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Bill

Geordie Mining Tales Part 1.

I was born at the "Bottom End" of Bedlington in Hollymount Avenue right at the top of the bank which goes to Hartford and Blyth I also attended St. Bede's Roman Catholic School in Bedlington and left school when I was fifteen.

I can remember I left school on the Friday after my fifteenth birthday and started work at the pit on Monday morning, my first job was working on the "bank" pulling the full tubs out of the cage and then steering them into the tippler.

My "gaffers" were Harry Cavanagh and Jimmy Carey, both very strict and hard men of few words.

It was hard work considering that you were doing this for a full eight hours, never mind I was young and also very fit and healthy. Not long afterward I was selected for underground training and attended the same training school that you did at the "Auld" Pit.

The man in charge was George Rafferty father of Tony Rafferty a school pal of mine, the two underground training officers were none other that the two brothers Ned and Jimmy Smout.

My first trip underground amazingly is quite similar to yours, getting into the cage with the backshift men and being worried about the rope. Similar to the comments made, someone at the back of the cage mentioned about the recent accident when the rope had come out of the socket, this guy reckoned that they had not used enough "Solder".

When we arrived at the five-quarter seam the cage stopped with a huge jolt putting the fear of God into everyone. Of we went inbye first to the stables to collect a pit "gallawa" pony and from there into the training flat.

The method of training was to the best of my memory all about Safety underground, how to hitch the limmers onto the "gallawa" and how to control him by keeping the bit in his mouth quit tight.

How to slow down the tubs when coming from the face onto the flat by using wooden dregs, needless to say numerous skinned knuckles plus, black thumb nails occurred by not being careful.

Next job was how to hook the full tubs onto the endless haulage by lifting the steel rope and placing it into the steel jockey which was attached to either the front or the rear of the tub whichever way the rope was travelling inbye or outbye.

The training on bank was all about mining principles as well as extensive training in the skill of First Aid.
This I really enjoyed, so much so, I passed my oral and practical exams 100%, Old Doctor Brown of Bedlington fame was the examiner.
I was also selected for the Training School First Aid Team and we went to numerous contests all around Northumberland winning numerous trophies. Once the training was completed the lads all went back to their respective pits, Bates, Crofton, Isabella, Bebside, Netherton, Booma, West Sleekburn, Choppington and many others that I just can't recollect at the moment.

This was now the start of the mining career for Terry McKinney getting up at 12-30 AM to go to work on Fore-Shift, my poor old mother how she did it I just don't know Bill.

My Dad was coming in from night shift, I'm going out on fore-shift and my three brothers were also going out on middle shift and backshift. Mind you that did not occur all at the same time because there are a few years age difference between my brothers and me, but never the less she had to get everything prepared.

She was always there making the "bait" filling the flasks or filling the water bottles, clean pit gear for Sunday night early Monday morning, clean towel and a bar of soap for the pit baths, it was all work carried out by the woman of the home.

My first shift on fore-shift started off really grand, several of us new "COAL MINERS" - "PIT YACKERS" stood outside of the fore-overmans cabin at the pit bottom, Bill it was like being in a deep fridge it was so cold.

Old Jack Anderson was the overman and he duly allocated everyone with a job, me, I was sent to the stables to get a "gallawa" and get into the Harvey 5th flat ASAP.

I stood there in amazement and asked Mr. Anderson "Where are the stables Sir", with a look of thunder upon his face he replied "Are you bloody daft son or just downright stupid", my answer was "Sorry Mr. Anderson but I've only ever been to the Five-Quarter before".

Once I found my way to the stables at the back of the pit bottom I was allocated a pony named "Rock", he was pure white and very powerfully built. I then had to go back to the overmans office because I didn't have a clue how to get to the Harvey 5th, once again rather embarrassing for me.

Old Jack Anderson took one look at me and said "Tell me son aren't you Ted Cochrane's youngin, "Yes Sir I replied", I see "Wait until I have a word with him at the club" "A divent kna wat kind a kids are cunnin tee these days".

Right then follow the "gallawa" inbye he will take you to the Harvey 5th.

