a put thi girder doon,into the safety position,and got Charlie ti keep pullin this heavy load. Next thing aa knew was,Charlie lost a footing,reared up like Silver,in the Lone Ranger,and thi sheer weight pulled him head owa heels,and back doon thi bank,by his collar roond his neck. Terrifying sight to see,but aad seen it aal before,lots of times,with other lad's horses..[common cruelty at Choppington,due to lack of investment in rope haulages..] Anyway,thi tram went [seemingly] 30 miles an hour doon thi bank,only aboot fifteen lonnnnngg yards,and smashed inti the drop girder,tipping aal thi girder legs off thi tram,and virtually closing thi roadway...dust everywhere,sparks flying,crunching..metal on metal.....then silence except for Charlie's panting..[he was o.k.] Next thing aa knew was ....voices!! Several people appeared through the dust-filled roadway,led by....Jimmy..?...the new pit Manager!! They were government mines inspectors,engineers,safety officer,[Ned Stephenson..pictured above],and other visitors. AA was hevvin twins,shaking in me wellies,at the state of this roadway,which was impassable,with a heap of tangled up girders,and a tram lying on it's side,but still halfway up thi drop-girder,hangin,ready to maim anyone who was stupid enough to try and pass by!..[and a steamin,stinkin,sweaty pony,pantin his head off,and up to thi eyes with clarts.] A was fully expecting the sack,and a court appearance,from the Manager and safety officer,and a was flabbergasted when nice Jimmy,the Manager,said to aal the visitors,AND me,"Noo yi see hoo gud these drop-girders are for safety?....well done Wilma,for using it properly,if ye hadn't,we might aal have been injured,or even killed,by this lot..!" They wanted to help me shift the girders ,ti mek room ti pass,and a wudn't let them,cos they weren't used ti handling the heavy weight,so a quickly made it safe,and away they went,with the Manager at the back of the party,whispering in me ear,hoo pleased he was,that this had happened,cos he was trying,.... ...trying ....TRYING!!....ti convince the area director to put more money into the pit,in the way of investment on safety.! Was aa pleased a had put that drop-girder doon that day,and a DID every day after that...ye learn by ya mistakes in life,and never forget them..!

Jimmy Shillinglaw! THAT'S hoo a was trying ti think of....manager of Choppington High Pit at one time,not for long though,we had a few in quick succession. Gotta tek little black Jess oot noo,gotta a story ti tell aboot Jimmy,later! If THIS isn't Jimmy in the pic,aal eat grass!

Aye,Lone Ranger,and it seems yi still canna mind o' young Wilma,who started working on transport with John Dickinson,and John Wardlow! A tried ti prompt yi ages ago,but yi never came back on,after I twigged hoo ye were! A went on ti girder-leading with Keith Cooney,who died in Australia after gaan ti see England cricket team play for the ashes,not long ago,whey a few years...R.I.P. Keith. A worked at thi high pit from 1959 - 1965,and went ti the Aad pit at Bedlington,just before the high pit closed. Welcome back,B.B.! Ronnie Twist,and Eddie [councillor]Teesdale,were marra's [Deputies],on T.B.1 and T.B.2 faces in the Top Busty,[the new drift],and the kist was just at the entrance to the through-shoot,[stenton at other pits],as ye went up the other side of the drift.[ opposite T.B.2's tailgate] Can yi mind any of this ,Lone Ranger?

It's queer hoo blokes were really aad cheps,when yi were only aboot 17 years aad,and as yi aged yasell,and look back at pics like this,the blokes were really young also!! Perspective on life! Ned Stephenson was caaled ..."Stivvysun".... Aam still racking aboot Jimmy wi thi stotty-cyek cap on.....

Spot on Foxy! Ya a star! Ned Stephenson was the safety officer. When aa was 17 years aad,in 1961,aroond aboot then,a went inti the offices ti see aad Ned Cushing,wa training officer..[a luvly gentle fella who knew my Faatha when HE worked at thi pit in 1929!!].. Ned Stephenson came oot o' he's office and got he's eye on me studded belt. He ordered me ti get rid of it,or he wud "tek yi in,bonny lad..."...when a sed who the hell di yi think yi are,he flashed his "Special Police constable" I.D.wallet at me,of course aa hadn't heard of a special police constable,so a got stroppy wi him and telt him ti mind he's aan business!! He reckoned me belt was an "offensive weapon",at thi time when gangs were using them like that. Mine was through aal me breeks loops,and a wud be kicked in by thi time aa got it off! Anyway,aa didn't gaan oot drinking and fighting,a spent my pocket money on guitars etc,and lived a quiet hillbilly life! So a towlt the manager aboot aal this argument wi Ned,and HE telt me ti just ignore him!!! By hell,a was a quiet lad,unless any bugga tried ti waak owa me! Howw,Foxy,hoo did yi knaa his nyem?,is he related?Nae offence meant aboot me story,purely nostalgia,but a cud tell yi a few hair-raising stories aboot thi High Pit and Ned!!

