My Experience as a Bevan Boy In WW2

I was born on the 2nd July 1926,so when the war broke out I was 13 years old. When I reached 18 years I was called up,I passed my medical A1. When I received my papers I had been balloted into the Coal Mines. The reason being so many men from the mines had gone into the Services,the mines were very short of manpower. So the Government decided that a lot of the Call Ups would be sent down to the Coal Mine. You had no choice it was either the COAL MINES or PRISON. I was sent to Stanley in Co.Durham,the mine was The South Derwent Coal Co,a 100yr old pit. It had been shut down and only opened up again because of the shortage of coal for the factories. It was a wet pit and we received 10p (new money) a day for boot money as the boots rotted away so quickly. My digs in Stanley were not very good, it was damp and my clothes in the wardrobe had green mould on them. There were three other Bevan Boys lodging in the same house with me. The food wasn't great as I have never eaten meat, it always made me feel sick,Sundays were great the landlady made high tea. We worked 8hr shifts and took our meals down into the mine,this was known as "Bate". We learnt a whole new language in the mines. I was told I'd be a Pony Putter,I had to go to the underground stables and collect my Galloway which was Geordie for a pony. I took 2 empty tubs to the coal face and highted up 2 full tubs of coal which weighed 10cwt each. We then took the full tubs up to the hauler plain, then taken to the lift, then to the surface. I have a souvenier of my Bevan Boy days, I misjudged the height of a seam and was jammed between the tub and a roof beam while sitting on the limbers of the tub, I received a cut on the left of my face by my left eye,coaldust got in the cut,so I have a black scar. I stayed in the mines for approx 11 mths,while there I lost 3st in weight,my normal weight was 10st. I was sent home to see a Specialist and was diagnosed with inward Claustraphobia. I regained my normal weight had another medical graded B1 and went into the Army,I served in India and Singapore.
On a BBC programme called "Eggheads" a year ago, a question was asked regarding Bevan Boys. The quiz master stated these were young men who wanted to avoid going into the forces,this was very wrong, we had NO CHOICE as I have already stated, that is why I feel this story should be known.

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