M&Q Act

[John]

Anyone got a copy of the 1954 act?? I still have some Statutary Instruments, but not my old book!
If anyone has a copy and could find the time to scan it front to back and C&P it here in sections, I'd be grateful.
I've been after a copy for ages, there must be thousands of them lying around in someones attic!

[abdaz]

"Anyone got a copy of the 1954 act?? I still have some Statutary Instruments, but not my old book!
If anyone has a copy and could find the time to scan it front to back and C&P it here in sections, I'd be grateful."

GULP!!

[John]

Not up to it Daz?? Clive told me ages ago he had a spare copy I could have. Still waiting for it..

[abdaz]

"Not up to it Daz?? "
You cheeky sod, you are talking to man that used to wrestle AM500s single handed and make love to four canteen women at once, a man who fought and won management to be paid four EWOs in one working week, who worked underground in a single shift so long that he was supplied with four snap notes, who smoked forty Park Drives a day, a man that worked every Saturday day shift and then biked eight miles to play rugby, sup fourteen pints of Best Barnsley Bitter after the match and still turn up for Sunday day shift, someone who has been buried on coal faces on four separate occasions, suffered four separate broken bone injuries, numerous stitches, four kids, a divorce, three Ford Escorts, dodged snakes in India, survived monsoons and living in proximity to both Chernobyl and Bhopal disasters, flown in aircraft that were struck by lightning, overshot runways on landing, lost engine power on take off and eventually marrying Mag Smith from Grimethorpe and you dare to ask if I'm up to copying a flaming M&Q book and posting it via email. Well in fairness that was a pretty fair question on your part and here are some of the reasons why it was a fair question;
The 1957 copy of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 that I have is first of all a spined copy (not the loose leaf format that we were issued with at college, which would have facilitated easy copying)
The 'book' is 355 pages, possible more than you remember it as being.
My copy is 'dog eared', worn and stained to an extent that would render it it worthless in any book sale let alone a Car Boot sale on Thoresby market, such that it may not allow a reasonable copy to be made.
I am at an age that even scanning, copying, pasting and posting these pages at the recommended Coal Industry's Pensioner and Retiree Trade Union rates would take more than the calculated remainder of my life to do so,
however in giving consideration to the fact that I do know that you have been diligent in your search for a copy of the said documentation over many past years along with the fact that you are a reasonable being in kind I am on the verge of accepting the challenge, slap me again and set me off ..................

[John]

Gee, I thought I'd had a hard life Daz! You were supplied a copy at Tech?? I had to buy mine. I still remember dropping by Sisson and Parkers bookshop on Wheeler Gate on a cold Saturday morning.. I hated parting with money them days!!
Mine was the fully bound paper back version, wished I'd hung on to it when I left the UK in 79.

[plantfit]

Ayup John,

The quarrying industry changed from M&Q regs in 1999 and now just come under the quarry regs 1999. I'll go through some old paperwork next time I'm in the attic and see whats left and what's relevent to the mining industry

Rog

[John]

I'm after the M&Q Act of 1954 Roger, Mines of Coal and Stratified Ironstone, nothing newer.
It was the one Daz and I were brought up with at Tech.
It's a book about an inch thick, covers everything from minimum heights of roads, to shaft and rope haulage signals to Electricians and Mechanics rules.

Now what was the minimum height of a roadway?? The minimum height of a road shall be no less than 5 feet 6 inches or the height of the seam, whichever is the greater... How did I do Daz?

[abdaz]

John did you get my email with attachments, I'm guessing you didn't??
5'6" was OK for HMI, Shetlands and little lads, I know what it did for me, pits such as Ferrymoor Riddings were driven totally within seam, miles and miles of gates that had to be walked bent double. The penny pinching concept of the 18th and 19th Century coalowners reintroduced courtesy of one Mr C Rounds who having visited mines in The US of A saw the economic advantage and persuaded the NCB that this was the way to go for medium section mines, what he neglected to introduce was the various types of in-seam man transporters, they all rode, we walked!!
Unless of course you count the time that Mr Robens paid a visit, when a full paddy was installed and about a week later removed and sent back to the area workshops that had loaned it only for the comfort of Mr Robens on his flying visit, were the men upset?...... you can bet that they were.

[John]

Just checked Daz and yes, downloaded attachments, thanks.

The Robens story reminds me of the "Royal Visit" in the book "What Price Coal' by Barry Hines.

For a none mining type, Barry caught the spirit of pitmen down to the last chew of baccy! Probably because he was a Yorkshireman.

[abdaz]