Every bugga pinched baigie's in them days!! Last time a was in Scotland,[Calendar was the place],a few years ago,me and me Wife went into a curiosity shop in the street. The shop was full of memorabilia from the old days,Beano comics,Marvelman,etc. A got me eye on a Meccano set,and got on telling the guy in the shop hoo aav still got mine stashed away,from 1955. Taak went on,and a mentioned gaan ti schyuul wi a Bowie sheath knife on me belt,like we aal did in them days. A telt him thi shop browt back memories,when we were kids,pinching apples,peas,carrots,tetties,even brussel sproots,oot thi fields when we were hungry,and miles away from yem. War rations were still on,and when a telt him we used ti bite the peeling off the baigies,and eat thi whole baigie[turnips...ti thi uninitiated!],he replied...... ...and said,[in a swanky posh voice,...not Scottish!!]..."Oh,I was never driven to thaaat"..[Prince Charles' accent...!]. We came oot thi shop thinkin'..."noh,yi bugga,yi waadn't be driven ti thaaaat,cos yi were born wi a spoon in ya gob!!" Wadey's,Joicey's,Hunter's,[noo he had a jelly gun,and if yi were catched on he's land,he wud shoot yi,and the jelly wud clag ti yi.......!] Can anybody mind o' Hunter's jelly gun.........!!

Kieth,did Jackie ride an Ariel 1000cc Square-four bike-sidecar ootfit in the early 'fifties,and live at thi Bedltn marketplace? I worked with Dougie Scantlebury,at Bedltn A pit,when he was a Deputy,in charge of me,after Chopppington High Pit closed,and aa was transferred there. Later on,aa was in charge of him at Bates,when aa was owaman on thi face[just odd days here and there]...queer hoo things used ti turn oot. My Brother and his Wife Joan,used ti baby-sit Jackie's toddler,in the late 50's - early '60s. Noo!,me Brother is 73 years aad,so that/them toddler/s are probably in their 50's,and that means that any of their little-uns would be aboot late 20's-early 30's mebbe....? Noo wudn't it be a smaal world if Keefy,heor,was one o' them toddler's...!!! Aav just thowt on,me Brother had a marra at thi Whitley schyuul,a canny lad,dark curly/wavy[?]haired,in thi mid-fifties ,eh yi bugga, a can see his face clear as a bell,but a canna mind he's first name,a think he might have been Dougie's Son.[He would be 73 noo also]

Hi Maggie! Lovely ti see thi aad schyuul,but very disheartening ti see hoo it's deteriorated since aa was there last,at a school prizegiving evening,ti see me Nephew's Daughter receive her prize..a canny while back mind,and it wasn't in this state then! Mind, a ownly went inti thi schyuul haal,and naewheor else. My last proper memories of it was a very well-kept immaculate premises,only 3 yeors aad mind,from being built![so yi would expect it ti be kept nice!]

I could be miles oot,but the guy second left on pic 1 with the cap and solemn look,is the spitting image,[in my mind!] of one of the managers who came ti Choppington High Pit in the early 60's,called Jimmy....Jimmy....it's on thi tip of me tongue......! He was a lovely bloke,and too nice natured ti be a manager. "Noo, me lads"...[was his greeting when he came inbye on his visits..] Might not be him,but it's freakily like him! Guy on the right side,pic 1 looks also freakily like the Safety Officer at the pit...strange that both blokes remind me of both senior officials,Ned was his first name,canna mind surnames of either. Aal rack me feeble brains aal neet noo...even if aam wrang aboot them both!

