Bevin Boys - Geoffrey Oates
Geoffrey Oates
Hanging Heaton
Served: 1942 - 1947; Combs (Thornhill)
Geoffrey was 14 years old when England declared war on Germany in September 1939 and never imagined he would be called up to serve. Two of his uncles had been in the army in the 1914-1918 war and his great uncle was Drum Major of the East Yorkshire Regimental Band and therefore prefered the army to the other services. In 1942 Geoffrey enrolled in the Army Cadet Battalion formed in Dewsbury - A Company (Headquarters Company) at Dewsbury Technical College.
After concentrated training in many skills Geoffrey was promoted to top Sergeant for the entire battalion (over all other Sergeants in the other companies). He was sent on a bombing course, first aid, tank driving and small arms knowledge and military map reading. He was also singled out as 'officer material' and upon being called up to the army I would go to officer cadet training. Three three months he hoped he would be commissioned as a second lieutenant.
Having passed his medical assessment with flying colours Geoffrey turned 18 and received his call up papers: he was to be one of every ten sent to work in the mines, working half a mile down and three quarters of a mile away from the shaft bottom for five years.
"Upon receiving the Bevin Boy direction notice I went to see my commanding officer. Major Field, who was furious, and said we must put in an appeal against this. We both eventually appeared before the appeals board. Major Field said it's ridiculous to send this man into mining when he has trained so successfully for a commission in the army, but the cold answer was, he is grade 1 and physically capable of doing the work. "We can make no exceptions to our ruling unless they are lower grades medically". Case Dismissed, “ recalled Geoffrey.
A week after the appeal a letter arrived directing Geoffrey for mining work, training at the Prince of Wales Colliery Pontefract for a period of six weeks, during which, they had to be in accommodation Monday to Friday. They were given a pair of steel toe capped miners boots and a hard hat with a lamp fitted on the front.
The colliery had a very large canteen where you could get a large plate of bacon, eggs, sausage and fried bread (although rationed to outsiders and not available) for 11 ½ p. They also had pit head baths with lots of hot water and showers and a double locker, on side for dirty working clothes, and the other side for clean clothes to go out in. Miners were taken down the shaft in a cage and when they got down the “roads”, tunnels were seven feet high and well lit with two sets of rails for the mine cars (steel trucks) to run on, empty ones going into the workings and full ones coming out to go in the cage up full of coal, coal cutters and belts (conveyors carrying the coal to loaders filling the mine cars).
Six weeks later Geoffrey was taken into the classrooms and told which colliery he would be allocated to. "Several of us from the Dewsbury area were given papers to show the training officers at Combs pit, Thornhill, which meant I could live at home and pedal bike it to the pit (about two miles uphill)," he said.
Working in the pits at that time (pre-nationalisation) was a six day week job, Monday to Friday they had to be down by 8am, Saturday you had to be down by 6am. "The cheeky blighters also forced you to be in the Home Guard where, in uniform, full kit and a rifle and bayonet you had to be at the drill hall every Sunday by 6.30, so having a lie on even one morning was out of the question. A day off was illegal and you could be in court, unless you produced a doctor's note, or in prison if you didn't go, and the time in prison was added to the time you had to work in the mines."
Combs pit at Thornhill was entirely different to the Prince of Wales colliery in Pontefract. On the pit top you collected, each morning, a caplamp and a hand lamp. There were no toilets, no canteen or baths. You got in the cage which was lifted and lowered by steel ropes, black oil had been constantly poured on ropes and pulleys so the cage was really filthy and your clothes got greasy. Also as you were lowered at 60mph water poured into the shaft from various underground springs. It was half a mile deep and then three quarters of a mile in 3ft 6in unlit passage to where Geoffrey worked. No toilets, no water to wash hands, just half a dustbin to do the necessary in (and when you lifted the lid it really stunk as no-one ever wanted to empty these revolting containers).
The work was extremely strenuous and non stop; and Geoffrey felt the miners were human pit ponies as the seams were only 18 inch deep. The top had to be blown down, even then ponies could not have coped, it was too low, and the lads had to bend all the time.
The majority of working class houses had no hot water systems, inside toilets or bathrooms. As both Geoffrey's parents worked, when he got home the house in winter was like a refrigerator. Miners all got a free allowance of one and a half tonnes a month of coal delivered, Bevin Boys got none. So as coal was rationed, they had to gather sticks or anything which would burn to try and get the house warm.
Geoffrey's wage for six shafts was four pounds eighteen shillings and sixpence (less than £5 a week). He was glad in 1947 when he was demobbed and resumed normal life!
"I have nothing to show for that five years' service. Now in 2008 they have decided to award those of us still alive with Bevin Boys lapel badge in recognition of our service to the country. Big Deal."
