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Post by John on Aug 8, 2012 11:17:56 GMT -5
Welcome Andy, remember a lot of fellers with big mouths, mostly Overmen and Managers.. ;D
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Post by drgjs on Dec 15, 2013 12:28:20 GMT -5
Hello. My name is G. Sharpe (Dr), I am joining to tap into and learn from the wealth of experience and network of contacts that are clearly here.
I am an educator, a trainer, an academic, a consultant, a businessman, a company director, a researcher, an innovator and an investigator. Twenty years of working at the coal face, the cutting edge, of explosive engineering and shock wave mechanics, rock mechanics, combustion and explosions, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics. From the very fundamental to the very applied to real world impact.
But, as I found out rather quickly, in terms of UK mining I know less than nothing. I am joining to learn. I currently live in South Yorkshire, in a house over a coal mine. The town I live in is where, I think, the HQ of the NUM still is. My only other connection with the old UK coal board is that my house had subsidence and at some point in the past they had to rebuild the back wall of the house.
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Post by kundyhole on Jan 13, 2015 14:51:36 GMT -5
So here we go I am Max I was / am a third generation miner born and bred in North Staffs I left Hem Heath Colliery in 1991 and have been in agriculture ever since , I got married in 98 and moved to Germany in 1999 . did my face training and went on to be a chock fitter and springer(general dogs body , filling in when somebody was missing) I should never have given it up but still you live and learn , my father was a deputy at florence and my grandfather was manager at sneyd and florence . Sadly my father has terminal cancer of the liver and hasn't got much time left so the trips back to blighty are getting more frequent . Funny thing is after such a long break I have just applied to go back down the pit !!!!!!! sadly not coal but potash , pillar and stall not long wall my wife thinks I am mad at 48 to try again but I rekon I have a few years left in me yet . Looks like not many North staffs lads here if any . Regards
Max Boote
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Post by John on Jan 13, 2015 16:01:57 GMT -5
So here we go I am Max I was / am a third generation miner born and bred in North Staffs I left Hem Heath Colliery in 1991 and have been in agriculture ever since , I got married in 98 and moved to Germany in 1999 . did my face training and went on to be a chock fitter and springer(general dogs body , filling in when somebody was missing) I should never have given it up but still you live and learn , my father was a deputy at florence and my grandfather was manager at sneyd and florence . Sadly my father has terminal cancer of the liver and hasn't got much time left so the trips back to blighty are getting more frequent . Funny thing is after such a long break I have just applied to go back down the pit !!!!!!! sadly not coal but potash , pillar and stall not long wall my wife thinks I am mad at 48 to try again but I rekon I have a few years left in me yet . Looks like not many North staffs lads here if any . Regards Max Boote Sorry to hear about your Dad, Max, I lost mine over 20 years ago now, still miss him and Mum.
Hope you can stand very hot working conditions, Boulby is a very hot mine, might pay to get on one of the visits that are arranged before moving there. I spent 4.5 years there when it was a new mine, and I was a young bloke back then, so my body adapted to it in a short time. In fact I really felt the cold winters they have up there. One of the day shift labourers was assigned to me one day, I'd got an internal exam of a Stamler ratio feeder on the north side. The labourer hadn't arrived on site when I got there, so I made a start on the job. About an hour into the shift, he appeared on site, he wasn't too well either, so I instructed him to go and site down out of harms way. I was working inside the Stamlers control box, when someone came up to me and asked me if my mate was alright, I just brushed it off with "he's just a tired old bugger".. Yeah right, the feller was unconscious!!! He was stretchered out the pit by some first aiders and the companies nursing Sister was waiting at bank to get him to our medical centre. Turns out he hadn't notified the company that he had a pre existing heart condition, so he'd probably had a minor heart attack. He'd have been about 50ish, he was sacked for not disclosing his heart condition and I gathered he'd been read the riot act by our Sister for being stupid.
A short story about Bord and Pillar, my first day at British Gypsums, Marblaegis Mine. I was met by the Foreman Electrician, he arranged a locker and my caplamp, I got changed and we set off down the drift, we only had about a half a mile or so to the workshops. He'd made arrangements for my toolbox to be brought to the shops. We got to the bottom of the drift, which had rings all the way down, turned right under the main trunk belt, and then he stopped and said "This is as far as ex NCB miners usually go before turning back". The only support was the pillars, no bolts, no props, no steel work.
Boulby does use loads of bolts and "W" straps, wood chocks where needed and mesh on roof and side walls.
