The On LINE Coal Mining Museum

21/03/2021

The Lofthouse Colliery disaster was a mining accident which took place in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England on Wednesday 21 March 1973, in which seven mine workers died when workings were flooded. Rest In Peace.
Frederick Armitage 41. Colin Barnaby. 36. Frank Billingham.48. Sydney Brown.36. Charles Cotton. 49. Edward Finnegan.40. and Alan Haigh. 30.

The Lofthouse Colliery disaster was a mining accident which took place in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England on Wednesday 21 March 1973, in which seven mine workers died when workings were flooded. Rest In Peace.
Frederick Armitage 41. Colin Barnaby. 36. Frank Billingham.48. Sydney Brown.36. Charles Cotton. 49. Edward Finnegan.40. and Alan Haigh. 30.

18/02/2021

Just Arrive At The Online Coal Mining Museum Today Many Many Thanks To A Very Kind X Derbyshire Markham Pit Man For This Amazing Pit Mug

15/02/2021

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/new-owner-former-nottinghamshire-colliery-4867100

25/01/2021

China mine rescue: 10 workers found dead after explosion | ITV News

https://www.facebook.com/148007467671/posts/10158496603887672/

A further nine workers have been found dead following a mine explosion in China, raising death toll to 10 in total.

24/01/2021

Eleven Chinese miners rescued after two weeks trapped underground | ITV News

https://www.facebook.com/148007467671/posts/10158492186887672/

Eleven miners who were trapped underground for two weeks following an explosion have been rescued, according to China's state broadcaster.

23/01/2021

Hello, my ancestors on both sides all worked down the local coal mines, my nan was a pit brow lass. I wrote this story about it and hoped you might like to post it on your page. I still live in Wigan and regularly walk over the old John pit and crooke.
Best wishes, Samantha.

I wrote this and it isn't actually a true story. Any similarities to people living or dead are purely councidental. I wrote about real places and how I imagined things to be back then.
I hope you enjoy reading it 🙂

