A Unique History From My Work Diaries

Surveying Jobs

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

Page - 11 -

Jan 1957

John Wilmot (JW) started on Group Staff, transferred from Blackwell (via Area HQ)

Tues 1 … Surface … to Silverhill for progress (RB*). Office … 2 chains to 1 inch plan Copyhold areas.

Wed 2 … U/g … 40s RH theodolite survey … 5 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE, JDeS)

Thurs 3 …U/g … 120s DG theodolite survey … 3 men (CB, RB, JDeS)

Fri 4 … Office … R & FF plans. Typing titles on covers.

Sat 5 … Office … Progress folders. Typing on folders for theodolite surveys.

Mon 7 … Office … Typing folders.

Tues 8 … Technical College

Wed 9 … U/g … 60s DG checking angles … 2 men (CB, RB) - (310 + 21 u/g)

Thurs 10 … Office … Typing titles for folders.

Fri 11 … U/g … 50s DG theodolite survey angling and measuring … 4 men (BT, RB, JDeS, JM ?)

Sat 12 … Office … Progress folders. Folders for calculations.

Mon 14 … Office … Filing theodolite survey calculations.

Tues 15 … Technical College

Wed 16 … Office … Waterloo support plan.

Thurs 17 … Office … Dial and theodolite survey calculations.

Fri 18 … Office … Completed Waterloo support plan.

Sat 19 … Office … Progress folders. Surface on Top Hard plan.

Mon 21 … U/g … 60s all 3 gates and 120s 2 gates dial surveys and measurements … 5 gates again … 3 men (WEBB, RB, JDeS). We always had a long shift when Brian Barlow was in charge. We would always do that extra bit down the pit, making us late out, but it did save going down the pit more often to do each gate separately like at many pits.

Tues 22 … Technical College

Wed 23 … U/g … 90s RH check dialling and line in old 40s LG … 4 men (WEBB, RB*, GB, RE)

Thurs 24 … Office … Calculations.

Fri 25 … U/g … 70s levelling 3 gates, established BMs for 80s … 2 men (RB*, JDeS)

Sat 26 … U/g … 70s benk measured (RB*, GB) … Saturday morning. Horace Gubbins the Manager had asked previously to measure the seam sections and areas where coal top was left up to support bad roof. The chargeman had complained that they needed an extra man for the coaling team. I had done the calculations for stint lengths of 7 yards or 8 yards earlier. The general tonnage for a stint at say 3 ft 3 in high and 5ft 6in cut x by Specific gravity of 1.25 was about 20 tons per man. The Chargeman only had half a stint as he was busy organising part of the time. The collier in the fast end where the cutter was parked after cutting the face on the night shift only had half a stint as well as he had to throw his coal over the red hot cutter onto the face belt. I helped one once to clear his stint and it was very difficult and occasionally the coal fell off the shovel by hitting the cutter and occasionally catching the cutter with my hand getting a quick burn from the heat (no gloves). A winding was made now and again to divert the air. The other man with half a stint was under the main gate lip where coal from both face belts dropped into the gaumers onto the gate belt. If the gate belt stopped and the face belts kept going until they switched them off, coal would pile up into his stint and he ended up throwing extra coal onto the belt all the time. Gubbins advised me to let the chargeman and Deputy mark the stint length with a chalk mark and I was to be at the back end and at each mark wrap the tape round my hand to give a false reading unknown to those doing the marking. I had to explain very carefully to Mr Gubbins who was ‘never wrong’, that doing that would make the stints shorter. He had ‘got it wrong’, but he was quick ….. ‘I was just testing you to see if you knew it was right’, he said and smirked and his eyes twinkled through his small round gold rimmed glasses. Anyway I held the tape at least one foot in front of their mark at each measure, actually making each stint longer. By the time we reached the other end of the long face there was one man too many, the very opposite of what they wanted. I left the Deputy and Chargeman Hec Evans (who always wore a soft skull cap, not a helmet) scratching their heads … how come?   When I reported back to Gubbins he was elated, giving me a wry smile as his eyes twinkled this time over the top of his gold rimmed glasses. ‘That’s done ‘em’ he said and offered me a pinch of snuff. He had a pinch from a very large tin about every five minutes and Jack Limmer the Chief Clerk had to ensure it was kept topped up! He always had his pristine white shirt sleeves rolled up and and he had a large handkerchief to wipe his nose and face but his waistcoat glistened with streaks of snot. To be offered a pinch was reward enough but the sooner out of his office the better. When I had to fetch his progress folder every Monday and then take it back he would virtually throw open the progress folder and quiz me on a panel’s whereabouts, (because he rarely went down the pit) what the gates and face were like as though he never knew or was he testing me again.  I would have thought that Jim Davies the Undermanager would have told him that, but whether he wanted another opinion I don’t know, but why me? I realised why the boss sent me instead of going himself for a grilling. He was generally on his own but would sometimes be seen hanging out of his sash window having a conversation by shouting to Wilf Haycox in the Full weigh office a few yards up beyond the end of the building. Other times he would have a conversation with the Loco driver who parked his engine just outside his office and ours upstairs, but we got the smoke seeping through the wooden window frames, but he didn’t. His very few visitors included probably a Rep from a firm, now and again, trying to sell an idea or some equipment, Clary Skeavington who had something in common by living not too far apart, Clary in Hucknall and Horace in Linby. His other main visitor for sometimes hours on end was the Area Mechanisation Chief Charlie Buchan. Jim Davies popped in to see him everyday on his way home to report on the days work. He lived in the end house near the offices. - (315 + 21 u/g)