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Post by kundyhole on Jan 14, 2015 15:57:30 GMT -5
John apologies I guess what I wrote was a bit mixed up !!! The job I have applied for is over here in Germany ,the company is K+S yes it's hot down there about 43 C not sure about the humidity levels though . They are working about 840 meters down and up to a 10 km trip from pit bottom to depoyment . I have never worked in pillar and stall so I guess that would be a big change . It's early days yet still waiting for an interview but I have a few good contacts there. I did get all my old training records (well at least copies of) from the UK through Iron Mountain in Cannock very helpful and very quick ,didn't cost a penny . I sent them all in with a German discription with my CV by all accounts they were pretty impressed by our training methods . I supose most of you think like my wife think I lost the plot but hey I never was normal . I really do enjoy reading through the site brings back a lot of memories
Max
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Post by John on Jan 14, 2015 16:42:49 GMT -5
John apologies I guess what I wrote was a bit mixed up !!! The job I have applied for is over here in Germany ,the company is K+S yes it's hot down there about 43 C not sure about the humidity levels though . They are working about 840 meters down and up to a 10 km trip from pit bottom to depoyment . I have never worked in pillar and stall so I guess that would be a big change . It's early days yet still waiting for an interview but I have a few good contacts there. I did get all my old training records (well at least copies of) from the UK through Iron Mountain in Cannock very helpful and very quick ,didn't cost a penny . I sent them all in with a German discription with my CV by all accounts they were pretty impressed by our training methods . I supose most of you think like my wife think I lost the plot but hey I never was normal . I really do enjoy reading through the site brings back a lot of memories Max Yeah, thought you meant Boulby Max. When I worked at Boulby, humidity was probably in the single digits and the hottest place was around 48C. Sounds hot, but remember temperature is measured with a wet/dry bulb thermometer, and being very dry, sweat evaporated quickly. BUT saying that, Management warned us to NEVER over do things, it's so easy to get heat stroke. One thing I noticed when in those temps, I craved salt!! I'd go into a fit at the dinner table with a salt shaker, looked like snow on my dinner, I could hardly taste it. Another thing that was common with the crews I worked with, severe heat/salt rash between the legs, God it brought tears to my eyes, literally!! It was agony. I found a mercury based creme cleared it up in a couple of days. I think it's banned now for obvious reasons. The lads called it "rino sore arse" We all got it from time to time. A tip, if you do get a job underground, DON'T shave before going to work!! You'll soon find out how much skin you take off when you get underground. I eventually gave up shaving and sported a beard like many of the other lads, was more comfortable.
I don't know what conditions they have in Germany in potash, they certainly cannot be much different to Boulby. Boulby used to come under the misc Mines Act, not as strict as coal, but we did have flammable gases, so we were a safety lamp mine, probably the German potash mines are too as they are an extension of the same beds.
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Post by John on Jan 14, 2015 16:46:14 GMT -5
I think there are a couple of potash mines this side of the pond using longwall methods, I know there is a mine producing soda ash by longwall method.
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kenh
Trainee
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Post by kenh on Dec 18, 2016 4:13:09 GMT -5
Been lurking on this site for about a year now, so it's time to introduce myself. My name is Ken and I worked in the coal industry from 69-76, first at Rothwell then at Lofthouse. I then joined the RAF for 9 years, and working in related jobs until May this year, finishing up at an air base in Fife.
Haven't seen many posts on here about pits north of Wakefield, a few about newmarket that jogged the memory, Colin Ives, Colin was under manager at both Rothwell and Lofthouse, he seemed to follow the same manager from pit to pit as I suppose I did,but not purposely.
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Post by Wheldale on Dec 18, 2016 11:34:01 GMT -5
Been lurking on this site for about a year now, so it's time to introduce myself. My name is Ken and I worked in the coal industry from 69-76, first at Rothwell then at Lofthouse. I then joined the RAF for 9 years, and working in related jobs until May this year, finishing up at an air base in Fife. Haven't seen many posts on here about pits north of Wakefield, a few about newmarket that jogged the memory, Colin Ives, Colin was under manager at both Rothwell and Lofthouse, he seemed to follow the same manager from pit to pit as I suppose I did,but not purposely. I had two uncles who worked at Lofthouse, Jack and Gordon Leech.
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Clive
Shotfirer.
Posts: 168
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Post by Clive on Dec 26, 2016 15:20:04 GMT -5
Been lurking on this site for about a year now, so it's time to introduce myself. My name is Ken and I worked in the coal industry from 69-76, first at Rothwell then at Lofthouse. I then joined the RAF for 9 years, and working in related jobs until May this year, finishing up at an air base in Fife. Haven't seen many posts on here about pits north of Wakefield, a few about newmarket that jogged the memory, Colin Ives, Colin was under manager at both Rothwell and Lofthouse, he seemed to follow the same manager from pit to pit as I suppose I did,but not purposely. I had two uncles who worked at Lofthouse, Jack and Gordon Leech. Talking of newmarket. Do you remember, he was eithe managing or undermanager..ralph waud. He was an instructor at whitwood tech when i did my c4 in 89. I last touch with him 20 years ago Does anybody know if he is still around. Think he was living in half penny lane fev
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joss
Trainee
Posts: 5
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Post by joss on Feb 22, 2018 12:49:10 GMT -5
Hello there. I am joss. A former coal miner woh worked at Brodsworth Colliery. Woodlands. Doncaster. I started working for the NCB after poor times in the building trade. My father always said get a trade. Don't go down the Pit. Well I got my apprenticeship and qualified with City and Guilds with distinctions.
Sadly the 70s were not a good time for the building trade. All my mates worked at the pits and earned a lot more than I could on the sites.
So Packed in the building trade. Had an interview and a pint in the local. medical xray and started my under ground basis training at Bentley colliery in 1976. After that on 3 shifts at Brodsworth as I was over 18. Barnsley pit bottom for a short while then on to B29's as a haulage lad. With in 4 months I had started my coal face training in the Barnsley seam on B29's.
I was then moved down into the Thorncliffe seam to finish my second and third stage face training. My fist coal face after 90 days training was T10's in the Thornecliffe seam. There I stayed until 1989 when I left to join The area coal face salvage team. Working across South Yorkshire and in to North Notts area.
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