Nationalisation 1947

"Dunfermline Press"
4 January, 1947
THE MINES NATIONALISED

It is an interesting speculation as to whether the general body of the pitworkers of the United Kingdom full realise that they are now engaged in an industry which is under public control. For a period of at least half a century one of the resolutions which appeared with unfailing regularity on the agenda of the annual gala celebration of the Fife miners called for nationalisation of the mining industry. It was indeed a hardy annual, and while, in the earlier days, its adoption was preceded by weighty speeches, its passing, in later years, became very much of a formality. To most pitworkers, it may be assumed, the legislation which has created miners servants of the State, may mean little or nothing. True, they have been assured of better conditions, including a five-day working week and adequate remuneration, but, even so, it does not necessarily follow that nationalisation will inaugurate a new Jerusalem in the industry.
Public ownership of the mines is a daring experiment, and the results will be watched with interest by all classes of the population. Launched at a time when the industry is beset with difficulties unprecedented in its history, the transfer of the coal mines from private to Government ownership could not have been inaugurated under more auspicious conditions. For some years, coal mining, upon which so much depends for the development of the industry of the country, has been in a chaotic state. For this, several causes have been assigned. These include unwarrantable absenteeism and a shortage of manpower, due to the fact that many pitworkers have shown a disinclination to return to the pits after their service with the Forces, and also, to some extent, to the fact that fewer young lads are seeking work in the mines. Steps by the Government and by the colliery owners to secure a return to normal conditions in the pits have been only partially successful, and the situation to-day is such as to cause widespread disquietude.
From the management point of view, it does not appear that, in the earlier stages at least, State ownership is going to make a great deal of difference. Those who have been selected by the National Coal Board to administer the industry are men who have, for years, been prominently identified with it, on the technical as well as on the commercial side, and there are included representatives who are experienced in the trade union aspect of the industry. On the face of it therefore, the prospects for the success of the experiment may be regarded as favourable. If the miners and colliery officials co-operate in the spirit which has been desiderated by the Ministry of Fuel and Power, there seems little reason to doubt that production difficulties will ere long be overcome. In Fife and Clackmannan the Coal Board take over several collieries which are modern to the last degree, as well as blue prints for developments which, under nationalisation, may well ensure the industrial prosperity of the county for many years to come.

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"Dunfermline Press"
4 January, 1947
FORDELL COLLIERY
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LONG FAMILY OWNERSHIP SEVERED

Appearing in the group are the Earl of Buckinghamshire, Mr George Parker-Jervis, Mr N. L. Landale, Mr John S. Brown, Mr James Kelly, Mr Michael Johnston, jun., Mr Archibald McArthur, Mrs N. L. Landale, Mrs John S. Brown, and Mrs James Kelly.

In order to mark the end of his family's ownership of Fordell Colliery, the Right. Hon. The Earl of Buckinghamshire received special leave from the Allied Control Commission in Germany, on which he is employed, to entertain old employees of the Fordell Coal Company at the Fordell Miner' Welfare Institute on Saturday evening. Sixty old miners and their wives were entertained at a social and dance.

After tea had been served, the earl made a speech in connection with the association which his family had had with the employees of the Company, and how interested his family had been in the welfare of his employees. He expressed his appreciation of their service, and gave five Certificates to each employee present with over 30 years' continuous service with the Company.
Reply was made by Mr N. S. Landale, the general manager of the Colliery, who said that the Earl's position was unique in the fact that he was the sole owner of a colliery and had no board of directors to assist him.
His Lordship arranged for the photographing of the company during the evening in order that each member would receive a signed print, duly framed, to mark the occasion.
On Monday evening the staff of the Fordell Coal Company and others connected with it were entertained by the Earl at dinner in the Woodside Hotel, Aberdour. The staff and officials presented him with a cigarette case, on the outside of which is to be engraved the names of all those present, together with the family crest.
Mr William Gibb, oldest foreman engineer on the staff, made the presentation.
Mr George Parker-Jervis, controller of the Company on the Earl's behalf, also received a gift in the shape of gold cuff links, presented to him by Mr A. C. Cameron, oldest employee on the staff, on behalf of those present. Both recipients suitably replied.