Mon 28 … U/g … Waterloo head and Waterloo No2 drift check and dial survey 90s LH side benk … 4 men (WEBB, RB, JDeS, RE). Cross-measue drifting was not a very quick job at that time, 10 yards advance being good. Even face headings advances were not much better.

Tues 29 … Technical College

Wed 30 … Office … Surface on Waterloo sheets and titles.

Thurs 31 … Office … Waterloo flat sheets (2).

Feb 1957

Jack Brown transferred to Pleasley from Sutton, Stan Hays started at Sutton promoted from Assistant at Welbeck

Fri 1 … Office … Surface and workings on 2 Waterloo plans.

Sat 2 … Office … Progress folders. Monthly info and section sheets.

Mon 4 … Office … Overlay tracing.

Tues 5 … Technical College

Wed 6 … U/g … 70s DG levelling and taping … 2 men (RB* and Alan Turner DPT)

Thurs 7 … Office … Levelling calculations and copy.

Fri 8 … Office … Co-ordinates into book.  Dunsil flat sheet.

Sat 9 … Office … Progress folders.

Mon 11 … Office … Waterloo flat sheet.

Tues 12 … Technical College

Wed 13 … Office … Waterloo flat sheet.

Thurs 14 … U/g … 50s dial survey, measurements and levelling 2 gates … 6 men (BT, CB, RB, JDeS, GB, RE)   

Fri 15 … Office … Waterloo flat sheet.

Sat 16 … Office … Waterloo flat sheet.

Mon 18 … Office … Finished flat sheets. Stippled plans

Tues 19 … Technical College

Wed 20 … Office … 1/5000 negative.

Thurs 21 … Surface … 3 men (Colin Burlinson, Barrie Tideswell and me) were doing some Subsidence levelling on Vere Avenue off Stoneyford Road when shortly after 11.30am the pit hooter at Sutton began to sound almost continuously …. It was the Emergency signal so we knew something big had happened. One said ‘It sounds like Brierley’s blown up’. Of course we did not know at that time that there had been an underground explosion on the new shearer face.

C Skeavington the Group Surveyor came shortly afterwards in his car to fetch us back to the office for a briefing of the situation before going to the PHB to get changed into pit clothes and then we proceeded to Sutton Colliery by car to await instructions re going underground to measure up the aftermath.  Barrie Tideswell had only one pit boot, his other at the cobblers for mending, so he manned the telephone at Teversal Office to answer any enquiries.

