I wonder if you can help me in any way. I’m tracing my ancestry on ancestry.co.uk. I’ve just discovered family called Tathams who lived in the Ilkeston area along with closer members of my family:

I am related to the Sysons. My great grandfather Isaac Syson and his father Isaac Syson senior were miners. Also my great grandfather John William Shooter and his father William Shooter, my maternal great grandfather George William Steeples and his father George Steeples. My other great, great grandfather David Tatham was also a miner killed in an accident in 1893 at the Manners Colliery with his grandson James. On the census records dated then there

Also the Revill or Reavill families are my ancestors they also were miners in Ilkeston as all the above relatives Tatham.

Can you help me in anyway to find any details as I’m a bit of a loose end.

Regards Gary Stretton

Hi Fionn,
I have just found your interesting web site on mining and wonder if you or anyone else conected with mining could help with my query.

I am researching the life of an ancestor who was a miner at Drury Lowe pit from the 1850's-1880's.
He lived at Smithy Houses, Denby.

I know this area and have seen a picture of it at the time that he was living there.
In his earlier life he was a miner at Killingworth Colliery in Newcastle and Tyne Main Colliery in Gateshead where working and living conditions were pretty bad.

I would like to find out what conditions were like at Drury Lowe Pit in the late 1800's. I have several ancestors who worked there.

Also does anyone know of a mining museum within the Derbyshire, Notts area that I could visit?

If you or anyone else can help me I would be very grateful.

Many thanks,

Sue Singh

The only museum in this area tha I can think of is north of Sheffield, The National Coalmine Museum, Caphouse Colliery, New Road, Overton, West Yorkshire, WF4 4RH

You could look at a couple of pages on the site:-
Being a Miner, personal experiences of what it is/was like to be a miner more recently

And being a miner in the 19th century.

Bentley Colliery

Hi,
I am hoping you can point me in the right direction. My father was John (Jack) Booth and I believe worked in the Bentley Colliery or one very close to in the 1930's. I was wondering if there are records of workers in the colliery at that time available etc. He died in 1968 and my mum told me he had a large diagonal scar on his back which he got while holding up a pit support after an explosive accident enabling other miners to escape. How true that is I wouldn't like to hazard a guess but it’s a nice thought. Any info on how I can find out or be in touch with some-one who could help would be gratefully received.

Yours hopefully

Alison Platt

There was a disaster at Bentley Colliery 20th November 1931, 45 were killed so the story about the scar could be correct.

Hi
My father, Mark Foster, worked as a Miners Rescue man during the early 60's based at Ashington, Northumberland.

He worked along side 'Billy Dixon'.

We lived at 10 Viewlands and 'uncle Billy' as I knew him lived at number 9.

My father died in 1996 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

I visited Ashington for the first time in say about 30yrs in August and went to see the Rescue station.

I found it had closed some years ago, (I suppose I was clutching at straws hoping something might still have been there).

Is there anywhere that I could obtain information of any kind regarding the station, the workers or the way of life?

Many thanks for your help

Andy Foster

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