All of my immediate family are Wigan born and bred. A town of cotton mills and coal, canals, cobbled streets and terraced houses .Our family never had any money and had to take any work that was on offer. For my Nan and Grandad, that meant working at the local coal pit. Before my Nan died she used to tell us stories of what life was like back then, this was my favourite and I’d like to share it with you.
I was fifteen years old when my Mam sent me to work over at the John pit. I could’ve gone to the cotton mill but the pit was within walking distance to our house on Woodcock row in Crooke village. Most of the lads worked in the pit and so did my dad before he died young of lung disease, leaving my Mam to support me and her on her own. I didn’t mind going to work. Mam did her best for us and always had a hot meal of potato pie or bread and cheese waiting after a hard day’s work. Sometimes if it was a special occasion she’d make fruit cake and custard, which was a real treat!
Working at the pit was hard, grubby work but despite not being allowed to talk to each other while we were working, me and my friend Annie still had a bit of a giggle at times when we thought no one was looking. We even learned to lip read so we could silently communicate.
Our job as pit brow lasses was to wait for the coal to come in from the shaft below and we had to pick out the dirt and stones so it wouldn’t explode when the coal went in the fire. All the bits that we pulled out just got thrown on to the floor so after a while we’d have to stop and shovel it all up or it’d be over our boots! It was bloody cold in winter, we had gloves but they had no fingers in them because we had to work fast with our hands. We had head scarves and shawls and heavy woollen skirts which were warm but felt like they were dragging you down when they got wet. Mam said they were really hard to wash and dry them wool skirts. Remember, in them days there was no fancy washing machines. It was all done by hand on wash day once a week.
One cold October morning, 1948 I was eighteen by then and there was a new lad just started at our John pit. Tommy Fisher. He’d moved from Haigh with his old Grandad and lived in Standish Lower Ground now. Soon as me and Annie set eyes on him we were as giddy as two school girls. Dark and handsome with eyelashes any girl would have died for. Even the coal dirt on his face didn’t take away his good looks. It was impossible dressed as we were to look pretty but I did my best to make sure I always had a smile when he looked my way.
That autumn was a really wet one and as I was leaving the site one night, thinking about my tea and a warm brew, I suddenly slipped in the mud and landed heavy on my backside in a heap. Dirty, wet and feeling like a right fool I started to pick myself up from the slippery ground. I looked up to see a hand grabbing mine and my eyes met those long lashes of Tommy Fisher. He helped me up like my knight in a flat cap and we both had a chuckle once I’d got over the shame and he’d made sure that I wasn’t hurt. Tommy walked me home even though it was out of his way. I found out he was twenty years old and he was a ‘hooker on’ which meant he worked at the bottom of the mine shaft hooking on the cages filled with coal and sent them up to the surface. Tommy was kind and funny, and I was smitten. Lucky for me he seemed to feel the same way and our walking home and little chats became a regular occurrence. Annie was jealous as hell at first but after a while she started courting a lad from Shevington so she soon lost interest in us. We stayed friends though and would dream about getting married and living next door to each other, our kids playing together like we had done when we were growing up.
Life went on this way and we were happy. It didn’t seem to matter that we were poor. We had a job, a home, food on the table and fierce friendships. People stuck together back then and wouldn’t hesitate to help out a neighbour in need. Our little community up north revolved around the coal pit, the school and the Methodist meetings at the village chapel.
One Saturday when I’d finished my shift I walked home on my own as Tommy had told me the day before that he had to stay on a bit later that night. I was tired but content and it was Sunday tomorrow which meant a chapel meeting but a day off from the pit. As I made my way up to our front door I heard voices in the front room. When I walked in I was surprised to see my Mam sat by the fire with Tommy. They’d met briefly before but I wouldn’t have said they were pals. “Here’s our Eileen now” said Mam. “Tommy’s come round to ask me something and he seems like an honest, hardworking lad so I’ve said yes. I think your dad would’ve agreed, God rest his soul” Tommy looked at me and I looked back in bewilderment. “Eileen he said. I know I’ve not much but I think the world of you and I’ve put a bit by like so as we can get wed, if you want like?”
A laugh of shock and surprise burst from my mouth, “yes” I said. I ran into his arms and then quickly pulled away again as my Mam gave us a disapproving look. “There’ll be time for all that once you’re married. We’ll speak to the vicar after service tomorrow and Tommy, I’ll need to meet your Grandad.
A month later Tommy and me became man and wife at a simple ceremony in the village chapel. I felt beautiful in Mams wedding dress, white cotton with a simple ribbon around the waist and a chain of daisies in my mousey brown hair. It poured down with rain but still all the families came out and Mam put on a small spread of sandwiches and cake with a little fruit cordial and tea for everyone.
I moved into the house that Tommy lived in with his Grandad. The house wasn’t much bigger than Mams but Grandad couldn’t be left alone. It was decided that I would leave my job at the pit and look after the house, and Grandad. Mum was sad to see me leave but I visited her almost every day. She got a few hours work a week cleaning at the village school so was able to support herself financially. I was happy with my lot and Annie would come for a brew and tell me any gossip from the village. Cooking and cleaning kept me busy and one evening I was laying the table with bread and butter and waiting for Tommy to come home from work. He always said the delicious smell of stew cooking on the stove wafted down the street as he made his way to the house. I looked at the clock and noticed Tommy was a bit late. It wasn’t like him to be late but I wasn’t too worried at that point. In the distance I heard a horn sound, it was the pit. I ran outside and most of the neighbours were already out. Something was wrong. There had been an accident at John pit. My stomach sank and my legs had a mind of their own. I ran and ran, heart pounding in my chest until I reached the pit. The rain was lashing down and I was soaked to the skin but I couldn’t feel it. It was chaos. Men were dragging bodies from underground, unrecognisable covered in coal dirt and mud. Women were screaming and being held back by some of the older lads. “Where is my Tommy?” I cried, “Annie!” “Tommy!”
I sank to my knees in despair. He was dead. I knew it in my heart. My Tommy had been crushed by a collapse in the mine. My darling, beautiful husband. The rain had weakened the tunnel structure and the men couldn’t escape in time. I must have gone into some kind of daze as I was shaken back to the moment by Annie. “Eileen, what are you doing? Tommy needs you. Snap out of it”
Hearing Tommy’s name and Annie’s voice sparked a flame inside me and we ran over to where a group of men were sitting by the sheds. There was my Tommy. Bruised, bloody but alive! I threw my arms around him and sobbed. “Easy lass” He said “I’m alright, I’m alright”.
Six lads lost their lives that day. One was from Crooke village. He was only sixteen. Billy Halsall. There was a memorial service at the chapel and later a plaque was erected with the names on of those who died. It was one of many mining tragedies that happened in various coal mines up north and even though the mine owners made changes, they still happened.
Your Grandad, Tommy was very lucky. He managed to get out as he was working near the entrance but he was saddened by the loss of his pals. Right up until his own death as an old man he’d still visit that memorial plaque and run his fingers over the names. He used to say that you never really forget a tragedy like that, no matter how many years may pass.
Well, as you know your Grandad and me remained in Wigan here in Standish Lower Ground all our lives and had your dad and your auntie Betty. As it turned out Annie got married and had two sons. They moved into the house next door and we’d chat over the fence while the kids played in the garden. It was a simple life but we were happy with what we had and never imagined wanting more.
Tommy and Me were married for fifty two years and I know that he’s up there waiting for me with his long lashes and a hand to pull me to heaven.

