HIGH PIT WILMA

Hi David,life down Choppington B pit [aka "The High Pit"]was really tough..I should have said ROUGH!

I left school aged 15 years in 1959,and followed in my Father's and Brother's footsteps,as a lot of kids did in those days,and went to work down the mines.After preliminary training at Seaton Burn pit,The Coal Board sent me to The High Pit..even though at the interview stage,all the trainees were given two choices as to which pit they wanted to go to..I chose Bedlington A pit..[aka "The Aad Pit"],or as a second choice..Bedlington D Pit ..[aka "The Doctor Pit"]..

My Father went mad when he opened the letter informing me that I was being Posted to the High Pit...HE started down that pit in 1929,aged 14 years old straight from school also.

He told me stories about how it was "Aal rough and ready.."..and how men were being killed or injured on a regular basis..and he was going to see about putting a stop to me being sent there.

Whey,he calmed doon and within a haaf an hoor,said Billy,aa nivvor wanted ye ti gaan doon thi pit ,but ye wadn't listen ti me,ye med ya bed hard,so ye can lie in it!!

SO,a went into the timber yard at first,and also helped out on the screens,picking stones off the conveyor belt,to clean the coal up..then went down the pit at 16 yrs.

By the time I was 17 yrs old,I was on heavy transport and salvage work,doing a really strenuous job,trailing heavy bits of gear like Motors,Gearboxes,Conveyor belt driveheads,200 yard long heavy thick cables for the coalcutters,using  my pit pony and tracing chains.

Ronnie and Eddie were the Deputies in two adjacent coal faces,which were really rough,with roof water teeming in,constantly,bad roof conditions,swalleys of water 100 yards lang and up to the ponies belly..i.e. up to our waist in some places..men WERE getting injured and killed frequently,I have permanent injuries which I never reported and which have affected me my whole life..also the pit horses suffered cruel conditions and were frequently injured or killed,or had to be humanely put to sleep because of serious injuries.

In conditions like this,it is inevitable that tempers were raised sometimes ,and that happened with Ronnie and Eddie at times..they were both in conflict with me and my Marra Keith Cooney..[now deceased R.I.P. Keith].Not just with Dad and Eddie,but other Deputies as well,it was because we were under the charge of Joe Barratt,the Overman,who was in overall charge of the mine underground...including the Deputies,generally.[but when it came to Safety Health and Welfare of the men in the Deputies' charge..the Deputy was the Kingpin!!..Nobody,not even the Manager,nor the Chairman of the Coal Board..were allowed to enter a Deputy's District,until they met the Deputy at the entrance to that district..[i.e."The Kist"].But in practice we went into every district in the pit,cos if we didn't,the pit would close down..we supplied the men on the faces with girders,timber,coalcutters drillers..everything they needed to produce coal!..

SO!...sometimes us girder lads would be trailing girders etc right up to the coal face as close as possible to ease the burden of the faceworkers,and the Deputies would complain that we were "getting in the way of the men"..and would phone and complain to the Owaman..Joe Barratt..

On one occasion,Dad was livid,and spitting blood,so to speak..we were trying to do our job,he was doing his..and we ended up in a confrontation..so when he complained to Joe Barratt,he was told to "Leave my Lads alen..tha daeing wat aa telt them ti dae..ye hae nowt ti dae wi it"..!..Sixty odd years later it seems funny that a row could brew up oot of nowt ,but like a said..in hostile conditions,where everybody's lives were at constant risk,tempers flared,and a lot of shouting went on..but ye see ,David,pitmen fell oot,and a quarter of an hour later,they would have forgotten aal aboot it,they HAD to watch each other's backs for roof falls of stone..Comradeship was second to none doon theor!

We had to jump wor horses OWA fast moving rubber conveyor belts ti get them into other roadways..totally against the law,but we were threatened with "wa cards" if we stopped the belts ti get the horses owa..so horses like my Dapple Grey Charlie,who a bonded with very closely...got so seriously injured,trapped between the moving belt,and the steel structure poles,that he had to be put to sleep by the Vet.I was in tears at 19 yrs of age,and still well up thinking about him..he was as close to me as my LBJ..my black Labrador/Cross who was put to sleep four yrs ago..I miss them both terribly.

