Wigan Album

I started work in the Lower Florida seam at Golborne Colliery in 1975. I worked on the haulage on L.12. then on L.20, which I think was the pit's first retreat face.There were some terrific characters working there.

who are you tuddy ?.

Did my face training there in late '60's,can't remember which face though!

I worked on the haulage (ncb)when Wimpy drove the tunnels for the Florida Faces 1958 -1959

Brian, you know me well although I have'nt seen you for a year or two. Do you remember us having a photo taken near the memorial window in the church in Golborne?

P. Doyle, I'm sure one of those roadways was known as Doyle's tunnel.

it,s got to be ste naylor.

Ste Naylor! Is'nt he the good looking lad who worked on Snowy's team?

ste , did i give you a copy of that pic we had took in the church ? .

I remember working down L3 and later L6. It was hot and a long way to walk down until the man-rider was put in the return. My first time On the face of L3 was like going back in time, the roof was supported mostly by Dowty props with some early Gullick chocks them by there best, to push the pazzer over after the coal cutter had passed. I remember working one night to repair the face scraper chain conveyor which had broken with Eric Robinson ( Robbo) we'd worked all night together with the face men and decided to have a minute, we all fell asleep completely exhausted, it was only the creaking and banging coming from the roof as it settled that brought us back to life. I worked on and off for many years until it hit the boundary fault and the face slewed left, and slowly grown to a halt.I was deployed to break the scraper chain and slowly crawled down to the return end where the roof was so low that I could not use my tools to split the end. One of the compensations was because of the distance to the pit bottom, we often left at 12.30ish ridding the conveyors out to get a early winding and a quick shower.
By contrast up brow! L9 was wet and cold but it paid PLA which was a huge increase in money to us at that time.
It was a difficult and at time dangerous but the company of the men more than made up, their humor spirit and comradeship was legendary.

Remember first time went down L.3 brow by the time you got to L 19 your legs were like jelly whups and his team where on the haulage in L19 top road it very hot down there they worked in shorts and vests. Started my face training in the six feet think it was s2 then on the retreat face on C6 after went on the first face in the plooder p1 .Then went in the tunnels in the six feet started near the bunker shafts with little les and ronnie ret we broke through into the main return brow which became the manrider brow,Then we turn down brow built the F.S.V garage and the tunnels for the faces we where on days and afternoons .

L3 brew, I remember once having to walk all the way up because the belts were not running, with tools, then walked out to pit bottom, its amazing what you can do when your in your early twenties.