Post by bob737 on Jan 30, 2017 6:39:05 GMT -5
In case anyone is interested, I have spent 3 1/2 years researching and writing a book detailing the complete history of Daw Mill Colliery, the last coal mine in Warwickshire, and managed to have it published at the end of June 2016. So far 225 copies have gone out and I have to say how pleasantly surprised I have been at the way the book has been received - no contradictory comments from anyone (and there are plenty of Daw Mill 'experts' out there...) who has read the book. It is titled 'The Anatomy of a Coal Mine - Daw Mill Colliery 1957 - 2013' and runs to over 73,000 words on 136 A4 pages with 36 illustrations, mainly colour photographs, and 9 appendices covering such things as all managers and their periods of tenure, likewise Union Branch Secretaries, all faces worked with dates, all 11 fatal accidents described with locations & dates, complete production statistics, a 4 page glossary of mining terms used etc.
In writing the book I not only wanted to preserve the history of the mine for posterity, but also to explain to the 'lay reader' what we did in a modern coal mine as well as why & how. I have tried to dissect life at a large coal mine examining and explaining almost every aspect of the life we who worked there led at the mine. I have also tried to do this without insulting the knowledge of those who actually worked there. The book retails at £14.95 and can be posted anywhere in the UK for a total cost of just £17, postal abroad will naturally cost more than the £2.05 cost for UK residents.
I worked at Daw Mill from 1968 initially as an electrical craft apprentice but eventually strayed onto the purely mining side and for the last 7 years of my life there was Branch Secretary of the largest mining Union, the UDM, finally retiring from full-time work at the age of 60 in April 2010 and as far as is known, I am the only person to have experience of every district the pit ever knew and to have known every manager and Union Branch Secretary the pit ever had. To give the book a more human dimension it is also 'sprinkled' with personal anecdotes, some of them very humourous expressing typical 'pit humour' as well as all the triumphs, tragedies and camaraderie shared by all who worked underground. The dramatic story of how the pit ended in a catastrophic fire which almost cost 14 men their lives is worth reflecting on alone and perfectly describes in totally accurate detail the dangers faced by those of us who chose coal mining as our life-long career.
For anyone interested in purchasing their own copy of this unique work, please private message me for my email address. Bob Blenkinsopp