Thurs 21 … U/g …. Sutton Colliery … Explosion 28s Low Main shearer face 11.30am. We arrived about 1pm and obtained battery and motties and went to the pit bank.  After seeing the stretchers containing the dead and the badly injured covered with blankets being carried by 4 men whist we stood near to the shaft top. 2 men were killed outright in the blast and 3 others died in hospital, 15 others were injured by burning including Willis Bacon acting Undermanager seconded from Teversal who was badly scorched on his face, requiring 12 months off work for plastic surgery … some men never went down the pit again. We went down the pit at 2.30pm to the scene some 1¼ miles from pit bottom after it had been deemed safe to do so by the Mines Rescue personnel and after several hours work we surfaced at 9.30pm. and between the 6 of us had taken numerous measurements … For our safety the Deputy or Rescue Team who had now gone by this time leaving us alone in the pit had left an oil lamp with a lowered flame in the gate for us to check for methane gas periodically and also a canary in a cage to check on in just case of afterdamp containing carbon monoxide gas, when the canary would drop off its perch giving us chance to escape to fresh air. Both were near the site of the face entry and fortunately not needed. We split into 2 teams, one team of 3 in 28s Loader Gate (C Skeavington, measurements, Brian Barlow, book and self on the end of the tape who read out the information to be booked).

48 measurements were taken at the fall area, the entrance to the previous heading and the cavity up to 20 feet high above the arches. 37 measurements for the 28 arches with heights, cover boards and debris etc.  We measured up the face machine, panzer and stable hole, cables etc, gradients both ways etc. The conveyor belt was contorted and apart from other objects a piece of air bagging buckled and debris all over. I found 85 items from snap tins, coats, lamps etc with 38 burnt items making a total of 123 plus the positions of the 17 men when the explosion occurred. According to witnesses a ball of blue and red flame flashed down the face line and up the Loader gate devouring the fresh air and gathering in velocity and killed a young boy quite some distance away from the explosion site. I particularly remember the silouette of a shirt outlined on the gate side cover boards, the rest had vapourised and the only thing left was the charred top piece below the neck of the shirt with 3 buttons. Another most unusual thing. I found a ‘baccy tin’ and curiously opened it expecting to find a chew of pigtail twist tobacco but all I found was a wisp of ash where the tobacco had been, such must have been the terrific heat from the flame. A further poignant experience was a apart from the smell of burnt clothing was the smell of burnt flesh, one that would never leave me.

Another team of 3 on the face line (Stan Hays, book, Colin Burlinson, measurements, and Geoff Austin end of tape who like me read out the information to be booked). They measured 166 lines of bars, heights of face, 332 props, mainly 2 per bar, 47 push over chocks, the AFC line and snake, the coal cleavage line, 8 packs and stable hole and gradients along the face plus 5 arches in the gate and the gate line plus also the positions of the 23 men at the time of the explosion.

When we had completed our work in the Loader Gate Clary Skeavington asked me to go round to the LH Supply Gate to see how the other team were going. I realised that I had to go from 28s LG up 30s RH to 28s LH. The gate was low and crushed, almost a crawling road.  I came to a small wooden door but could not open it so I assumed it had been sealed up.  I retreated to 28s LG then realised it must be that way because to get to the other gate another way would mean going quite a long way inbye up 30s LG through the face and back down 30s RH and nobody was on the district. I went back to the little door and prised it open.  It was wedged by weight coming on and not because of ventilation pressure because that was almost non existent, as mentioned later, probably a contributing factor allowing gas to accumulate due to the sluggish airstream. Anyway I crawled through it and closed it behind me then crawled a few more yards and came across a brattice cloth.  Eventually I reached 28s LH and as I walked towards the lip the other team were just completing their task. They followed me through the crawling road then all 6 of us walked outbye up the main conveyor road back to the pit bottom. The roadway was deep in dust blown down by the explosion and our footprints showed easily as though no one else had travelled that way out, maybe they had ridden outbye on the conveyor or travelled the Return roadway? We rode the shaft and were met by Les Watson Area Chief Surveyor in the canteen and we were ‘treated to a cup of tea’.  Colin, Geoff and me were completely ignored as the bosses related the tale to LH Watson. Eventually at about 10.50pm Clary took us back to Teversal to shower and change and having no transport or a bus service at that time I was taken home around midnight by him before he drove to his home in Hucknall.  Of course we were all at work in Teversal office by 8.30am that morning … as was expected.

