Morrocan boy ?

[mackem 28,196]

2 hours ago, tatsblisters said:

Their was one coalface that was only about 4 foot high though i did not work on it though went down it once and thought feck working on that scruaming up and down through hydraulic chocs. Only time i was truly scared when a large roof fall above the steel arch used to make tunnels in line with the face had appeared and the deputy asked one of us to go above the arch and chock it up with wood chocks to prevent further roof falls i admit to being a coward in refusing to go up as their was large lumps of rock hanging that could have dropped at any minute my first thought was i had two very young kids and thought about them first an older more experienced workmate went up into the cavity wile we passed him the wooden chock blocks up halfway through building it their was another roof fall and all went dark with the dust and noise we were all shouting and screaming for our work mate who we were convinced would be dead when the dust cleared by some miracle he had escaped serious injury bar a large cut under his chin when a lump of rock had hit a length of timber that caught him. For a few year's after leaving the pit i had the odd nightmare about this incident.

You must have seen some sights down there mate, scary to read that

[tatsblisters 10,497]

39 minutes ago, mackem said:

You must have seen some sights down there mate, scary to read that

Only the odd time mate thankfully it was a job were you earned every penny. 

[iworkwhippets 12,835]

Worked down mosley commom and sandhole colliery fer years, back in lancashire, big difference between a five year old boy plummeting down an 100 foot well, getting banged up to fek, than going down a pit , 

[BobDown 901]

53 minutes ago, iworkwhippets said:

Worked down mosley commom and sandhole colliery fer years, back in lancashire, big difference between a five year old boy plummeting down an 100 foot well, getting banged up to fek, than going down a pit , 

My grandad (god rest him)  worked at Hapton pit, theys a photo of him signing a petition in a book of Burnley I’ve got.  16 men lost their lives in the  explosion, I think he later went on to a higher position at a pit over Doncaster way . Tough old days men cut from a different cloth 

[tatsblisters 10,497]

8 minutes ago, baker boy said:

I was nights regular for a long while I ran a team of lads who did the chocking above the face chocks nightly trying to catch the top, some hairy fckn times up them holes

 

 

I admit i did not like facework were i was on a tailgate rip before that i was road laying going on different districts laying track and putting crossing's in witch was a lot safer job and more interesting though not as much money.

[mackem 28,196]

2 minutes ago, baker boy said:

 was top money

How much cash were you on back then mate? I spoke to a guy worked in an ozzie FIFO mine a few years ago, he was on 95k ozzie dollars a year. 

[tatsblisters 10,497]

2 hours ago, mackem said:

How much cash were you on back then mate? I spoke to a guy worked in an ozzie FIFO mine a few years ago, he was on 95k ozzie dollars a year. 

Just been looking at an old wage slip of mine dated 28 9 85 for 5 night shifts due to it being bad ground the bonus was usually a percentage of the pit average top line £203.63 after stoppages £127 witch was not much really though lad's at the same pit were on double that with overtime and good going in drivage teams. A mate who worked at the same pit in it's last year in 2013 he earned 70 grand .

[mackem 28,196]

3 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Just been looking at an old wage slip of mine dated 28 9 85 for 5 night shifts due to it being bad ground the bonus was usually a percentage of the pit average top line £203.63 after stoppages £127 witch was not much really though lad's at the same pit were on double that with overtime and good going in drivage teams. A mate who worked at the same pit in it's last year in 2013 he earned 70 grand .

I remember when I was at school, anyone whose dad worked down the pit we thought they were posh

[mackem 28,196]

14 minutes ago, baker boy said:

I remember turning 18 and my pay going up to £84, my mates outside the pits were on £20

Couldn't get into sunderland pit unless you had family worked there, bit of a closed shop. 

[DIDO.1 22,851]

Not long ago but a different lifetime in so many ways. 

You should get it down on paper lads because it's going to be lost forever in such a short space of time 

[jukel123 8,969]

1 hour ago, mackem said:

Couldn't get into sunderland pit unless you had family worked there, bit of a closed shop. 

It was the same on the docks. My family and the wife's family all worked on the docks. I was literally brought up on knocked off stuff from the docks. It was worth more than wages. Docks police were given a cut. Everybody happy. One of my uncles was one of the union men who stopped the business of being hired by the day. Both my mam and dad were bitter about casual labour on the docks. You had to queue up everyday and asked to be hired for that day. Unless you licked arse you didn't get a start. But that was stopped by union struggle.

Then along came the containers and fecked everything .

Edited February 6, 2022 by jukel123

[FLATTOP 4,616]

11 minutes ago, jukel123 said:

It was the same on the docks. My family and the wife's family all worked on the docks. I was literally brought up on knocked off stuff from the docks. It was worth more than wages. Docks police were given a cut. Everybody happy. One of my uncles was one of the union men who stopped the business of being hired by the day. Both my mam and dad were bitter about casual labour on the docks. Unless you licked arse you didn't get a start. But that was stopped by union struggle.

Then along came the containers and fecked everything .

My Grandad was a London docker East & West India docks and Canary Wharf which is a totally different place these days, It was an excellent job we never went without he used to tell me about the early days hundreds of men used to turn up and only a few were picked for a days work but obviously things got a lot better, I remember as kid being ushered into the docks for the dockers kids party’s we were treated really well all gone now sadly.

[jukel123 8,969]

Just now, FLATTOP said:

My Grandad was a London docker East & West India docks and Canary Wharf which is a totally different place these days, It was an excellent job we never went without he used to tell me about the early days hundreds of men used to turn up and only a few were picked for a days work but obviously things got a lot better, I remember as kid being ushered into the docks for the dockers kids party’s we were treated really well all gone now sadly.

Yep, dockers and miners were working class royalty. Quite right too. It was hard dangerous work. As you say it's all gone now. 

[gnasher16 30,584]

On 06/02/2022 at 20:24, FLATTOP said:

My Grandad was a London docker East & West India docks and Canary Wharf which is a totally different place these days, It was an excellent job we never went without he used to tell me about the early days hundreds of men used to turn up and only a few were picked for a days work but obviously things got a lot better, I remember as kid being ushered into the docks for the dockers kids party’s we were treated really well all gone now sadly.

Ever see the The Dockers Sculpture next to the Excel Arena ?.....lovely little bit of nostalgia.

[FLATTOP 4,616]

4 hours ago, gnasher16 said:

Ever see the The Dockers Sculpture next to the Excel Arena ?.....lovely little bit of nostalgia.

I haven’t I don’t visit London much at all these days my cousin helps run the Island History Trust which is a really good organisation which keeps all the past history alive they have a book for sale on their site called Bridgers  Bompers & Boozers by Con Maloney it’s well worth a look, it’s a bit of a trip down memory Lane for me because all the old pubs the Blue bridge kings bridge etc are all mentioned in the book as you probably remember I was brought up on the Island.

When the trust have their next open day I promised my cousin I’d come down for the day so I will definitely check that sculpture out.

Friends Of Island History Trust

WWW.ISLANDHISTORY.CO.UK

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The group formed on the 7th June 2014; following on from the Island History Trust, to continue recording and sharing the History of the Isle of Dogs. To register for...