I must have walked nearly two-mile inbye and when I did arrive at the deputy's kist I got my balls well and truly chewed off, not only by the deputy but by the putters who were waiting on "chummins".

So Bill that was the start of my career as a COAL MINER at the "Auld Pit"

After a while I was transferred from the Harvey seam to the Busty seam to work as a driver.
I'm not quite certain of all the details but what I'm about to tell is very true and is still in the NCB Record Book's. I was driving off a putter called Wilfie Douds and Wilfie got the record number of score of tubs for a month in all of Northumberland and Durham, again I am not quite sure of the figure but it was a record,

It was even in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and on the Moveitone News at the cinema.
Wilf was putting off two fillers and I was driving off of Wilf onto the flat, and I was also "hanging on" also, which made it bloody hard work for one man. His words to me were "Son if you can keep them chummins coming in to me I'll pay you your dues at the end of the week".
We worked both backshift and foreshift and I'm telling you Bill I've never ever worked so hard in my life.
However the Busty was a good seam and it was also a good flat it was dry, good roof and good bottom and the night shift stone men always had the bottoms rid and the plates laid before we went in on foreshift.
The dues for my first week was one pound nearly as much as I got for my pay which I think from memory was one pound seventeen shillings and sixpence. I stayed with Wilf up until I was interviewed for an apprenticeship and his words to me were "Son, you take it or you'll finish up like me having to work your balls off to earn a living for the rest of your life",

Terry

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Geordie Mining Tales of Long ago by Terry McKinney. Part 2.

The start of a new job at the Dr. Pit was indeed different.

On my first day at the pit I was as much welcome as a 'Pork Chop in a Synagogue" and that is without a word of a lie.
There were several other apprentices at the pit some I knew others I had never ever met before.

The electrical workshop and the fitting shops were in one building but were connected to each other and right next to the men riding shaft or as it was then called "The John Shaft" for what reason it was given that name I was never ever able to find out.

The Colliery Engineer was an old man in those day's and his name was Sep' Kidd, a very dour man who wore a flat cap and never ever had a smile on his face. The Electrical Engineer was Mr. George Row a wonderful man who I learned to respect very highly as the years went by, because it was he who encouraged me to carry on at night school until the NCB had arranged for a day release to attend Ashington Mining College.

The Dr. Pit was a very clannish pit because all the men who worked at the "Doctor" had been there for years, as had their fathers before them.
My problem was my father did not work at the Doctor Pit, he worked at numerous pits in the Ashington area.
Years later when I asked him why he had not worked at the Doctor Pit he told me that the management were not the best and they screwed the men, reference to their bargaining power for piece work.

He had moved from pit to pit if he could earn a few shillings for his hard work as a development man.
Point of interest it was my Dad and Geordie Charlton (Bobbie and Big Jack Charltons father) who developed the underground roadway from Linton to Ellington and from Ellington to Lynemouth.

Once I got settled in it was not too bad because it turned out that many of the men in the workshops and "doon the pit" all knew my family background on both sides of the family, McKinney and Cochrane families.

The pit at that time in 1954 was not a locked lamp mine, therefore the men all used carbide lamps, and guess what my job was?
Every morning after cleaning out the ashes in the huge fire place and putting the huge kettle on to boil for the morning tea I had to then get all the carbide lamps prepared for the electrician's who worked underground.

Empty the carbide canister, refill with fresh carbide and also clean and polish the reflector then trim the lamp and it was all ready to go.
Shortly after that electric cap lamps were introduced and that made the life of "wor youngin" a lot easier.

I spent a considerable amount of time during my first six months working in the shop and was not allowed to go underground for some unknown reason. This really brassed me off because if you went underground even to the pit bottom to fix the lights or whatever it was an extra two shilling and sixpence in your pay packet.

Never mind I did not complain because soon afterwards I was like a "mole" I was put onto the Middle Shift and started work at 04-00 AM in the morning and worked "doon the pit" with the "Flying Squad".

In the winter months I never ever saw the sun at all because sometimes we had to work overtime and finished at maybe 18-00 PM.
The Dr. Pit worked several coal seams, the Plessey, Harvey, Cadzow, Busty, Five-Quarter, The Crank (Yard Seam), Main Coal and High Main.
There were two entrances to the underground workings one was the John Shaft and the other was "doon the drift" to the Main Coal and High Main, the central shaft which could be seen for miles around was only used for pulling coal.

