Work in the coal industry changed dramatically over the centuries but the people didn’t. We can imagine today what it might have been like to descend the hundreds of feet below ground to hack coal from the earth.
It wasn’t always Men’s work. Until an act of Parliament banned them from working underground in 1842 women and children worked alongside the men at the coal face. After 1842 they continued to work long hours in the coal industry often as coal washers above ground. Boys over the age of 10 were, however, still permitted to work underground.
One of the most dangerous aspects of mining was the threat from methane gas or ‘fire damp’ as it was called. This picture shows the ‘fireman’ igniting the gas to clear the area of it. It was obviously a dangerous job.
The Davey Lamp, invented by Sir Humphrey Davey in 1815, was a great aid in improving saftey for miners who had previously used candles for lighting underground. The lamp used naphtha for fuel. and was 10-12 inches tall. The flame was surrounded by mesh and a glass enclosure. If the light went out it indicated a lack of oxygen caused by the presence of gas.
A selection of miners’ lamps on display at the South Wales Miners’ Museum
The Miners’ Lodge or Branch was the basic unit of local organisation for the National Union of Mineworkers. Each lodge had its own banner. This is the banner of the Dyffryn Rhondda Lodge which is on display at the South Wales Miners’ Museum.
Most mining villages in the area also had a library or hall usually for the use of the miners and paid for by them. The libraries were used for entertainment and education, many miners gaining qualifications as a result.
In the lamp room at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
St. John’s Colliery 1986
The afternoon shift.
The under-manager of Ffaldau Colliery in 1955 was William Hodder. He was in charge of operations underground.
The washery in Ogmore Vale after the strike in 1986
St. John’s Colliery 1986
The man on the left was killed under a pile of coal in a bunker at the Ogmore Vale washery. I met his mother who asked for a copy of this picture as her son had always refused to be photographed and they had very few of him.
Garw Colliery just after closure 1985
They said there were coal reserves here for another two years. That’s 3 million tons of coal in reserve.
St. John’s Colliery 1984
The afternoon shift waiting to go down the pit. The dram in the foreground is laden with wooden blocks which were used as roof supports.
A miner coming ‘off shift’ at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
Miners coming ‘off shift’ at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
Empty drams waiting to go down the pit at St. John’s Colliery. This is the ‘Banksman’, it was his job to signal to the winder when the drams were ready.
The haulage engine at Tower Colliery. The driver is having a break.
The man rider at a drift mine in Betws, Ammonford.
The men rode this to the coal face. This mine is still working as it was reopened by a private company in 1994 after being closed by the NCB in 1993.
Men working below ground at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
Some coal was still sorted by hand at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
Pit Head Gear being constructed at Cynon Colliery, Cynonville, c. 1908
Miners coming ‘off shift’ at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
The day ends with a shower and a change of clothes at Ffaldau Colliery in 1955.