LAIRDS OF FORDELL FOR CENTURIES.

The menu cards issued for the dinner bore a short resumé, in print, of the Earl's family connection with the Company, which read as follows:- "The Henderson family have been lairds of Fordell for may hundreds of years. The castle was built about 1580, and there was probably an earlier keep on the site before then.
"The Dunfermline splint coal outcrops on a line near the present Annfield and Broomieside farm steadings, and coal was mined there in the 1600s, if not earlier, and was carried by road to St David's Harbour.
"About 1750, the laird had the Fordell Day Level constructed, a notable achievement of mining engineering in those days. This level drained the water from the workings so that coal could be won at greater depths and the workings extended northwards. At the same time, the wooden railway was built from the pits to St David's.
"Toward the end of the 1700s, Sir John Henderson, the laird of that day, made a bargain with the laird of Cuttlehill, Mr Wemyss, to mine coal on that estate and to extend Fordell Day Level into the Cuttlehill Lands.
"The wooden railway was reconstructed with iron rails about 1835, and again with steel rails about 1870, when locomotives were first used. The railway and St David's Harbour were closed in August 1946.
"Fordell Colliery to-day is mining mostly Cuttlehill coal, but some is still being won from Fordell lands, and the Day Level is still serving its original purpose."

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"Dunfermline Press"
4 January, 1947
MINES BECOME STATE PROPERTY.
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N.C.B. Flags Hoisted at Collieries.
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Supplies of the National Coal Board flag which will be hoisted at pits throughout Great Britain arrived in Edinburgh and Glasgow on Monday. They came by road from Leeds, where they had been manufactured.
The flag, contrary to some expectations, is not a red one, but a plain blue flag, with the initials "N.C.B." upon it in large white letters. The flags, presumably because of the shortage of materials, are of two kinds - one having a dark Oxford blue background and the other a light Cambridge one.
A crest for the Coal Board is the subject of a competition among miners. Notices have been posted at the pits. These run:- "This Colliery is now managed by the National Coal Board on behalf of the people."
In a statement on Monday, Mr W. Pearson, secretary of the Scottish Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, said that the flags would be hoisted at Scottish pits on Sunday. He was, he said, confident that production of coal in 1947 would be increased.
Demonstrations are to be held throughout Scotland tomorrow in commemoration of Nationalisation. The unions, the Coal Board, and the managers will take part in these. The largest in the Eastern Area is likely to be that at Musselburgh, which will be addressed by Lord Balfour, who is still Regional Coal Controller for Scotland, who, on Wednesday, officially took over his post as Chairman of the Scottish Coal Board; Mr G. R. Thomson, K.C., Lord Advocate; and Mr Alex. Davidson.
Sir Patrick Dollan will speak tomorrow evening at the Miners' Welfare Institute at Kirkintilloch, and at a miners' social tonight at Harthill.
Mr Abe Moffat, president of the Scottish Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, will speak at Lochgelly tomorrow.

APPEAL TO MINERS.

On Monday, the following message was issued by Mr Peter Henderson on the occasion of his demitting office as Area Secretary of the Fife, Clackmannan, and Kinross Miners' Union:- "I wish to say I appreciate the support I have had from the men and the local officials during the last eleven years. Now that I am going to take over the position of Labour Relations Adviser of the Coal Board in the area, I want to make a special appeal to the miners in the two counties for a prompt return to work on the official opening day of the collieries, 3^rd January, and, for my part, I shall strive to make the relationships between all sections of the nationalised industry harmonious and happy. We have in prospect great improvements in the industry and a five-day week. I hope that production in the two counties will continue to show the marked increase which has prevailed during the last two months."

AFTER-HOLIDAY ABSENTEEISM.

