Anyone want a job?

[harrycatcat1]

Mid 70's recruitment poster.

 

[yates]

In my village you went down the mine if you left school with no qualifications. No need to advertise. The lads just followed their Dad's and Grandad's down the local pits. A totally different world to live in back then, society has changed so much in such a short time

[Scully]

At 17 I was being paid 25 quid a week as a junior design artist and engraver. The only trouble was I was living in digs which cost 15 quid a week! I used to blow the tenner in a wild weekend with mates in either Carlisle or Morecambe. 😂

I left for an 80 quid a week job in a sawmill. 

[discobob]

First one in my family (on my Dad's side) not to work down the mines..On my mum's side it stopped at my Grandad..

[snow white]

Was 17 got married still together after 57 years picking up £2.19 shillings after stoppages for a 54 hour week apprentice sheet metal worker.

will always remember gaffer asking if I want to work overtime Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning sometime till 4 o’clock did it for a few months .

left went to a firm next door as a plater/welder picking up £40 a week for 40 hours didn’t know what to do with them self all the free time.and believe me we could do a lot with £40 in them days 

[welsh1]

My Dad went down the mines at 15 as a pit pony boy, saw his mate killed when he had his head between two loads and it shunted squashing his head.

My Dad got out and joined the Army at 17,said it was way easier and safer than working down the pits.He always had a great respect for any miner.

[harrycatcat1]

This was the "coal face" some were only half as high but it gives you an idea. Usually 300 metres long.

 

[Vince Green]

During the 80s, we were trying to track down members of the family that my Mum was evacuated to in South Wales during the War.

To possibly get some clues while we were down there we visited the village cemetery to identify if any of the family were buried there

 A bit morbid but you can glean a lot of information from grave stones

What amazed me and my dad was that virtually none of the men in that cemetery had lived to see their 60th birthday.

That's the reality of going down the mines

Welsh coal is the best in the world but its also the hardest. Its dust is like tiny needles when it gets inside your lungs

 

[team tractor]

My grandad worked in the pit. He was a deputy and kept it open during the strikes by going down on his own and walking the lines checking it was safe . 
i shoot a lot of the areas he walked underneath and it’s a good 6 miles between pittops . 

[30-6]

When leaving school in 1974 went straight into an apprenticeship. Lots of my friends just followed their relatives and went down the mines.

That would never have happen for me. My father was killed in a colliery accident in 1958, I was 6 months old.

[Mice!]

On 15/04/2023 at 12:08, harrycatcat1 said:

This was the "coal face" some were only half as high but it gives you an idea. Usually 300 metres long.

 

No thanks, I've never had a problem will small spaces, but I took a deep breath seeing that.

23 hours ago, Vince Green said:

Welsh coal is the best in the world but its also the hardest. Its dust is like tiny needles when it gets inside your lungs

It would most likely be full respirators these days, but even if the money was great I can't imagine there being a rush to get under ground and really graft.

[samboy]

My grandad was a Geordie and used to pedal 20 miles to work down the mines. He was a tough old boy.

I don't take after him 😂.

[markm]

Both grandfather’s were miners. They told me some stories. One described himself as a slave to the coal seams. 
 

One fact I can remember, if you left the mine, you had to be out of your colliery house the same day you finished.
 

Kind of had miners by the balls……

[harrycatcat1]

On 15/04/2023 at 12:08, harrycatcat1 said:

This was the "coal face" some were only half as high but it gives you an idea. Usually 300 metres long.

 

This is no word of a lie, some of the faces that we worked on were so low you had to take your belt off which had your battery, respirator, two adjustable spanners and a hammer and chisel on. You had to throw your belt and accessories in front of you and drag yourself through.

I certainly couldn't do it now, that was when I was in my 20's.

[jall25]

1 hour ago, harrycatcat1 said:

This is no word of a lie, some of the faces that we worked on were so low you had to take your belt off which had your battery, respirator, two adjustable spanners and a hammer and chisel on. You had to throw your belt and accessories in front of you and drag yourself through.

I certainly couldn't do it now, that was when I was in my 20's.

 

That you in the pics Harry ?

 

[harrycatcat1]

19 minutes ago, jall25 said:

 

That you in the pics Harry ?

 

No it's an archive picture, only special cameras were allowed because of risk of sparks and explosion. 

[jall25]

5 hours ago, harrycatcat1 said:

No it's an archive picture, only special cameras were allowed because of risk of sparks and explosion. 

👍

[TOPGUN749]

I would say that recruitment ad was early 70’s ,I started a shift work job in 1977 for £60 a week when miners got around £80.

[discobob]

15 hours ago, harrycatcat1 said:

I certainly couldn't do it now, that was when I was in my 20's.

I couldn't do it now either - too fat!!!😂 Not that I could have done it in the first place - small spaces creep me out.

[Townie]

On 15/04/2023 at 09:36, discobob said:

First one in my family (on my Dad's side) not to work down the mines..On my mum's side it stopped at my Grandad..

My father's one and only career aspiration: not to go down t'pit (said in a raight broad Donny accent).

[harrycatcat1]

7 hours ago, TOPGUN749 said:

I would say that recruitment ad was early 70’s ,I started a shift work job in 1977 for £60 a week when miners got around £80.

👍

[wisdom]

Nothing but total respect for any one who has worked down the mines.They kept Britain warm and built a huge industry.The supply chain and associated engineering work also created thousands of jobs.

[old man]

8 minutes ago, wisdom said:

Nothing but total respect for any one who has worked down the mines.They kept Britain warm and built a huge industry.The supply chain and associated engineering work also created thousands of jobs.

I was an apprentice in the associated engineering sector.

[wisdom]

34 minutes ago, old man said:

I was an apprentice in the associated engineering sector.

Skills for life I imagine.

[derbyduck]

I was told by my form teacher who was also the careers teacher that if I didn't wear the proper school uniform tie I would not be allowed to go on the school visit to a coal mine and go underground , my dad bought me a red slim Jim silk tie !

the irony of it is after going into engineering I went into constructional engineering and worked on the headstocks and pit bottom structure of 100s  of coal mines in the UK.

Edited April 17, 2023 by derbyduck