The plan work was done at Sutton Office, what was the old Medical centre, complete with white tiled walls ... WEB Barlow and C Skeavington assisted Stan Hays in the preparation. A detailed Report by the HMI would be prepared later and published and would contain all the plans and sections. As usual the HM Inspector complemented the Area Chief Surveyor and his staff for producing excellent plans. There were never any remarks complimenting the Surveyor by name who did the drawing and supplied the information.

(note: In 2019 I was the only surviving member of the team of 7 Surveyors and was interviewed at Brierley Wood Park, part of the converted Sutton Dirt tip, by a woman reporter for the BBC, reporter of Indian descent called Geeta Pendse and filmed on a bright sunny but cold February day in 2019 and was featured on TV but my interview time of about three quarters of an hour was whittled down to a few minutes. Unfortunately the reporter did not want to know what I thought was important, such as the scene of the incident, the amount of destruction and the distance inbye from pit bottom from where the stretcher bearers carried the dead and badly injured people etc, etc, etc. and so she interviewed 2 others who were working on the district at the time and were unhurt but shocked by the explosion and realising the dangers that can happen in a pit refused to go down the pit again and accepted a summary compensation amount relating to their ordeal. The reporter concentrated on their stories but asked why I was not upset or actually crying whilst at the scene measuring up, but as I explained or rather tried to explain it was part of our job similar to Rescue workers, Police personnel and Firemen who unfortunately have to measure up the scenes of serious accidents and fatal accidents as well, in order to produce plans of the scene for others including Her Majesty’s Inspector of Mines, Coroners and a jury to accredit the scene of the sad occasion and also to allow others from various departments of the NCB in our case, to examine, investigate and to put into practice rules etc to prevent such an event happening again. I had experienced 2 fatal accidents and a further site of one at Teversal in my first couple of years on the job with one still being in situ when I arrived at the scene where I saw others trying to extricate the body).

Fri 22 … Office … Various people … discussion re explosion. Ventilation plan.

Sat 23 … Office … Discuss explosion … Progress folders.

Mon 25 … Office … Cleaning office etc. Deputy’s Districts plan.

Tues 26 … Technical College …. Discuss Sutton Colliery explosion and my part in it.

Wed 27 … Office … Progress plan tracings.

Thurs 28 … Office … Progress plan prints and coloured.

Mar 1957

Fri 1 … Office … Monthly info.

Sat 2 … Office … Progress folders.   Dunsil Overlay tracing 43/4862.

Mon 4 … Office … Waterloo 43/4863 plan to go with overlay.

Tues 5 … Technical College.

Wed 6 … Office … Dunsil overlay 43/4862.

Thurs 7 … Holiday … went to see Nott’m Forest 0 – Birmingham 1.

Fri 8 … Office … Titles on Overlays.  Waterloo 43/4862 to go with Overlay.

Mon 11 … Office … Overlay tracing and new Progress plan tracing for old 40s panel.

Tues 12 … Technical College

Wed 13 … Surface … Locating culvert on Silverhill sidings … 3 men (WEBB, RB, GB)

Thurs 14 … U/g … 50s both gates and Waterloo lines … 2 men (RB*, GB)

Fri 15 … U/g … 70s RH and 40s both gates, lines … 2 men (RB*, GB) - (320 + 22 u/g)

Mon 18 … Office … Overlay Top Hard 43/4661.

Tues 19 … Technical College

Wed 20 … Office … Sherwood Top Hard on 43/5059, 43/5060. Old shafts and surface on Dunsil 43/4661.

