A Unique History From My Work Diaries

Surveying Jobs

No4 Sub-Area, No4 Area, East Midlands Division, NCB from 1st January 1947

Page - 9 -

Jan 1956

Mon 2 … Technical College

Tues 3 … Holiday

Wed 11 … Office … Colour washing R & FF plans.

Thurs 12 … Office … Electrical plan for pit bottom.

Fri 13 … Office … Stencilling. Electrical plans.

Sat 14 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 16 … Technical College

Tues 17 … U/g … South Plane from 200hp Junction to pit bottom levelling and taping … 3 men (WEBB, RB, and Clary Skeavington, Sub-Area Surveyor)

Wed 18 … U/g … North Manrider levelling and taping … 3 men (WEBB, JW, RB)

Thurs 19 …U/g … 60s RH to 120s levelling and taping … 2 men (JW, RB)

Fri 20 … U/g … 50s BG levelling and taping … 2 men (Barrie Tideswell (BT), RB) (240 + 21 u/g)

Sat 21 … Office … Progress folders. Plan of Transformer house down South Plane Road.

Mon 23 … Technical College

Tues 24 … U/g … 90s and 30s BG lines and new Waterloo heading … 3 men (RB*, GB, RE)

Wed 25 … U/g … South Plane offset survey for belt transfer … 3 men (WEBB, JW, RB)

Thurs 26 … U/g … 40s dial survey 2 gates … 4 men (BB, RB, GB, RE)

Fri 27 … Office … Copying levels.

Sat 28 … Office … General.

Mon 30 … Technical College

Tues 31 … U/g … 50s LH levelling and taping … 2 men (BT, RB)

Feb 1956

Wed 1 …U/g … 50s LH levelling and taping continued … 2 men (BT, RB) - (245 + 21 u/g)

Thurs 2 … U/g … 40s Junction to 70s RH levelling and taping … 3 men (BT, JW, RB)

Fri 3 … U/g … 60s dial survey, 3 gates and established 90s LH gate lines … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)

Sat 4 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 6 … Technical College

Tues 7 … Office … Copying levels.

Wed 8 … U/g … 40s RH levelling and taping … 3 men (RB*, GB, RE)

Thurs 9 … Film show of the new Anderton shearer at Bentinck Welfare.

Fri 10 … U/g … 90s all 3 gates and Waterloo head dial surveys … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)

Sat 11 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 13 … Technical College

Tues 14 … Office … Copying levels.

Wed 15 …U/g … 50s LG levelling and taping … 3 men (RB*, JW, RE) - (250 + 21 u/g)

Thurs 16 … U/g … 50s levelling and taping finished … 3 men (RB*, JW, RE)

Fri 17 … Office … Levels.

Sat 18 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 20 … Technical College

Tues 21 … U/g … 10s into 70s, theodolite angling … 3 men (JW, Colin Burlinson CB, RB)

Wed 22 … U/g …50s dial survey and measuring … 4 men (JW, RB, GB, RE)

Thurs 23 … U/g … 10s measuring with steel band … 2 men (WEBB, RB)

Fri 24 … Office … Monthly information in books.

Sat 25 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 27 … Technical College

Tues 28 … Office … General.

Wed 29 … U/g … Old 70s LG double set levelling (using 2 instruments and 1 staff) and taping … 3 men (CB*, RB*, RE) - (255 + 21 u/g)

March 1956

Thurs 1 … Office … Colouring prints.

Fri 2 … Office … Composite plan.

Sat 3 … Office … Progress folders. Levels.

Mon 5 … Technical College

Tues 6 … Office … Deputy’s Districts amendments. Manager’s plans.

Wed 7 … U/g … 50s double set levelling … 3 men (CB*, RB*, GB) … 2 instruments and 1 staff.

Thurs 8 … U/g … 50s double set levelling continued … 3 men (CB*, RB*, GB)

Fri 9 … Office … Copying levels. Top Hard seam tracing.

Sat 10 … Office … Progress folders. Continued with Top Hard tracing.

Mon 12 … Technical College

Tues 13 …U/g … 70s all 3 gates and 30s heading dial surveys and measuring … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)

Wed 14 … Office … Top Hard abandonment tracing with CB (kneeling in the middle of the table at times) … it was a very large Roll plan.

Thurs 15 … Office … Continued with Top Hard abandonment tracing 2 chains to 1 inch.

