Apologies in advance for long post, but...There was loads of pits around our way, when I was younger my mates who were pitmen used to come to us in the pub after noon shift, they'd had showers but always looked like they were wearing eye liner.My grandad on my Mums side started in the pit in 1926 ,right after the general strike.his first day ,after desending in the rapid lift down the shaft into 'Hanley deep' pit he had to follow a surley colier along the 'roadway' and after a fair walk a third of a mile underground had to go up a 'rabbit hole' which was an opening on the tunnel side wall,this was followed by two or three. Rabbit holes, each one changing direction, eventually ending up on his hands and knees with the top of the burrow pressing on his back finally reaching the 'Pit Face'
His job then was , crouching,to clear the coal where a pneumatic ram smashed coal from the 4 foot seam.After a while the Collier told him he'd be back shortly and left instruction not to let the air pressure drop in the coal ram,with that he was gone leaving grandad adjusting the air valves and shifting coal.A short while later the air pressure dropped and the ram ceased, with the quiet, he began to hear the ground around him crack and bang, he slowly started to feel anxiety and then dreadful fear that the collier might not come back for him, he crawled back down the rabbit burrow and found it led to three other burrows, he hadn't a clue which one he'd come down, he crawled back to the face he'd been working on and waited, a short time after ,his helmet lamp flickered and then went out.Total darkness.He told me he put his hand touching his face and couldnt see it, complete black.The ground banged around him ,he thought 'thats it.Im lost and dead here'.He was 14 years old.After what seemed like hours, crouching in the total blackness, terrified, way under ground ,the collier returned and gave him a powerful crack t'side o grandads head"I told you dont let the engine stop, were losin money'".He finished his first traumatic shift and returned to the surface.
Grandad went on to do 50 years working underground on the pit face,covered in blue scars where coal dust had entered cuts to his skin he eventually retired when he broke his leg ,down the pit age 64,.The good old days indeed.