James,yes,the small pits were closed by the labour government,in the 1950's-through to the 'sixties,but only because they were scratching around for coal,exhausted of productive coal seams. If you worked in the mines,then you should have been familiar with the.."PLAN FOR COAL",which was drawn up,for the future of the industry. The plan was to create "Superpits",like the Selby project,where many underground mines would feed their coal over miles of conveyor belts,to a central drift conveyor belt,[massive!]which would bring the combined production straight to the surface. I still have my original copies of "The Coal News",which was the coal industry promotional free press to every mine. These plans were laid out in detail,and were going to cost billions of pounds,with the promise to the miners of a very long prosperous future,with wages and conditions which would be the envy of all other industries........ What a laugh! They brought in a bonus scheme which,at one pit,like Ellington,miners were very well paid,because of high coal seams,massive investment in machinery,and excellent working conditions..[by our standards...still bad compared to surface industries!] At Bates pit,in the Three-quarter seam,conditions were atrociously inhuman,seawater coming in everywhere,bad roof breaking up,so we couldn't get the same amount of coal,therefore little or no bonus at all. The canteen ladies worked hard,in hot conditions,[that is,when the canteen wasn't under four feet of sewage water when strong east winds and heavy rain caused flooding all over Blyth!],but they were on the Area bonus,which meant that they usually had more bonus than us men on the coal faces and development works,risking our lives every day. When we finally drove new roadways to open out reserves of over a hundred million tons of clean,low-sulpher,coal,in 1985-6,thatcher ordered the cage ropes to be cut..pit closed...just like THAT! The trouble with a debate like this,is that people who know nothing about mining history,how our ancestors were treated by the greedy coal-owners,[how WE were treated by greedy millionaire politicians],[about WHY unions were formed],try to demonise the miners. [i fell into the same trap a week or two back,spouted off about the council,I was wrong,and apologised for my ignorance,to Malcolm,and Adam,when I should have held my trap shut,until I knew the facts!] It takes a man to stand up and say "sorry"! Scargill was accused of not "having a poll"......was I dreaming that I put my cross on the strike voting paper,at Bates pit? Oh,I forgot.....it was a pit to pit ballot.....someone wanted a National ballot,WHY?,were we a set of dumb nuts?,we already made our feelings clear for strike action,to save our pits,nowt to do wi money. It was a ploy to delay strike action,by all this talk of "illegal ballots". History now,as Maggie says,let's have a democratic debate,where we can discuss it,with no personal derogatory comments to each other,but the fact is,thatcher did more harm than good,destroying hundreds of communities all over our nation. She was cruel to kids,by taking the free milk out of their mouths to save coppers....that was before she became p.m. It's now nearly 1-30am,and I am gonna pile some z's up,now,cos i'm getting wound up just thinking back to the hardship we had in 1984...... ....it's not good for the old ticker!!!...and certainly not worth it!!

The pylon above on the left,gives a bit idea of the time slot when the pic was taken["start of the free woods"]. They were being built from the late fifties,through to the 'sixties.[a bit of useless information...!]

Mind,they who re-furbished it,and painted the mural,made a luvly job of it!

Heh heh!....the bandstand! When I was aboot five years aad,[in 1066...!],naa, in 1949-ish,the picnic field was a luvly grazing meadow,with a herd of coos wi greet corly-horns.........!! It wasn't a picnic field then. We [ my little mate,and our two older Sisters,]used ti gaan doon ti thi river ti play,and fish for "Tommies"[smaal catfish]. We used ti catch them wi wor hands ,put them in a jar,then let them away before we came back up Bedltn bank,ti Hollymoont Square,where we lived. A can mind when thi Cooncil started ti build the Bandstand,cos it was a steel girder framework,for a while,and an excellent climbing frame,which was indestructible! Then the frame was re-enforced wi concrete and stone,and an even better climbing frame! We had some extremely hot summer days in that field,on picnic days,and there used to be over 100,000 visitors to Bedlington,many of who used ti mek thi trek doon ti hear thi speeches and just enjoy a picnic in the most beautiful setting in Bedlington! Aaaa...happy days!

Was the tunnel entrance,[down by the river],next to the hospital,and if so,what was the purpose of it?. My friend and I were talking about this very subject today while out with my little darling............[Jess..my Labrador-cross rescue dog....!]

It was said in documents I have read,that the field ran with blood every time it was ploughed over,for years after the massacre. Like Maggie said,[as with every war],such a sad waste of life.