'The Price of Coal' by Barry Hines.
I noticed that someone was selling copies on eBay a few weeks ago, taken off video and transferred onto CD, the first few went for big money if I remember correctly. The pit that was used for filming was Thorpe Hesley (I think) not very far out of Barnsley, a smashing little pit that struggled for years taking some of the thinnest coal that I have ever seen. The series of two TV films was hilarious, but here is a true story about Thorpe Hesley that was even beyond the brilliance of Barry Hines, I swear that this is true even though I know it sounds like something out of a 'Carry On' film. Sometime around 1968 I was sent to the pit to help on a breakdown of their only face machine, an AB16" single ended shearer, the problem was basically a failed drum shaft bearing. The machine had been stood for 24 hours before I was sent for, as I arrived at the pit I was met by the lamproom attendant who rushed me round the back of the office buildings and took me to meet the mechanical engineer who was just about a nervous wreck and seemed to be almost hiding as far away from his office as he could get. Apparently the fitters had managed to extract the drum shaft and assembled bearing complete and brought it out of the pit after attempts to remove the offending bearing failed. They had then realised that the only way to get the old bearing off was to send the assembly to the NCB Central Workshops where they had an hydraulic press big enough to remove the 12" diameter bearing. (These bearings were actual heated and shrunk onto the shaft in assembly, so there was little chance of hammering it off underground.) This tiny pit had no van or lorry of its own and failed attempts to order an area pool vehicle to transport the shaft to the workshops had called for desperate measures to be taken, with little alternative and no doubt a screaming production manager on his neck, the engineer decided to commandeer the Colliery Ambulance to make the trip. Bearing in mind that the pit ambulance was a sacred piece of equipment and religiously maintained for one obvious reason only, plus as an ambulance it was not taxed or insured to be driven on any road other than for its designated purpose, it was a pretty brave decision to make. The filthy oil covered lump had been chucked into the back of the ambulance, two fitters thrown in to attend its journey and shot off with flashing blue lights and no doubt clanging bell to the Central Workshop's 'Hospital A&E'.
Just has this vehicle was starting to make its journey of mercy, wheeling out onto the main road it almost ran into a car pulling into the pit yard, the car being driven by no lesser person than the famous 22 stone barrel of a man, the most belligerent and infamous Dr Holt, the NCB Barnsley Area Medical Officer, who chose that very moment in time to make his annual unannounced surprise inspection of Thorpe Hesley's medical facilities, obviously his first point of call was the medical room to find out who was being transported in the ambulance and why, the medical room attendant had no idea what he was talking about, so good old Holty went steaming into the offices looking for an explanation, hence the engineer being found crouching behind the old stable block and no doubt the manager having leapt down the upcast shaft in order to avoid this man's interrogation. I managed to smuggle myself off the premises and used a public phone box in the village to arrange transport to get me and my pit clothes back to base.......... as my granddad used to say, 'It's all part of life's rich tapestry'.

[John]

Deffo a funny story Daz. We just used to change the section and let area deal with the damaged unit.
I could just picture two pit fitters giving mouth to mouth to a drum shaft!

[John]

Keep them coming Daz!! I'll "clean" the pages up a little, crop them and they should be smaller files, then I'll post them. I have whitened some pages from the yellow they became over the years..
Thanks for your time Daz! I appreciate your efforts.

[garryo]

john

I have a copy of the Law Relating to safety and Health, volume 1 Mines of Coal 1957. Mines and Quarries Act 1954.
As I remember they split the Coal Mines Act 1954 (Regs) up into 4 parts. Part 1 Coal, Part 2 Stratified Ironstone and shale, Part 3 Miscellaneous Mines and Part 4 quarries.

The book I have is the one that you used at Tech college when you were going for your Class 2 Certificate and contains the infamous Reg 8 but not the newer Reg 11.

Your most welcome to copy it, only snag is I leave for the UK on April 1st. Depending where your based in OZ or UK then if you wish I can bring it with me to the UK if not you may have to wait until October.
Regards

[John]

I'm living in Missouri these days Garry, thanks for the offer though.
Daz scanned most of the Act for me and emailed it, problem is it's in JPEG foremat and to post it here I have to post it all on Photobucket.
So what I will do as time permits, is clean the pages up in Photoshop or my other software and publish it on the Coal, Collieries and Mining website.

I only had the one volume when at tech years back Garry, M&Q Act of 1954 for Mines of Coal, Fireclay and Shale.
I never saw a four volume set.
I do have extracts on the Miscellaneous Mines Act from when I worked in hard rock mines pertaining to Workmen, Electricity etc.
Anyway, for now the link to the government site will do for here.
When I have the one Daz sent me, I'll link from here to it.

[Sam from Kent]

www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&title=Mines+and+Quarries+Act+1954+&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&activeTextDocId=1162546&parentActiveTextDocId=1162546&showAllAttributes=0&hideCommentary=0&showProsp=0&suppressWarning=1

[erichall]

Re; 'The Price of Coal'
As you say, Abdaz, the colliery at Thorpe Hesley was used for many of the shots in the film.
In his previous film, 'Kes', use was also made of nearby Rockingham Colliery mainly for the shots of the men arriving back at the surface, the first man off the chair was actually my cousin, Geoff, always nicknamed 'Diamond', and for the shots taken in the Pithead Baths. During the filming, a 'lady' director was making her way into the PHB when she was stopped by the Bath Superintendent. At the time it was a ruling that women were not allowed into the PHBs and he sent her to see the Manager. She went storming in to the Manager's office, unannounced, and f***ing and blinding. She was most disconcerted to find herself uncerimoniously tossed out of the Manager's office and told to see his Secretary 'after she'd cleaned out her mouth' When she was eventually allowed in to see him, she was told in no uncertain terms NOT to swear. She must have picked on the only Manager I ever knew who did not swear! When she demanded (fatal) to be allowed into the baths, she was informed that it was against Pit Regulations. The next tack she took was to threaten to take it to the Director in charge of the film, and was told, politely, that she could take it to any authority she desired, but it made no difference since he was the Manager, and his word was law. She never did get into the PHB!
I must toss a few names in here. I knew the Author, Barrie Hines, who was at school around my time, I think 1 year above me. He was an excellent sportsman, being a superb athlete. I remember him clearing the pit doing the Long Jump at Penistone Grammar when we had a Triangular Sports Competition, between us at Ecclesfield, Penistone, and Eckington Grammar. he was also an excellent Football player.
The story was based on his book 'Kestrel for a Knave', and was based on events which took place in and around Hoyland Common, his home town.