04/01/2021

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Wooden Dynamite Bickford Matieres Explosives Box.

31/12/2020

29/12/2020

The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851,[4] as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts. The School developed from the Museum of Economic Geology, a collection of minerals, maps and mining equipment made by Sir Henry De la Beche, and opened in 1841. The museum also provided some student places for the study of mineralogy and metallurgy. Sir Henry was the director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and when the collections outgrew the premises the museum and the survey were placed on an official footing, with government assistance.
The Museum of Practical Geology and the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts opened in a purpose-designed building in Jermyn Street in 1851. The officers of the Geological Survey became the lecturers and professors of the School of Mines. The Royal College of Chemistry was merged into it in 1853. The name was changed in 1863 to the Royal School of Mines, and was moved to South Kensington in 1872. In 1907, the school was incorporated into Imperial College of Science and Technology, but retained its own identity as a "constituent college".
In 2001 it was announced Imperial was to transition from a constituent college structure to a faculty structure, a move that was completed in 2003.[5][2] The last Dean of the Royal School of Mines was Professor John Monhemius before the position was abolished. The Royal School of Mines has since come to refer to both the building in which former school was housed, as are its departments still today, and the student body representing students within those departments.[6]

29/12/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Set Of Royal School Of Mines Buttons

28/12/2020

Arrived On Christmas Day Well Worth A Read On Sale At The National Coal Mining Museum Wakefield

23/12/2020

R.I.P Henry Richardson
X NUM (Nottinghamshire Area) Secretary before, during and after the 1984/85 Miners' Strike.

23/12/2020

The Online Coal Mining Museum Would Like To Wish All Its Surporters A Happy Christmas And A Happy New Year

08/11/2020

Collection Of Colour Photographs Of Creswell Colliery Buildings

Set Of 5 Photographs

Showing Notice Board

Main Offices

Wages Office

Tub Tracks

02/11/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Match Programme for the Arsenal v Cardiff City game played at Highbury on 15 November 1966

The game was to raise funds for the Aberfan Disaster which had occurred a month earlier

20/10/2020

Today Is The 21st Of October The 54th Anniversary Of The Aberfan Disaster Rest In Peace Too The 28 Adults And 116 Children Who Died That Day

19/10/2020

Lowering A Camera 650Ft Down A Flooded Mine Shaft To A Huge Collapse : Abandoned Mine Explore #63

https://youtu.be/YlcgWnDe78Y

Real time video : https://youtu.be/quI7ArzWszA Join us on Facebook for behind the scenes photographs, chats and videos : https://www.facebook.com/groups/3309...

18/10/2020

16/10/2020

The Channel Tunnel Documentary

https://youtu.be/uRdqoQnQ6Pk

This #Engineering Documentary details the design and construction of the one of the boldest engineering challenge undertaken. The Channel Tunnel is a 50 km r...

13/10/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Zaire Belgium Congo Coal Miners Medal.

27/09/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-3 Coal Carvings Made From Welsh Coal.

25/09/2020

26th Of September 2020 Is The 70th Anniversary Of The Creswell Colliery Disaster RIP The 80 Men Who Perished In The Disaster.26th September 1950.

16/09/2020

Shotfiring.photos kindley borrowed.

06/09/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Steam Lorry Made From Welsh Coal.

28/08/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum -MSA Explosimeter Model 2A Mine Safety For Detection Of Combustible Gases, By The Mine Safety Appliances Co. Ltd., Glasgow, 1940-1955

24/08/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Boys Own November 1944.

24/08/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum- Miners Strike Mineworkers Defence Committee Weekly Bulletin's.

17/08/2020

After 200 years, one of England's last coal mines is closing

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/englands-last-coal-mine-closes-despite-demand-for-almost-8m-tonnes-of-coal-a-year-12050793

The Bradley Mine in County Durham produces 150,000 tonnes of coal a year, and workers now face an uncertain future.

16/08/2020

Rare Vintage NCB Officials Canteen Fish Knife And Fork Sets Up For Swops No Sales Swops Only

13/08/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum The Big Pit National Coal Museum Guide.

10/08/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum From An X North East Coal Miner Many Thanks

10/07/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Black Dragon Mineworkers Defence Committee Weekly Bulletin's.

10/07/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum- Mineworkers Defence Committee Secretary Ken Livingstone.

10/07/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Black Dragon Mineworkers Defence Committee Weekly Bulletin No4 Editor Ken Livingstone 4th March 1985.

10/07/2020

Just Arrived At The Online Coal Mining Museum-Black Dragon Mineworkers Defence Committee Weekly Bulletin No6 Editor Ken Livingstone 4th March 1985.