Fri 16 … Office … Continued with Top Hard abandonment tracing.

Sat 17 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 19 … Technical College

Tues 20 … Office … Finished tracing Top Hard abandonment plan (finished working Apr 1948).

Wed 21 … U/g … 40s RH theodolite angling and measuring 2 gates … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)

Thurs 22 … U/g … 60s LH theodolite survey … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE) - (260 + 21 u/g)
One of a heading team (forgot his name) decided to steal some hose from down the pit to take home to Huthwaite.  He wrapped it round his body and hid it under his raincoat till he was quite rotund and his raincoat tight, but as he was getting off the cage at the pit top at end of his shift he dropped his motty as he was handing it to the Banksman so he bent down to pick it up and with the weight of the hose he fell over and couldn’t get back up again.  Of course he was reported for theft but I can’t recall what happened to him … whether he left or was fined or sacked I don’t know. Comical though to think of him writhing about on the floor like a ‘kelly’.

Fri 23 … Office … Levels.

Sat 24 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 26 … Office … Levels. One set of Electrical plans.

Tues 27 … Office … Labels for plan tubes.

Wed 28 … Office … Levels. Electrical plan. Manager’s plans.

Thurs 29 … Office … morning … Finished 1/5000 plan

Thurs 29 … U/g … Dial Survey through 60s LH benk … 5 men (WEBB, CB, RB, GB, RE) afternoon after coaling had finished.                                                                          

Fri 30 … Office … Titles etc on new plans.

Apr 1956

Mon 2 … Holiday ... Tues 3 … Holiday

Wed 4 … Office … Manager’s plans.

Thurs 5 … Office … R & FF plans.

Fri 6 … Office … R & FF plans.

Sat 7 … Office … Progress folders (note … 1 set always swapped by ‘Wells Fargo’ for Area HQ)

Mon 9 … Office … Technical College

Tues 10 … Office … Dunsil seam sections.

Wed 11 … U/g … 70s LH and 70s RH measuring … 2 men (CB, RB)

Thurs 12 … Office … Making masks for colouring plans.

Fri 13 … Office … Sections. Progress. Copying surveys.

Sat 14 … Office … Extracting sections from old survey books.

Mon 16 … Technical College

Tues 17 … U/g … 90s theodolite survey and check Waterloo Heading … 4 men (CB, RB, GB, RE) Wed 18 … Office … Pit bottom tracing.

Thurs 19 … Office … Progress. Copying dial surveys.

Fri 20 … Office … Copying theodolite surveys.

Sat 21 … Office … Reducing plan of Harper Hill Room and Pillar workings.

Mon 23 … Technical College

Tues 24 … U/g … 40s dial survey and measurements 2 gates … 3 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)

Wed 25 … U/g … Waterloo heading grade line check with level … 2 men (RB* and John Chilton Geologist)

Thurs 26 … U/g … Pit bottom levelling and taping 3 men (RB*, GB, RE) on night shift, start 9.30pm 
(265 + 21 u/g)

Fri 27 … Office … Electrical plan.

Sat 28 … Bi-annual meeting of all Surveyors at Bentinck Welfare.

Mon 30 … Office … Technical College

This is me doing some calculating sitting at the now vacated Silverhill table. Photo taken by Colin Burlinson.

Just prior to this Silverhill Surveyors had moved from the Teversal office to their own office which was the Medical Centre at Silverhill just vacated that had moved to new larger modern accommodation.  Similarly Sutton Surveyors moved to their own office, just after the Pit Head Baths were opened at Sutton in 1956, again into the vacated Medical Centre. The accommodation was attached to the new Pit Head Baths. It would be several years before they both moved to purpose built offices. This then left Brian and me in a big rambling office on our own. He sat at the ‘Pleasley end’ of the small table. Clary Skeavington still occupied his small office and occasionally worked on the large drawing table. June Baker, the Lady Tracer had left to Area HQ at Huthwaite I think. Although I seemed to jot most things down in my diaries I missed these and can’t recall the exact dates.

May 1956

Johnny DeStephano (JDeS) British Railways surveyor joined the Group for underground experience for his Surveyor’s certificate.

Tues 1 … U/g … 60s all 3 gates and 120s all 3 gates dial surveys and measurements … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)

Wed 2 … Office … Calculations – co-ordinates for plan plotting.