The appeal by the Scottish Area of the Mineworkers' Union for 100 per cent. Turnout of miners after the New Year holidays met with a mixed response in West Fife, where it was reported that absenteeism ranged from twenty-five to thirty-five per cent. T certain of the collieries the rate was described as more or less similar to previous New Year periods; at others, the absenteeism figure was regarded as better than previous years, while at one of the former Fife Coal Company concerns the response by the men was described as "a fair turn-out in comparison with previous years." The average percentage of absenteeism at the collieries hitherto under the control of the following companies was:- Lochgelly Iron and Coal Company, 25 to 30 per cent; Wilsons and Clyde, 35 per cent.; Coltness Iron Company, 30 per cent.; Fife Coal Company, Ltd., 30 per cent.

COAL BOARD RADIO QUIZ.

Sir Charles Reid, one of the National Coal Board directors in charge of production, said on Thursday night in a broadcast interview that reorganisation of Britain's mines should be well on the road to completion in fifteen years' time, although some of the new collieries might still then be in the development stage.
Sir Charles was taking part, with Lord Hyndley, chairman of the Coal Board; Lord Citrine, another member; and Mr Arthur Horner, secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, in a "question and answer" session attended also by the Fuel Minister, Mr Emanuel Shinwell.
Lord Hyndley, replying to the B.B.C. industrial correspondent (Mr George Darling), could not yet say what the Board could do in the way of price reduction, but he had no doubt that "if and when output per man is substantially increased we shall be able to start reducing prices and improving conditions within the industry."

UNTAPPED COAL.

Sir Charles Reid said that there were large deposits of untapped coal of good quality. The new grouping of collieries would get rid of the old leasehold boundaries. The Board had to decide what to do with uneconomic pits and those which should carry on to a finish as unworthy of reconstruction. Transfers of labour would be carried out with full human consideration.
"Surface machinery will be electrified, and coal preparation plants will conform with the latest modern practice, and the safety of the workman will not be forgotten," he said.

DOWN TO COLLIERIES.

Lord Citrine said that consultative councils of managements and men would be set up down to the actual collieries, and no aspect of the industry would be left out except wages and conditions of work.
Mr Horner said that by getting rid of the profit motive the miner was assured that the benefits of improved production would come to him in the form of better working conditions. They looked forward to the transformation of the miner into an "underground engineer."
Sir Charles Reid emphasised that "we are not getting enough coal" and "world competition may come upon us before we are ready to meet it."

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"Dunfermline Press"
Saturday, 11 January, 1947
UNFURLING THE FLAG.
West Fife Miners Celebrate Nationalisation.

The blue flag of the National Coal Board was hoisted at pithead ceremonies throughout the country on Sunday. In West Fife, the "vesting day" was the scene of animated celebrations, demonstrations, and social gatherings over the week-end, and speeches made by Miners' Union leaders emphasised the need for the fullest co-operation between managements and men to assure the country's coal production.

BLAIRHALL COLLIERY.

To the accompaniment of cheers from the miners and their wives and children, the National Coal Board flag was unfurled at the Lady Veronica Pit, Blairhall Colliery, on Sunday morning by a 70-years-old surface worker, William Mathie, Carnock, who has worked at the colliery for 56 years.
Mr A. Steel, treasurer of the Blairhall branch of the Miners' Union, presided and referred to the occasion as one which had been dreamed of by the miners for years. Mr Peter Henderson, Labour Relations Officer to the National Coal Board, said he considered that that day would be remembered not only in the future for the good of the industry but for the great work that had been done on behalf of the young generation. He desired to make a special appeal on behalf of the Coal Board and the Miners' Union to the men in the industry, not only those on production, but on the management side as well, to lay past all the hideous memories of the struggle in the history to get it nationalised, but to look to the future. Too long had the miner suffered under the strain of private enterprise, but that day they saw the flag bearing the name of the National Coal Board. They hoped it was there for good, and he wanted them to make that a resolution. The country looked to the miner. The country required coal. Coal would be the means of bringing to every miners' home, every home in Britain, a better future with more security. He knew from long experience that the management had had their struggles often with their employees. He hoped that was past and that they could go forward united, miners and management, not only to provide production but also to provide social, recreational, and other benefits for the mining people - a better environment and a better future. Mr A. Gardiner, manager of the colliery, said it was up to everyone in the future. They all served under the one flag and it was up to them to keep the flag flying. He was sure that with their help and the help of those above them they could make a name for themselves. He asked for the co-operation of the men, whom he suggested, should give a little thought before they did any rash act. To the officials he would suggest that they be tolerant, and to look before they leaped.
Mr A. Cowan, secretary of the local branch of the Miners' Union, proposed votes of thanks.
A social and dance, organised by the local branch of the Mineworkers' Union, took place in the Institute on Saturday evening. A company of 200 included the old age pensioners of the village, who were present as guests. Mr A. Dunn preside. Speeches were given by Messrs J. McArthur, Gardiner, and Wannan. Votes of thanks were proposed by Mr A. Steel. A varied programme was presented by a concert party consisting of Messrs J. Ritchie, J. McVee, Miss Chrissie Lindsay, and Mrs Ferguson. A sketch was given by members of the W.R.I. Music for dancing was provided by Dunsmore's band, and Mr A. Dunn officiated as M.C.

