What did Shaft Men Do?

[onotoman]

Hi Guys,

I found this pic of 'Shaft Men' from the 1912 Stanley Pit Disaster.

www.razorandsoap.com/shaftmen stanley pit.jpg[/img]

I presume that Shaft Men were responsible for digging a new shaft, but when complete, what did they do? Were they responsible for looking after the maintenance of the shaft(s).

Were the leather hoods and shoulder guards for protection against water and objects falling down the shaft?

The guy on the right looks like someone from a wild west movie :-)

Just curious

[John]

Looks like pretty common attire worn by shaft sinkers to protect them from falling water and small debris.
The two "sinkers" on the left have the "hooded" helmets so water didn't get down their necks.

There are photos of Ollerton being sunk in Nottinghamshire somewhere, water was pouring into the shafts before they were lined, and the sinkers were dressed like the two on the left.

Again, those two on the left are pretty water logged!!

My guess, the two on the right worked at pit bank unloading the kibbles, they don't have a lamp, and the one far right only has a cloth cap, not the ideal headgear in shaft sinking!!

[onotoman]

Thanks for the information John.

Apparently these Shaft Men were some of the 1st to go down the pit to try and rescue colleagues after the 1912 explosion.

Their skills would probably help in that situation I suppose.