Thurs 3 … Surface … Called by the Farmer to a hole in the field opposite Silverhill … it was an old brick lined shaft that had collapsed … 3 men (CS, WEBB, RB) … measurements from fences and by strings ... it was unsafe to approach too close as it was seen that quite an area around the small diameter shaft had collapsed also … Office … Plotting position of shaft and checking     old plans for same. It was not on any of the old plans in the Office, but other shafts were. 

………………………… This was the catalyst for writing my history of mining  ……………..…………..

Fri 4 … Office … Levels calculated and copied.

Mon 7 … Technical College

Tues 8 … Office … Progress tracings.

Wed 9 … U/g … Waterloo heading grade line … 2 men (RB, John Chilton, Assistant Area Geologist).

Thurs 10 … U/g … 11s to 70s theodolite survey, angling and measuring … 5 men (BT, JW, CB, RB, Johnny DeStephano British Railways JDeS )

Fri 11 … U/g … 90s and Waterloo head dial survey … 2 men (RB*, RE)  

Sat 12 … Technical College exam.

Mon 14 … Technical College

Tues 15 … Office … Electrical plans.

Wed 16 … U/g … Waterloo heading grade line … 2 men (RB*, John Chilton)       (270 + 21 u/g)

Thurs 17 … Surface … looking for old theodolite bases (RB*, GB, RE)

Fri 18 … Office … General.

Sat 19 … Technical College exam.

Tues 22 … U/g … Setting out Winding line in Pit bottom … 3 men (WEBB, RB, CB)

Tues 22 … Surface in afternoon … Winding line marked from top of headstocks … 3 men (RB*, GB, RE)

Wed 23 … U/g … 50s, 70s and 30s heads dial surveys and measurements … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE)  

Thurs 24 … u/g … 70s levelling  and taping 3 gates … 3 men (RB*, GB, RE)

Fri 25 … Office … Electrical plans.  

Sat  May 26th 1956     Opening of Teversal Pithead Baths   
New bottom locker at far end in First Alley (Wilf Eley, Baths Superintendent)

Mon 28 … Technical College

Tues 29 … Office … General purpose plan.

Wed 30 … U/g … Levelling to top and bottom of all drifts in Dunsil seam … 2 men (CB, RB)

Thurs 31 … U/g … 50s levelling and taping 2 gates … 2 men (RB*, JDeS)                (275 + 21 u/g)

Jun 1956

Fri 1 … Surface … Levelling to tops of around 20 old shafts in Meden Valley … 2 men (RB*, JDeS) The old shafts were in various states of disrepair, some had barbed wire fencing around, some were open and some had concrete caps or brick walls above. All had a gap that we could use to measure down the shafts later.

Sat 2 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 4 … Technical College

Tues 5 … Office … Dust Zones and Deputy’s Districts plans.

Wed 6 … U/g … Waterloo drift grade line and 120s lines … 2 men (RB*, John Chilton, Assistant Geologist)

Thurs 7 … Office … Deputy’s Dstricts plan continued.

Fri 8 … Office … Plan of Pit yard started.

Sat 9 … Office … Pit yard plan.

Mon 11 … Office … Technical College

Tues 12 … Office … Estates plan.

Wed 13 … U/g … 120s LH lines with dial … 2 men (RB*, JC) … afternoon … Visit to Derby Road Tech … Exhibition of instruments etc.

Thurs 14 … Office … Manager’s plans.

Fri 15 … Office … Manager’s plans.

Sat 16 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 18 … Technical College

Tues 19 … Office … Progress folders. Copying dial surveys.

Wed 20 … Surface … Subsidence levelling at Skegby Sewage Works … 2 men (RB*, JDeS)

Thurs 21 … Office … Egress plan.

Fri 22 … Office … Electrical plans.

Sat 23 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 25 … Technical College

Tues 26 … Office … Composite plan.

Wed 27 … U/g … No1 Waterloo head and No2 Waterloo head, lines and grades … 5 men (WEBB, RB,GB, RE and John Chilton, Geologist)

Thurs 28 … Office … Copying surveys.

Fri 29 … Office … Continued. Isometric drawing of Bunker.

Sat 30 … Office … Progress folders.

Abbreviations used:
LG or DG denotes Loader Gate or Delivery Gate.
LH denotes Left Hand Supply Gate. RH denotes Right Hand Gate, TG denotes Top Gate and BG is Bottom Gate. MG is Middle Gate. AW is Airway or Supply Gate. TG is Tail Gate, again a Supply Gate for materials.