VALLEYFIELD, COMRIE, AND ISLE OF CANTY.

The ceremony, which took place at Valleyfield Colliery in the afternoon, was attended by a company representative of the entire community. Mr H. Black, colliery manager, presided, and speeches were given by Mr G. Hutchison, agent; Mr Abe Moffat, president of the Scottish Area of the National Union of Mineworkers; Mr A. Flynn, vice-chairman of the Pit Production Committee; and Mr Gormley, a local delegate of the Mineworkers Union. The unfurling of the flag was performed by Messrs Black and Flynn. Votes of thanks were proposed by Mr J. Thomson. Tea was afterwards served in the colliery office.
There was no official ceremony at Scotland's most modern colliery at Comrie, which had the distinction of flying the official flag before the majority of its neighbours, the unfurling having taken place on 1^st January.
Equally unceremonious were the proceedings at the Isle of Canty surface mine on the Carnock Road, where the flag was hoisted over the pithead by Messrs J. Tait, manager; R. Howie, fireman; and W. Duncan, roadsman.

BOWHILL AND KINGLASSIE.

The National Coal Board flag was unveiled at Bowhill Colliery on Sunday afternoon by Mr John Herd and Adam Drummond, the oldest working miner and the youngest boy respectively at the pit. Mr Fleming, agent, presided, and other speakers were Mr Tom Gray, on behalf of the Firemen's Union; Mr Andrew Ross, Bowhill Miners' Union; Mr Thos. Duncan, colliery manager; Mr George Main, Electricians' Union; and Councillor J. C. Robertson, on behalf of the community.
At Kinglassie Colliery, earlier in the day, the flag was unveiled by Mr Peter Ness, of the National Union of Mineworkers. Mr C. Inglis, colliery manager, also took part. Mr Andrew Archibald, chairman of the Kinglassie branch of the Union, presided.

COWDENBEATH AREA.
COAL QUEEN BEAUTY SELECTED.

The hoisting of flags at all the collieries in the Cowdenbeath district marked the official nationalisation of the mines at the week-end. The honour fell to the oldest serving employees at the various pits.
Many informal "smokers" were held throughout the district as part of the general celebrations.
At Lumphinnans, the principal feature was the selection of a miner's daughter to represent Fife, in the Coal Queen Beauty competition, sponsored by the Coal Board. Out of forty aspirants, Mrs Ayton, 61 Sligo Street, Lumphinnans, was selected. Mrs Ayton, whose husband is serving with the Forces in Germany, qualified to travel to London for the finals.

KELTY.

Celebrations took place at Aitken and Lindsay Collieries, and there was a concert in the Gothenburg Hall in the evening. At the Aitken Colliery the National Coal Board flag was unfurled by Mr Tom Smith, aged 77 years. The speakers were Messrs J. Wood, L. Wood, and J. Coutts, Councillor F. Gibb, and Mr T. Finney, manager of the colliery. Mr William Gray hoisted the flag at the Lindsay Colliery, where the speakers were Councillor J. Sneddon, Mr D. Lyall, president, Kelty Cooperative Society; Mr Wm. Reid, colliery manager; and Mr Colin Terris. The Brass and Pipe Bands paraded the streets as well as taking part in the ceremonies at the collieries. Vocalists at the evening concert were Miss Irene Brady (soprano), Miss Jenny Wood (contralto), Mr J. Cowan (tenor), Mr Harry Forrester (baritone), and Mr John Watson (accompanist).