The drift was where the first Anderson Boyes - Universal Jib Arc Shearer was installed all the way from Motherwell, Scotland.
This was quite a machine and was able to undercut, middle cut as well as cut the coal at roof level if required.
It sure was a universal machine and the machine men earned quite a lot of production bonus in the areas that they operated, I also understand that several of these early coal cutters went to Australia and proved also to be very successful down under.

One funny story about the Arc Shearer still sticks in my mind as if happened yesterday.

Jimmy Snaith - shift electrician and me the apprentice happened to be in the same flat as my uncle Matty Cochrane and the team working one of the shearers.
The Team from memory: Andy Fairbairn, Matty Cochrane, Bill Hetherington (Geordie's father), Bill Hempstead and Bill Carter.
Being on middle shift we were in there to move panels or cables whatever between the end of fore-shit and the start of back-shift.
When the men were ready to go to bank Andy Fairbairn the team leader pulled out of his poke a couple of "shore of tatties", the spuds, the roots the green tops the lot and he placed them on the jib of the machine which was set at the roof.

I didn't have a clue what was going on but I soon found out.

We all went outbye and sat at the drift bottom waiting for the back-shift deputy to come in and examine the flat prior to the back-shift started their shift.
Big Andy Fairbairn hollared to the Deputy " Marra ye betta not gan in there wuv just holed inta Cud Wades Tetty field doon the Choppington Lonnun".
Bill the place was alive everyone was so deadly serious about the big practical joke about to be played on the deputy Tommy Muldoon.
He went immediately into the flat and come running outbye telling everyone to move away and get to bank as soon as possible because we may have a big roof failure.

There was panic in the drift that day, the manager, under-manager, overman everyone came "doon the drift to examine the tetty field collapse".
However, it all backfired Geordie Hetherington Mine Manager and Eric Talantyre Under-Manager were not too impressed and sent for all the men for a meeting at 4pm where the air was blue.
However, they still had a job but were told in pitmatic slang style it had better not F***** Happen again.

The practical jokes played by pitmen were unreal.

Once I had completed my coal-face training I was semi-authorised to do certain jobs alone underground.

So one evening at about 7 p.m. I answered a call from the Crank (Yard Seam), the arc wall cutter would not work and could they get an electrician in there as soon as possible to fix it.

It was Friday and the shift electrician Bobby Napier had not yet come to work, so being as keen as mustard I packed my tool bag and off I went underground to fix the problem.

I must mention that the Yard Seam was about three miles plus inbye, to give you some idea of the distance from Bedlington it was way out under Hartford Woods and under the River Blyth, quite a hike underground.

The reason for the pit working this area was they were retreat mining and taking out the pillars that had been left behind for many years from the days when my grandfather had worked at the Dr. Pit as a hewer, the coal was however, of very good quality.

Any way I walked inbye and at the bottom of the rise up into the seam I met with Laurie Moore and his "marra" who were on their way to bank.
He reckoned that the cutter cable pommel was jammed and he could neither get it in nor get it out.
You can well imagine how I felt.
So off I continued my way into the flat and eventually found where the cutter was parked right at the face where they had finished the last cut.

I had to isolate the power supply, lock it off and then prepare for a very long and difficult job.
Yes, the only way to fix the problem was to completely strip down the pommel on the cable and remove, it then remake it again because the "butterfly" was jammed solid.
I did eventually finish the job just as the deputy came in to see what I was doing.

He smiled at me and said " Niver mind bonny lad ya gannin to larn the hard way" "Al have Larry Moores bollicks next week for this".
What these guys had done was set me up because they wanted an early finish - the reason being there was a big Homing Pigeon Association Dinner at the Top Club that Friday night.

It was not me they had tried to set up it was for Bobbie Napier but as mentioned Bobbie was not on the job when I foolishly answered the telephone call. The moral of the story is

"NEVER ANSWER TELEPHONE CALLS UNLESS IN AN EMEGENCY"


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