Wigan Album

When my late dad worked at Gullicks up to 1970, he used to tell us they made "Pit Props" would that be these, or something else?

Pit props were single supports for the roof above coal workings. When I was in training for underground work we were shown how to place a piece of timber as a prop - and then how to place a single hydraulic prop. Not that we were ever allowed to do so - the real miners did that. Hydraulic props were used to secure the haulage motors (Pickroses) that we used to haul timber blocks and 9-foots up to the face - but on the face itself the Gullick-Dobson self-advancing pit-props did the real work of keeping the face safe and enabling the cutters and the haulage pans to work effectively.

Rev David:
In what respect were you an unreal miner?

AP - I was a mere timber boy, or conveyor-switch operator in my year underground. The real miners got the coal, drove the headings, set rings, or dinted the roadways - all of which required skills and experience I didn't possess. This included the skill of setting Dowty props safely and securely so that the haulage engine didn't shoot off down the gate, or pull a ring out of the roof, when it was operated.

Thank you Rev David, I asked, finding myself wondering if you had been a 'Bevin Boy': I did not want to ask directly as it would imply you were of a certain age, and I did not want to cause offence, as I had rather got the impression you were younger than would have been implied by that.