NEW YEAR ABSENTEEISM.

On Saturday, 80 per cent. of the miners of Fife and Clackmannan were reported to have returned to work, and on Monday, collieries were back to normal. The output at the pits in the two counties on Friday - the first day of work after the New Year's holidays - was stated to be 72 per cent. of normal.

COAL BOARD BEAUTY.

Mrs Margaret Ayton, 61 Mungall Street, Lumphinnans, Fife; Miss Christina Marshall, 54 Springhill Terrace, Muirkirk, Ayrshire; and Miss Morag Wilson, Rigside, Douglas, Lanark, have been chosen respectively for Fife, Ayrshire, and Lanark as area finalists in the competition organised by the Ministry of Fuel and Power and the National Coal Board to find a "personality girl".
They will enter the national competition to take place in London at a date not yet fixed. The winner, who will be offered a screen test, will spend some time, at the direction of the organisers, encouraging recruiting in the mining industry.

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"Dunfermline Press"
29 March, 1947
NATIONALISATION OF COAL INDUSTRY
FIFE COAL COMPANY'S "LEGACY".

As an industrial correspondent of "The Scotsman" has pointed out, whatever Scots coalowners thought of impending nationalisation, its imminence did not cramp their style in the last year of relative freedom; and it is the mark of individualism that developments were not confined to the largest companies.
In Fife, the correspondent wrote, the cutting of the first sod of the Rothes pit, near Thornton railway sidings, was more of a gesture than anything else, for the pit will take about five years to complete and will be essentially a N.C.B. responsibility. But on their own account the Fife Coal Company acted with great vigour. Having worked out at Benarty a new type of surface mine, where, by the use of wide track and large self-dumping cars, coal handling efficiency and output per man shift were greatly increased, they proceeded to open four such mines in other parts of the county, while at Dysart and Lumphinnans they undertook big schemes of modernisation whereby modern coal face machinery was introduced and a great deal of uneconomic haulage and winding eliminated by transferring the hutch loads to big cars taken out by fast direct rope haulage.
The Company's Comrie pit was hailed as the "last word" when sunk, but it is regarded now as a useful try-out, and it is notable that the big 10½ ton car of Comrie has been given up in favour of a 52 cwt. car.

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"Dunfermline Press"
26 July, 1947

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"THE DUNFERMLINE PRESS"
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1947
FORDELL COLLIERY UNDER NATIONALISATION.
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PICTURE OF A MINE AT WORK.
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MINERS' CONDITIONS AND POINTS OF VIEW.

Deep down in the bowels of the earth below Fordell, symbolically the future of the British Empire rests on the shoulders of a miner, who, by the light of his carbide lamp, digs away in a cavern of coal to restore Britain's economy. He has his five-day week now and is pleased with it, but production figures show that he will have to bend his back for longer hours no matter how magnificently he is striving in his present working time in order to produce the quantity of coal required. He, at Fordell, finds little to grumble about, and yet his is certainly a man's job, where his daily life is faced with unknown dangers; his is a job upon which so much depends, and if he is called upon to do more he is ready for it as long as he gets a square deal.

In order to get a picture of the workings of Fordell Colliery under nationalisation, and to observe the conditions under which miners work in a typical pit, a Dunfermline Press representative received permission from the National Coal Board to go down the pits of Fordell Colliery, and see the progress which has been made on the new Henderson mine, the first sod of which was cut a year ago. He was received on Tuesday at the pithead by Mr James Kelly, manager of the colliery, who is an excellent leader of his men.
The Fordell Colliery, previously owned by the Buckinghamshire family, has been centuries in operation and gained a reputation of being one of the smoothest run collieries in Fife, if not in Scotland, with families of miners building up a tradition of team spirit unequalled in the coal industry. Sons followed fathers down the pit, working side by side in some cases, and friendly rivalry existed between families in production records. Sections were named after these families, and today a good deal of the old tradition still remains with fathers and sons working together to hew the desperately required coal. They have their grumbles, but no miner who was questioned complained of his vocation. All voiced the opinion that they liked mining, and had no desire for any other form of employment.