George Todd started as a young lad at Bedlington Co-op,working with my [eventual ] Brother-in-law,in the mid-1950's. One day my Mother thought she would try her shopping at the Oval shops,[in the mid-1950's],on the advice of other women who shopped there,to try and save a penny or two. I remember her coming home crying her heart out,and me being really sad at seeing my usually happy Mother in a distressed state. She had lost her purse with all her shopping money in it,before getting to the shops.....it contained £5 ! [my Father only brought in about £10 a week pay to keep all six of us in the family-including my parents!]. I raced down to the shops at the Oval,from Hollymount square,on my trusty steed,[my home-made bike made from bits cadged,and other bits from Bar'nt'n tip!]. Mother's purse was handed in to one of the shops and I brought it home intact,and got loads of big hugs and motherly sloppy kisses!! Dr's Ivory,and Robertson,originally came from Scotland Gate,[Dr Hickey's surgery],after Dr Hickey moved back to Ireland to retire. When Dr Robertson passed away,a young Dr John Brown took up the post. I have held him responsible ,since I was a 17 year-old heavy transport lad down Choppington high pit in 1961,for the continual pain and restricted movement of my neck,after I twisted it while down the pit one day. I went to the surgery,at the Oval,saw him for the first time,and even though my head was on my shoulder,and my neck was swollen like a water melon,at the side,the pain shooting like lights to my brain,and me nearly passing out,he pulled my head up and down,side to side,roughly,sent me to hospital,for x-rays,and after a couple of weeks,signed me off and said I was fit for work.....FIT FOR WORK!! ...he didn't even know what work was! I was carrying heavy girders on my shoulder for long distances underground,over rough hewn stoney wet ground,slipping and sliding,making my neck pain so much I used to be sick,but just had to carry on,cos,in those days....Doc was boss!! Dr's Ivory,Robertson,and Hickey,were our old family doctors,like our old school teachers,who watched all your family grow up,and knew all of the community. They would never have sent me back to work in so bad a condition,cos they knew what it was like underground,....they were often down there themselves,to treat injured men,or to certify a fatality. If anyone can remember Dr Robertson,would they agree that he would have been an excellent stand-in on the movie set,for Clark Gable?...!! He was the spitting image,complete with tash!

Ha ha!...nice one Vic,you are probably reet an aal. !!!!!!!! Ah! ...but with thi power of thi internet.......a cud still torture you both,if a was ti e-mail ye a few tracks of me playing a mean Hank Marvin noo!! Clean oot ya recycling bin ready for the onslaught!! Cudn't dae that wi Rediffusion,unless Daniel Gooch was the engineer!!

Hi Bedlingtonian! Welcome to the family! The bandsman looks very much like one of the Wearmouth Family,who were all Salvation Army members and bandsmen,from Bedlington. Jimmy Wearmouth was one of the Family who worked at Bedlington A pit,long before I was transferred there from Choppington High Pit,in 1965. His Brothers also worked at the pit,but I cannot remember their names now. What I DO remember was how canny Jimmy was,and very well liked by all the lads,Religeous,but didn't try to convert anyone. One day,at the shaft bottom area,down the mine,Jimmy dropped a very heavy steel lifting jack,onto his own foot,accidentally,of course! He lifted his foot and cradled it in his hands,as you would do!,and remained tight-lipped.....uttering a faint grimace........... ......if it had been Me or any other miner in the pit,they would have become bi-lingual for a few minutes!!![AND put on a gud dancing show at the same time!]...French being the chosen second language....as it were in those days,and confined to be used ONLY underground....sacrosanct! Nowadays,I hear schoolgirls [very young]and their boyfriends,pass my front garden,in the middle of the day,talking.."like pitmen".....as it were...in those days! Times change!

In the old days,miner's had to move around the country,to seek work. In 1970,I was allocated a colliery house,which had stood empty for a year or two,and was nothing more than a hovel with a roof![not really the point!] My old next door Neighbour saw me and my young Wife,coming into the yard to view the house,and thought it was a young laddie,with his younger sister!! [...well she would,wouldn't she,I was 26 years old,and She was getting to around 70-ish!..] Well,as time went by,and we got to become really good friends,her old Husband,Ned,told me that he moved over here from Whitehaven,in Cumbria,to seek work in the pits here,and was started at Bomarsund pit.[Whitehaven pit must have been on short time working,or something like that..].before the war. During the depression years,lots of workers,not only miners,would have to move around,desperately seeking work,and it must have been an utter nightmare for their families. Over the years,from being a pit transport lad,in the 1960's,to an official,and back to an experienced composite [development]-worker,in the late 1980's,I worked with a lot of men from all over the country,and also a few Polish men..[really good workers!]