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Donald
was a 'Bevin Boy' - a young man called-up to work in coal mines
by the Minister of Labour and National Service Ernest Bevin. He
remembers being sent down the pit at the end of World War Two, but
says despite its harshness it made him a better person.
It was dirty and it was dusty and it was miserable! It was not an
enjoyable experience at all.
I was hoping to go into the armed forces, but unfortunately we had
a shortage of coal in the country, so Ernest Bevin, the Minister
of Labour, decided he'd hold a ballot for one in ten conscripts
to come down the mine - it was the first raffle in my life that
I've ever won!
The
coal face used to be called the 'gob'. We got a lot of coal out,
but it broke a lot of bodies and spirits.
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| Donald:
"I was so pleased to get out and by the time I did get
out, it was early in 1948." |
My
job was taking trucks away from the coalface. You were on your own
and if the pin dropped off the rails you had to find a way of getting
it back on. I used to get my backside against it and lift it up.
I couldn't
manage it on my own so I had a pit pony called Rex. The day I started
at that pit, Rex also started. He and I would stand there and lean
on each other so we'd have the warmth of our bodies together and
there was a togetherness.
I was so pleased to get out and, by then, the War had been over
for quite a while. By the time I did get out it was early in 1948.
Within
a few days of me leaving, there was a runaway and Rex was on the
end of it and was killed. I was very sad. Having thought about it
since, I wondered if he was better working or better dead because
the conditions were cruel.
To
some extent I've got to be grateful for my life down the pit because
it made me more understanding and tolerant of people and now I wouldn't
like to think I had a job where I wasn't working with people and
trying to help them.
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If
you or your family have a World War II story to tell, call
the BBC Yorkshire People's War line on 0845
3004475?
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You
can find out more about the People's War in West Yorkshire on BBC
Look North, weekdays at 1800.
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