WORKING THE DAY-SHIFT.

The three pits at Fordell m- the Alice, the Lady Anne, and the William - work coal only on the day-shift, which operates from 6 a.m. until 1.30 p.m., with a break from 9.30 until 9.50 a.m. During this period there work the miners or coal strippers. The back-shift witnesses the arrival of machinemen to cut coal; the brushers to clear coal in order to make room for extension of the rail track on which run the hutches or tubs, and to make room for fresh cutting; and the pan shifters, who move and reconstruct conveyors ready for the next output of coal. On the night-shift there arrive the steel drawers, who remove steel and wooden supports from the part of the workings from which coal has been drawn and place in fresh positions to support the area which is next to be worked. On the surface, work the enginemen, oncost workers, blacksmiths, and the clerical staff.
Mr Kelly directed the representative through the day-shift procedure of the Alice Pit. On arrival at work, the miner, who has risen at 4.30 a.m. or 5 a.m. to get to his work, first checks in at the office at the pithead. He proceeds to the shaft head to go underground in the "cage", a form of lift which transports both men and tubs from the pithead to the bottom. This "cage" appears flimsy enough in construction, with bars placed round it when men are in it. It descends to the pit bottom - a depth of 600 feet in the Alice, 450 feet in the William, and 150 feet in the Lady Anne - from which point the miner has a long walk ahead of him to the coal face. To a lay person the first experience of walking underground is no pleasant one, with the path lit only by the light from the carbide head lamps. Along this path also come and go the empty and full tubs operated on rails by wire rope haulage. The miner has constantly to be on the alert for tubs colliding or being derailed, although this happens only infrequently. For his safety, holes for refuge are dug every few yards in the tunnel walls, into which he can leap should an emergency occur. Along these main tunnels, or roads, the coal roof is shored up with steel arches, and stone is packed between the arches and the roof.
Even in these larger tunnels the miner has to stoop slightly to avoid the arches. Later, when he nears the coal face, the roof is lower and is supported by steel and wooden props. In some cases the miner has to bend double to proceed. All the time he is walking in complete darkness - apart from his own lamp light - and in damp conditions, with water pools and small streams for company. Where pumping or haulage engines are stationed, electric light appears like some cheerful oasis in a desert of gloom.
The miner is employed at the Alice Pit either hewing coal by hand or clearing coal which has been cut by a mechanical cutter. In the former instance he crouches along an alley in the coal which he has cut in previous shifts and reaches his own personal coal face. Here he is in a world all his own, in a cave of coal carved by himself with his pick, and blasted out by small charges of explosives. Holes for these charges are drilled on the back-shift, but the miner places and blows the charges himself. For the latter operation he lays a fuse to the charge and retires round a corner of his alley, where he lights the fuse. He then clears the loosened coal into a tub, which is run by gravity to the main haulage track. These tubs in the Alice hold 9½ cwts of coal, and an average working miner fills fourteen in his normal shift.
In the William, the tubs hold 7.3 cwts., and in the Lady Anne 9 cwts. The miner also shores up the coal roof as he proceeds, with pit props, and clears a space for the tubs to follow him to the coal face. Machinery will gradually be introduced until no hand hewing is necessary, but in the meantime the miner still lives with his pick. His chief drawback is lack of light. Electric light would make his task easier and would ensure his eyesight against strain. It would also have a more psychological effect upon him, giving comfort in the darkness and would also permit him to observe possible dangers. Added light would probably bring about a greater output. Extensive experiment in underground lighting is, however, being made by the National Coal Board.

MOST DANGEROUS TASKS.