SO,David,life wasn't a picnic doon theor,and aa was pleased as hell when they announced that the pit would close in 1966.

Other pits I worked at were rough as well,but nowt like High Pit.

Cheers David,every word I write is purely my own experience and every word is true.

Hope aav given ye an insight how tough it was!

Bill.

p.s. I haven't any knowledge about Dad being burn't..maybe before my time even..

A shud have said third from the left!!

Hi Alan!,definately Ronnie Twist!..he was a Deputy at the Choppington B pit,while aa worked there from 1959-1965..he might have been at the A pit,when he was younger,as on this pic,but he was in charge of the coal faces along with Eddie Teasdale,who was a Councillor for Bedlington at that time,down in the new Top Busty seam,which had been opened up after drifting doon ti it..at the High Pit.I was on Girder Leading with Keith Cooney,my Marra..and it was a seriously strenuousy difficult dangerous job..

Ronnie and Eddie were two old school Deputies who ruled with an iron fist,and inevitably,us girder lads and the Deputies clashed ,causing a lot of conflict..best left to rest!!

I'll eat grass if that isn't Jimmy Surphlis in the front row Centre..the big lad..Jimmy was  heed and showldaas above me at the high pit ,when a was aboot nineteen years aad!! ..a canny fella and a gud crack!!

C.L.,a went ti school wi a reet canny lad caaled Eddie Hedley,from Guidepost a think,that was 1956-1959,when we left school,and aa went doon thi pit..aged 15 yrs.

Noo in 1963,a was daeing me coalface training at Bedlington A Pit,[the Aad Pit!],and one of me Instructors was a reet canny fella caaled Phil Hedley..fast forward ti 1993-1995,a was noo working as a  Cabinet-Maker at a Rothbury based Kitchens and bedrooms factory,and one of me young Marra's,[only aboot19 yrs aad],was a reet canny lad caaled....Phil Hedley!!..from Bedlington Station..a dinna knaa if they were related,,a nivvor thowt ti ask.Just wi ye saying ye were aalwis interested in the Hedley name.

A forgot,at Bates's Pit,when a was a Deputy,one of me Electrician's was a canny lad caaled Nigel Hedley..his Dad was caaled Ted Hedley,[nickname was "Lord Ted"..because of his posh accent!!].

Nigel noo has his aan business in Blyth,"Nigel Hedley Solicitors".

Anybody related C.L....?!!

Cheers! HPW.x

There was one youngin,who went around the roadways by hesel',looking after aal the water pumps,[a Pumper by definition],who ran ootbye scared oot of his wits,saying he had seen a ghost inbye. He refused to gaan aroond on his aan withoot a Marra for company.Aal thi men took thi mick oot o him ivry day,caaling him a q.......[whey Gay..but not in that terminology!].Aa was a Deputy in that District at thi time,and one day ,at the end of the shift,a came oot ti the "Radio Cabin"..[where the underground Loco's were controlled by radio],ti wait for the manriding loco set coming in to take aal the men ootbye.The poor lad was nearly in tears wi being picked on..until aa waaked in and sat beside him.A asked him wat happened,but couldn't hear him for the jeering of aal the men and younger lads.So a asked them aal ti hang on and let me hear the story from the Horse's mooth,cos hearsay was aal a hord.They quietened doon with respect,and thi lad telt me wat he had seen,a telt him a believed him,cos aam from a family of Spiritualist Mediums,and a re-assured him that it's the living..like this lot in here..who will hurt ye,the Spirit winna.THEN,a turned ti aal the lads and said in a loud authororative voice.."Lads,a dafy aal of ye's hoo have been up at 8's district,where the Owaman..[Overman in Charge],Alec Waite had seen an Apparition,ti gaan up by yasel,and come back and tell me ye didn't feel a bit uneasy"...one by one they sheepishly admitted a was right,saying it was a bit weird,a queer feeling of uneasiness...wat they really meant was..it was scary!! But brave big boys usually winna admit this...so within five minutes they were taaking amang thasel's aboot the sighting by Alec Waite, and they left the lad alone.He said quietly ,Thanks Bill,ye are the first one ti believe me.Noo a nivvor knew that Lad's name,and aam wondering if he was the one mentioned in one of the quotes above.A dae remember this lad didn't last very lang doon the pit,after that.

