These oral histories have been collected by a group of 10 young people aged 15-17 from Workington, who took part in this project in October 2023 for work experience. The students, who took part from different schools and youth groups across Workington, chose the theme for the exhibition, and subsequently interviewed six people with memories and experiences of the mining industry.
Pauline’s late husband was a coal miner.
Pauline’s husband goes to Germany
Pauline visits the pits
The Miners’ Strike
Patrick was the son of a coal miner. Patrick left school aged 15 to become a miner himself.
Patrick’s first trip underground
A day in the life
Being in the pits
David was born in Treharris in South Wales. His father was a colliery manager and David worked as an engineer for the mines.
Why David joined the mines
Wage packets
David moves north
John was born in Workington and comes from 7 generations of coal miners. He started in the mines as an apprentice surveyor in 1966.
On being a surveyor
Do as I say
It is a brotherhood
Joseph was brought up in Whitehaven, near Haig Colliery where his father worked. Joseph shares some of his memories of his father’s life in the mines.
Joseph’s father becomes a hewer
The coal mining community
Depuity Stick
John worked in the mines for 16 years after his father told him there was a ‘good job going down at the pit’
Me and me dad
Every day was different
The end of a career
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