The most dangerous tasks are performed by the machinemen and the strippers employed with the mechanical coal cutter. These cutters in the Fordell Colliery are Anderson Boyes 15 inch, powered with a 50 h.p. engine. They slice the coal from the face, cutting to a depth of 4 feet and a height of 5 feet. A conveyor is rigged up beside the coal cutter, and on to it three strippers shovel coal at a rate of 15 to 16 tons per day. Here, in his area, there is a greater danger of roof falls, and here, too, the men work harder than in any other employment at the pit. It is evident that to save such labour, machinery will have to take the place of shovelling by hand for it must be a soul-destroying task for the intelligent Fordell miners trained to an expert trade to do nothing but shovel all day long. It is no task for the old or for those who are not stout-hearted.
During his underground sojourn, the Press representative conversed with several mine workers in their sections.
John Fraser, Dunfermline Road, Crossgates, who was stripping coal by hand in his own "brae", said his grandfather before him had worked all his days in mining. He, himself, liked the mining life and never missed a shift. He also liked the five day week, but felt that to increase production the six day week might have to be restored. He would rather work an extra shift right through on a Saturday or every second Saturday than work longer hours during the five day week if production was to be increased by more working hours. He had no complaints to offer, but he would like to have pithead baths at the colliery, and more light underground. He produces around 32 tons of coal per week.
William Cuthbert, 77 Bridge Street, Cowdenbeath, has been employed at Fordell since he was 14 years old, and has been 20 years there. He drives a motor today which hauls the tubs along the rails. He, too, said he liked the life, but as he works on contract work, he loses one shift wage per week which he previously made in the old timetable. That means his wage is 30s less.
William McLean, Wemyss Square, Fordell, who is employed as a fireman in the five feet coal section - a fireman being a deputy of the under-manager who is responsible for the safety regulations being carried out in his section of the pit - has worked 36 years in the colliery. He was satisfied with the present conditions, saying that he was much better off now than he was before the war. He was very cheerful about his work in spite of the fact that he had ribs broken just prior to Dunfermline gala day by a fall of coal.
James Ritchie, 45 Arthur Street, Cowdenbeath, who works a coal cutting machine, showed white teeth in a broad smile when asked if his work was dangerous. He said sure he regarded his work as dangerous, but he enjoyed it. He was enthusiastic over the five day week, but rather feared that they would have to return to a six day week. He felt that supplies were not coming through quickly enough. He had worked 8 years in the Alice Pit.
In another section of the pit, William Walker, Dunfermline Road, Crossgates, who has worked for 58 years in mining and who is now 69 years old, was widening a road assisted by his son, Peter Walker, Dunfermline Road, Crossgates, who has worked for 32 years in the pit and is a District Councillor. Mr Walker, senior, said things had had changed very much since he first started mining, but the old or the new methods were both suitable to him. He did not want to retire for another year anyway, and he considered the five day week a great thing for the miner. Mining was all right, he considered, as long as each man looked after himself and was careful to observe the safety regulations. If the six day week returned, he said, the men would not work longer hours per day, and if they worked on Saturday the shift would have to be kept down to 6½ hours and not 7 hours in order to give the miner time for recreation. At one time he worked as a mining lad at one shilling per day in the now obsolete Humbug Pit (No. 4 Roadside Pit), Crossgates. He remembered a period in the olden days when a miner received 10s 10d for 11 shifts. Then, he said, the miner worked every bit as hard as the miner of today. He considered that the men who worked with the coal cutter were the hardest worked men of the pit.
Hugh McIntyre, Burnside Terrace, Crossgates, who is 76 years of age, is the oldest worker employed at the Alice Pit. He is now a blacksmith with 23 years' service to the industry. He, too, agreed that work in the pit was all right if care was taken and the men looked after themselves. For 12 years he never missed a shift until he had his leg broken in a pit accident, which laid him up for four months.
Other pit veterans at Fordell Colliery are:- James Rushford, Wemyss Square, Fordell, who is 73; William Gibb, head engineer, Store Building, Fordell; John Gibson, back-shift foreman, County Houses, Fordell, who has the longest service at Fordell Colliery, with 53 years in the pits; Alex. Morrison, engineman, Broad Street, Cowdenbeath, who is 73 years old; and Michael Johnston, who is almost 70, and is the uncle of the colliery under-manager, who bears the same name.