Hi Folks,a wud think it might have been a safety quiz,cos Joe Kryozka won the Safety poster slogan and cartoon competition,Nationally for the Coal Board's safety campaign,and his Posters were up at every pit in the country,in the Deployment Centres,and they were aal brilliant. Noo!..summik puzzles me,is the use of the word "Apprentice" a modern term for "Trainee"?,cos Joe came doon the pit and went on Deputy work if I remember correctly...mind,a wad stand ti be corrected on that one!..he was a smashing natured lad.Eddie Hindmarsh,[the Ginger Fox!],was a smashing Manager,if he wasn't happy aboot owt on the face,he wud tek ye ti one side,quietly,and tell ye..Loads of respect for that Lad!!

It grates on me every time I read "Blyth"!

A aalwis thowt Cambois was in the Bedlington Shire!

Is tha summick aam ignorant of?[boundaries mebbe's?]

Seriously folks,it's been rough for the last three years,Cath has gone a lang way doonhill,healthwise,so aam not on often,just ti let ye aal knaa a haven't deserted!!

Cheers,Bill.

Tempus Fugit!![aam not clivvor ye knaa..a ownly knaa that cos an aad Bates Pit Marra started mekkin waal clocks [whey not the actual clock....ye knaa..cabinets and mantelpeece moontings...]..and he used ti pin a wee scroll decoration at the bottom of thi clock woodwork..and it had the words ...Tempus Fugit..on it..so a axed wat it ment ind he telt is!!

So noo a try ti soond edjicatid...!!!

Snaadrops n Crocisis aalriddy on thi way up..Spring comin' in aalriddy!

Luvly time of the year..warmer days aheed!

Cheers Folks..[aam back!!]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

Hope it's a better one than thi last one was!

Cheers Bill.

Hi Folks,can anybody remember Fullerton's shop at the top-end next to thi Wharton Arms Pub in the 1950's?

Also Adamson's shop just aroond thi bend from the Budge also at the top-end..as you were gaan ti Westridge direction.

A  think it was Tommy[?] Fullarton who owned that shop,he was a canny fella,and Brother to a very gud old [now Deceased R.I.P. Olive Keeley]..friend and nybor of ours at West Terrace Stakeford..[Bob and Olive lived in the East Terrace opposite us..for nearly 30 years..but we were friends from being in wor early Teens..courting years!!

Alan,me last comment was short a bit,a had meant ti say this creeper pulled tubs and trams of materials and timber pit props and planks etc,up to the Heapstead,to go down the pit.

Aam studying this Tippler at thi pit bottom pic,and aam puzzled as hell!!

Why wud ye want ti tip mine cars oot underground?..they were just filled an hour before reaching the shaft bottom!..even if there was a drift conveyor to the surface like Lynemouth...why would they use mine cars being filled and tipped? beats me!

A wasn't at the pit in them days,so a canna fathom it oot..and if they used Skip Winding,the conveyor belts would run straight to the cages/Skips...and a canna mind Bates ever having a skip winder!

Bill Riley,where are ye?!!...please explain![unless they were tippling into a staple shaft..like they had at Bedlington Aad pit,in the High Main seam..the coal  came ootbye on the conveyor belt and went doon a chute into a Staple shaft aboot 60 feet doon,ti the Loader end,which was at a lower level.

The Staple was filled like a reservoir,if there was a stoppage at the Shaft bottom area,for any reason,tubs off the way or owt like that.

It meant that coalwork could still proceed until the Staple was full.

Ashington pit had a Staple shaft as weel..that's the only thing a can think of as ti why a tippler wud be at the shaft bottom..ti draw aal the coal from different seams in one place..noo that meks sense!!