Thurs 21 … U/g … 60s and 120s lines, 5 gates … 2 men (RB*, GB)

Fri 22 … U/g … 70s and 80s and Waterloo lines, 5 gates … 2 men (RB*, GB) … split up …

Sat 23 … Office … Plan 43/4862 for Jack Brown, Pleasley.

Wed 27 … Office … Enlarging plan of Skegby district from 1/2500 to 1/1250.

Thurs 28 … Office … Similarly Top Hard 1/5000 North district.

Fri 29 … Office … Top Hard 1/5000. North and pit bottom.

Sat 30 … U/g … Fatal Accident W Brewer 50s Top side benk pack hole … 3 men (RB*, GB and Safety Officer Fred Daft)

Apr 1957            
Mon 1 … Office … Plotted plan, tracing and prints of Fatal Accident … 6.30am start.  Top Hard 1/5000.

Tues 2 … Technical College

Wed 3 … U/g … 40s dial survey and levelling 2 gates … 4 men (WEBB, RB, JDeS, GB)

Thurs 4 … Office … Prints off R & FF plans.  Top Hard 1/5000.

Fri 5 … Office … R & FF plans.

Sat 6 … Bi-annual meeting of Surveyors at Bentinck Welfare … assisting WE Brian Barlow with his paper on Subsidence.
Began Saturday morning rota with Brian Barlow … planned alternate weeks on.

Mon 8 … Office … R & FF plans.  Skegby subsidence results.

Tues 9 … Technical College

Wed 10 … Office … Sub Area Manager Jack Frith’s Wall plan.  Pumping plan.  R & FF plans.  Waterloo Ventilation plan negative.

Thurs 11 … Office … Waterloo Ventilation negative.  Waterloo Electrical plan negative.

Fri 12 … Office … Top Hard Pumping plan.

Sat 13 … Off

Mon 15 … U/g … 60s and 120s dial surveys and measurements, 5 gates … 3 men (WEBB, RB, GB)
(325 + 22u/g)

Tues 16 … U/g … 40s LG … 400 yards of white line … 3 men (WEBB, RB, GB) and then measuring pump etc and information with Bill Stain, old Deputy / Pump man at old Top Hard North Level and North Dips and Axe edge road, (no supports), where the water ran from the old New Inn Level sough and down to the Water lodge then pumped back up the North Dips into the Ricket gate and ran back to the Pit bottom cistern, that we travelled, paddling in water and very low 2 men (WEBB, RB).

(Note: eventually in the 1960s the North Level roadway to the pump was deemed unsafe by HMI due to falls in the mainly unsupported roadway with a sandstone rock top and odd lengths of wooden cockering and also it was only one way in for the Pump man and same way out and no telephone. The Undermanager Harry Coppell at the time arranged for the pumps and roadway to be abandoned. Two weeks later water was found issuing in the stables at Pleasley where arrangements had to be made to pump the water out. Of course that was before Pleasley was transferred to North Derbyshire Area in April 1967 so there was no problem with pumping as it was in the same Group of pits in No 4 Area.

Wed 17 … Office … Plan for Alan Turner for his Manager’s First Class Certificate.  He would go onto the Area Safety dept.   Pumping plan for Top Hard.

Thurs 18 … U/g … 40s lines 2 gates, 120s LG levelling and taping … 3 men (RB*, GB, JDeS)

Fri 19 … Office … Coloured accident plans for Harry Abell, 70s shotfiring incident.

Sat 20 … Off

Mon 22 … Easter Monday

Tues 23 … Holiday

Wed 24 … Office … Top Hard 1/5000 plan.

Thurs 25 … U/g … Waterloo theodolite survey and thirl to 40s TG … 4 men (WEBB, RB, GB, JDeS)

Fri 26 … Office … Top Hard 1/5000 plan.

Sat 27 … Office … Progress folders.  Top Hard 1/5000 plan.