OPINION ON FIVE DAY WEEK.

The general opinion of the miners is that, if an appeal was made to them in the proper fashion, without threat, they would be willing to work more. They would not fail the country were they called upon to do their duty. They knew the crisis was here and that more work would be required of them to produce a greater amount of coal than they could produce during the five day week; the sooner, this was plainly told to them, the better it would be and they would get on with the job. Considering the conditions in which they worked it was surprising to learn from each miner who was questioned that he was happy in mining. No particular men were chosen for interview, and those who were questioned were a good cross-section of the mining community. There was an opinion, however, that the five day week encouraged the lazy miner who invariably had only attended five shifts per week under the old system. He was now benefiting by still working the same amount and yet being paid an extra shift.
The miners at the Fordell Colliery owe a good deal of their contentedness to their manager, Mr Kelly, and to the under-manager, Mr Michael Johnston. They are admirable men to work under and both have the interests of the men at heart.

FORDELL COLLIERY STATISTICS

The average number of underground workers at the three pits of Fordell is 328, with a further 96 surface workers. The Alice Pit employs 190 men underground; the William, 50; and the Lady Anne, 36. The average absenteeism recorded this year is between 2½ and 3 per cent., although as much as 5 per cent. was recorded after the present holiday period. 63,904 manshifts have been worked up to Tuesday during 1947, and the output per shift per man has been 1.7 tons in relation to the men underground. The overall output per manshift taking into account the surface workers has been 1.2 tons.
Manshifts per accident have been 21,778 there having been two fatal accidents, and 23 compensationable accidents in the year. Fordell has always had a very low accident ratio. Dangers occur from roof falls and tubs, but there is no firedamp. Black damp, which is the presence of carbon dioxide, in which no man can breathe, has infrequent incidence, but occurs mainly when there are west winds and when the barometer falls. The miners' lamps give them warning of such, and they have to wait until the gas clears itself before proceeding with the work. There is also a danger from coal dust explosions, the incidence of which is prevented by the dampness of the colliery and by the sprinkling of stone dust on the roads.
Many types of coal are produced at the colliery, some being Dunfermline splint of very high quality, five feet coal, 14 feet, and glassee coal, which is a quality used for producing steam.
The inflow of trainees and trained men is small. At present, two Irishmen have newly arrived from Muircockhall training centre at Townhill, and there are five boy trainees, who work on the surface and are under the charge of training officers.

WAGES AND DONATIONS.

PROGRESS AT HENDERSON MINE.

The Henderson Mine, which was commenced about a year ago, is now down to a depth of approximately 250 feet. Operations on it were held up a few months ago when a portion of the roof commenced to fall, caused by the presence of liquid moss, and threatened to stop the driving altogether. This has now been overcome and stone is being bored to increase depth. The walls and the roof are cemented and brick lined.
The purpose of the Henderson mine will bring about an innovation at the colliery. It is to drive through to the seams of the William and the Lady Anne and may go down as far as those of the Alice. The coal from the three pits will be brought up the mine in large mine cars, which hold approximately 2 to 3 tons of coal. These mine cars will do away with the present hutch haulage of the three mines and centralise the raising of the coal from the complete colliery. It will be time and labour saving, for the mine cars will deliver the coal straight to one point from which grading and loading operations can be carried out. At present the three mines have their separate systems.
The approximate future lifetime of the Fordell Colliery appears to be 20 to 25 years, and the advent of the Henderson mine will ensure that the miners, who are striving magnificently, will have their task eased, and will bring to a mechanical climax, the work of their forefathers who, centuries ago, could scarcely visualise the better conditions of today, and had nothing but their picks and wits to pull them through. Machinery is slowly coming in and the biggest producer of the highest quality pit machinery is the Scottish firm of Anderson Boyes, the products of which are unsurpassed by anything America can make. The pits could do with a lot more of it, but, as Mr Kelly has said, it is up to the mineworkers to keep what machinery they have in perfect working order and to strive their hardest to ease the present desperate economic crisis.

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