Just remembered,the creeper shown in thi pic isn't for pulling tubs aroond the circuit,this one is pulling tubs and trams of materials such as timber planks and pit props,girders,rolls of conveyor belts,and owt else from the timber or stock yards,ti gaan doon thi pit.

Ivrything like that ,at thi High Pit,was put inti the cages at thi Horse-hole,at grund level.

Just for reference!!

Ye can see the edge of the next tippler at the reet side of the pic,the youngun wud hae ti stand in that wee triangle of space atween the two sets of way.[rails]Dangerous or wat?!

CL,see the handle next ti thi tippler?..whey ye had ti pull that handle back towards ye ti tip the tub ,by setting the rotating tippler in motion.

Noo,ye see where the youngin wud hae ti stand?..next ti the rails what set the next tub ti thi tippler behind ti youngin stannin theor!![cos tha wud be three or four tipplers aal gaaning at thi syem time at a big pit..Choppington High Pit ownly had one tippler cos we had single decker cages wat ownly tuk two tubs at a time..as opposed ti big pits wat had double,triple or even quadruple decks..thus winding more tubs aal at once.]

If Health and Safety had been aroond in the aad days ..aal thi pits wudda been shut doon as soon as the Inspectors went through the Heapstead doors!!...that reet James?!

At thi High Pit,that Handle was across at the other side of the rolleyway,[thi rails],and it had a 6" square plate welded onti it,and wat ye did was even mair scary..ti the uninitiated!

After ye pushed thi full'n inti the tippler,ye had ti larn thi knack of actually KICKING.. the plate on the handle ti set thi tippler away..![why thi hell thi handle was across thi otha side of the way beats me!]

Many a time us young kids from scyuul wud literally loss wa balance and faal backwards wi the reverse thrust of not being  strong enough,or heavy enough,ti set thi tippler away..[mind it didn't tek lang ti larn thi knack!!]

It was certainly an aad Tetty pit!..the coal washer was ancient..and primitive,but it worked!.it was a 40-ish feet lang heavy,a mean massive..Shaker..which had water sprays overhead washing the coal,and was driven by a wheel and belt system,with a massive crankshaft and conrod..which pushed and pulled this lang heavy shaker.

The coal was graded into different sized pieces after falling through varying sized mats of holes on the shaker,and aal the stones fell owa the front end onti steel flat sheets.

They had a bloke ["light wark"!!!]...wheeling the stones away ,in a wheelbarrow,and tipping them doon a chute and into waiting coal trucks below the screens.

It was like that in 1929,when me Faatha started  there as a 14 yrs aad laddie,and it was STILL like that when aa started in 1959.!!

A wasn't there five minutes,when a asked the aad timers why it was like that..a bit hillbilly-like!!

They said ,whey Son,it's aalwis been like that..!

Me Faatha telt me the same ,when a telt him..[He was now working at Linton Pit..]

So one day,a said ti the Engineer,"Why dinna yi burn a hole through the steel flatsheets,rig up a chute,and feed the styens stryght inti thi trucks doon under thi screens..tha theor ti start wi..meks sense ti me!!!

A day or two later,they were up wi the burning gear,and did wat a suggested..and the stones went inti the trucks directly till thi pit closed!![a was a fifteen year aad kid!!]

Heh heh!CL,ye would hae ti hae a canny gob ti swalley one of these!!

James,a hate ti soond like a nitpicker,but ivrybody on here knaas aam a stickler for correctness,where humanly possible!,[like...aa nivvor mek a mistake ...like!!!hmmm...!],but ye contradicted ya description,even though ye described the process better than aa cud o dun!

The FULL'NS are pushed oot the cage by Chummins gaan in,wi the help of the Banksman/Men.

They run stryght ti the tipplers,ti be tipped doon onti the Shakers,[Grids with several different sized sets of holes,which separate out the different sized pieces of coal and "shake" them onto different conveyor belts..called Screening belts..or "The Screens"],then the empty tubs..["Chummins"..or ."Chumtubs"],are pulled back up to the cage level by the Creepers.The difference in levels has to be like that or the tubs would have to be pushed aroond the whole circuit by hand!![caaled "The Heapstead Circuit"].