Mon 29 … U/g … Dial surveys of Waterloo 2 gates and old 90s straight in … 3 men (WEBB, RB, JDeS)
Tues 30 … Technical College

May 1957

Wed 1 … Office … Progress plan tracings. Copied up levels. Check calculated theodolite survey from South Main Road to 40s TG thirling.

Thurs 2 … Office … Copied theodolite survey. Top Hard 1/5000. Progress book.

Fri 3 … Holiday

Sat 4 … Off

Mon 6 … U/g … 80s both gates and 70s DG levelling and taping … 2 men (RB*, RE) - (330 + 22 u/g)
Tues 7 … Technical College

Wed 8 … Office … Dunsil 2 chains to an inch tracing (1/1584).  Top Hard 1/5000.

Thurs 9 … Office …Top Hard 1/5000.

Fri 10 … Office … Tracing of Top Hard 1/5000.

Sat 11 … Office … Progress folders. Continued tracing Top Hard 1/5000.

Mon 13 … U/g … 70s LG and Waterloo LG levelling and taping … 2 men (RB*, RE)

Tues 14 … Technical College

Wed 15 … Office … Silverhill Low Main 2 chain plan and Top Hard tracing. Ventilation plan.

Thurs 16 … U/g … 50s dial survey and measurements 2 gates … 5 men (CB, RB, GB, RE, JDeS)

Fri 17 … Office … Calculated 50s survey. North point, shaft section etc on Second copy Dunsil plans.

Sat 18 … ONC exam

Mon 20 … Office … Copied 50s levels. Surface features on Top Hard 43/5060. Top Hard 1/5000 tracing and print.

Tues 21 … Technical College

Wed 22 … Office … Coloured Top Hard 1/5000 print. Updated all 1/5000 negs.

Thurs 23 … Office … Prints off Waterloo Support Rules. Silverhill workings to date. Pleasley Top Hard on 43/5061.

Fri 24 … Office … Manager’s Working Plans.

Sat 25 … ONC exam

Mon 27 … U/g … Waterloo 1s new face line… 4 men (WEBB, RB, RE, JDeS)

Tues 28 … Technical College

Wed 29 … Office … Top Hard 1/5000 plans.

Thurs 30 … Office … Colouring Waterloo Support Rules. Typing levels.

Fri 31 … Office … Typing levels. Pumping plan. Monthly info.

June 1957

Sat 1 … Off

Mon 3 … Surface … Spudding on pit tip … 2 men (RB*, RE) afternoon.

Tues 4 … Technical College

Wed 5 … Office … Colouring Waterloo Support Rules.

Thurs 6 … Office … Continued. Stencilling on Second copy Dunsil flat sheets.

Fri 7 … Office … Continued with same.

Sat 8 … Holiday

Mon 10 … Whit Monday

Tues 11 … Holiday

Wed 12 … U/g … Old 40s (new 30s) theodolite survey … 5 men (WEBB, RB, GB, RE, JDeS)

Thurs 13 … Surface … to Silverhill, Sutton and Pleasley to take tackle … (self RB*)
And on the same day in the afternoon …

Thurs 13 … U/g … 30s checking angles … 3 men (WEBB, RB, JDeS) - (335 + 22 u/g)

Fri 14 … Office … North points etc on Standard mine plans.  Sorting of typed level sheets.

Sat 15 … Office … Progress folders. Calculated 30s theodolite survey.

Wed 19 … Office … Sorting out typed levels.

Thurs 20 … Surface … Theodolite angling from Silverhill to establish pit yard base at Teversal … 5 men (WEBB, CB, RB, GB, RE)

Fri 21 … Surface … Catenary measuring the traverse … 5 men (C Skeavington, WEBB, JW, RB, RE)

Sat 22 … Off

Mon 24 … Office … Checking levels.

Tues 25 … Technical College … Field Trip into Derbyshire, Rising Sun at Wirksworth.

Wed 26 … Office … Sorting out levels and further typing for second copy at Area HQ

Thurs 27 … Office … Monthly information. Continued with levels.

Fri 28 … Office … Typing.  Made chart for manpower on 1s Waterloo face.

Sat 29 … Office … Progress folders