So the circuit is...Oot thi cage...run gently doon a slight gradient ti the tipplers..tipped...doon a slight gradient,after being pushed oot thi tippler by anither full'n...doon ti the creepers...up the creeper ..slight gradient and run aroond a curve and doon ti the cage..and away back doon the pit ti be filled at the Loader End..and start the circuit again.

...And aam gett'n aad a think...James...is it J.H. or aam a mixed up wi K.J...?..[BOTH aad Friends enywheh!!]

Hope ye dinna mind me interfering James!!

Cheers! Bill.[Great pics by thi way!..brings back memories of being a 15 yrs aad laddie stryght from me school desk..and daeing monotous,soul-destroying jobs like this..and tekking Jockey's oot on the kip aal day at the shaft bottom area..!afore gettin onto thi Fyess!!]

Thanks Alan! I know Dave Shepherd and all his family very well,his Brother Lawrence..["Lol Shep"..now sadly deceased R.I.P. Lol],lived opposite me for nearly thirty years at West/East Terraces in Stakeford.His other Brother Mick,[also sadly deceased..R.I.P.Mick],was my close Marra for over 25 years also.I trust Dave's word and opinion on this one,and aam thinking twice aboot ordering the DVD,bearing in mind I received a DVD as a Xmas present,years ago,from Mick and his Wife,about Bedlington remembered and it was mostly photos and a voiceover,so it might even be the same DVD that Dave talks aboot!! ..Aal get it oot and check it ti see..if a can find it that is!

Cheers Alan.

Bill.[Hope ye aren't too bad!..rough at this end wi Cath..]

Many thanks Alan,much appreciated,aam tekking the chance to check things out,mail etc,while Cath is in bed![resting between hoosewark!]Cheers Bill.[hope ye are not too bad yasel Alan!!]

HI Alan,aa wud like a couple of copies of that DVD as weel ,if ye can find out how and where to buy it..Aa wud imagine Al's Videos at Ashington,[if he is still there like!],wud have it,he used ti have aal the Local Magazines like Creeful O Coals etc.

Cheers Bill.

Hi folks,aam still alive!,just fully taken up time-wise..noo,aa luk oot me sitting room and kitchen Windaes ivry day of me life,at the remains of the Choppington Low Pit heap!..it's still big enough not ti be missed,but luks a lot nicer than it did many yrs ago!! On the great photo of the mountain,ye can see where the Bogies have been re-sited ti start tipping onto another part of the land adjacent ti the Mother heap! If the pit had still been ganning,tha wudda been Twin Heaps by noo!!

My Uncle Tommy Cadwallender and his family lived in them hooses,and when my Parents lived doon on the Willow Bridge,in Storey's Buildings,me Mutha used ti tek us bairns through the pit yard ti see them.

A distinctly remember,in aboot 1947,aged three yrs,seeing this massive pipe gushing filthy stinking black watta inti a greet big pond..[the pit ponds!!],and me Mutha frightening me by warning me not ti gaan and play near them ponds cos tha was a laddie droonded in them..a just canna remember the laddie's name.

Aa nivvor forgot the noise and smell of the waata gushing..it was terrifying ti a wee bairn like me..then we went through the yard,passed the screens and the rail sidings..loads o knocking and bangin from the tubs up in the Heapstead,the tipplers,the creepers,the cages rattling up and doon..steam blaan off wi the steam winders,black smoke from the boilers,AND the tankies shuntin' the trucks under the screens and being teemed inti ...Noise,Smells,loads of locomotion constantly..wat a dangerous environment it was!!..but that was pitwark..and we aal knew nowt else!!

The heap was on the right of the rail line wat went up ti Choppington High Pit,which was used ti bring the High Pit Coal doon ti join the main line.

It is noo knaan as Choppington Community Wood Walk..and a lovely walk it is..well done to the friends of Choppington Woods Project!!

Cheers,Bill.

Hi Lynne,welcome to the forum,they are a very helpful bunch of luvly sensible folk..nae muppets like on other forums!!

It's interesting to learn your roots,I never knew much about your Parents family history!

Ye might be a Longridge for aal ye knaa!!

...shud read.."if he was here with us now.."

Hi Canny Lass,a think aal the facts about Dusty Miller ,which are as vivid in my memory as if it was yesterday,lead ye ti think it was the Accident Steve is wondering about. Take my account against some unknown,uneducated [in mining that is!],reporter,who throws his notepad in to a similarly uneducated editor,with absoloutely no disrespect intended...

Unless we throw a different light on the matter,I would go for poor Dusty..he suffered agonising injuries and pain,on a day which started quite happy with a bunch of gud Marra's.

The one fact I left out was hearsay to me,and I don't know how true it was except for the fact it was told to me by my own very trustworthy Marra's..

The Coalface Overman,[in overall charge of the face],left the scene of the accident,and crawled off the face and sat in the High Roadway which was the Tailgate..[return airway road].

He had taken his pit helmet off,and sat with his head in his hands,breaking down,and said to the tailgate Stonemen.."A canna gaan back doon there...a canna.."..in those exact words...which,at the time,he was heavily criticised for,but as we get older, a bet some of those who criticised,including myself,think back and understand that Man's feelings..he was in charge,and should have been organising a stretcher,informing the Surface to have an Ambulance,organising getting Dusty off the face on the stretcher..organising who should be stretcher bearers,and relief bearers,8 men in all..4 men on carrying the stretcher one man at each handle,and the other four to take over at every ten minutes or so..[it's not like smooth pavement down there you know...]..a one- mile carrying of a 16 stone fella on a stretcher,over rough,wet,stony uneven ground,then a climb of a quarter of a mile up a 1- in 6 gradient "Drift" roadway,then 200 yards to the shaft bottom,to be put in a cage to be wound 1000 feet to the surface...all the time Dusty would have been passing out,through being joggled around during the journey outbye and to Bank..[the surface]..I have been a stretcher bearer a lot of times from aged 19 yrs old down the High Pit at Choppington,and at other pits,and have carried 18 stone fellas,believe me..itwas arduous very heavy work,but when it happens,urgency of the situation,and care for your Marra on the stretcher,overrides the pain you feel.

I didn't intend to go into so much detail,but feel it is necessary to try and tell the facts as best as I can,what it was like down there.

This Overman was close friends with Dusty and the whole team,it was like watching a family member suffering..so now,in my old age,and I speak only for myself,I feel guilty for even just thinking about any criticism on this fella..he died a long time ago,but if he was her with us now,I would be apologising for my thoughts..I was only about 23-24-ish yrs old at the time.[young and hotheaded..as they used to say!]

Anne,just another thought,out of interest,if  you haven't already,you may be interested to see the photo's which I took underground down Bates' Pit in 1986,just before the pit was shut down for good.

They are in the gallery under the heading Bates Pit Photographs.

Cheers,

Bill.

Anne,I was so engrossed in my thoughts ,trying to help Steven,and didn't think to say how sorry a was to read about your Dad's accident.

Life down the mines was really rough,and in an accident  scenario,miles inbye,in roadways roughly blasted out from solid stone strata,and swalleys..[dips],in the roadways sometimes flooded up to the waist..with oily black stinking water which was freezing..it was really stressful,sheer physically demanding hard work,to carry wor Marra's outbye on a stretcher.[we often used to wonder who would be the next one we would be carrying out..maybe it would be one of us..and it often was...]

Conditions like that never existed in any other industry,no Doctor's,no Ambulances..no nothing..not even toilets or washbasins..I mean really barbaric..

We fought in 1984 to keep the pits open,but in my old age,and looking back,we knew nowt else..it was wor heritage..with a hefty legacy of injuries and suffering ill-health,maybe it was a blessing that they were closed.

Anne,you should always be proud to tell anyone that your Dad was a Coalminer,Salt of the earth,and the Industrial Revolution would never have got us to where we are now ,without the sacrifices made by the Coalminers of the past..a rare breed!

Kindest regards,Bill.