Life Down t'Lane (Chesterfield, Derbyshire, World War Two to 1955) Mining, Poverty, Large Families

'Now is the hour' This was the song my Grandad Smith sang on the Wilfred Pickles show, 'Have a Go', in an episode played on the BBC Light Programme in 1948 which had been recorded at Ireland Colliery, Staveley, Derbyshire. As far as I can recall, it was the first example of anyone making a name for themselves outside our close knit community, and it was the whole of the UK that was listening to my grandad. What a thrill for me, a boy of 10 years of age.

I was actually listening to the radio in my grandad's house. Grandad, the lower part of his face half-filled with his large grey moustache, and I were sitting at the table, in the centre of the room, opposite each other. My grandad, his blue eyes sparkling, wearing his best waistcoat with his pocket watch chain in full view and his snuffbox nearby on the table, was smiling all over his face. I was a little confused, to say the least, when I heard the host Wilfred Pickles introducing grandad to the listening public from underground at the pit.

A disused haulage house, close to the pit bottom, was converted to a miniature theatre and somehow a piano was transported underground for Violet Carson (Ena Sharples of Coronation Street fame) to play. Apparently, the engine house still had the name Happydrome when the pit closed in the 1970s. I had never heard of such a thing as a sound recording and it was rather strange hearing grandad answering Wilfred's questions and singing on the radio while sitting across from me at the table.

It was a memorable occasion for me with Wilfred asking my grandad his name, was he married, did he have any hobbies and Wilfred, his wife Mabel and producer Barney Colehan nearly collapsing when they heard my grandad's answer of 23 children when asked how many kids he had. He then asked grandad the normal options, whether he wanted to answer more questions or pay a forfeit. He opted for the forfeit and sang the song 'Now is the Hour,' although he introduced it as 'Now is the Time.' He won loud applause when he had finished and naturally Mabel, the wife of Wilfred Pickles, gave him the prize money with her normal affection.

Having said that, you must remember that probably the main reasons for large families in those days was that they didn't have television , contraception or such a low infant mortality rate then and what better way was there of relaxing after a hard day's work down t'pit or slaving away at the pottery?

A few years ago I attempted to obtain a recording of that event from the BBC. However, I was disappointed to be told that it was not the BBC's policy to keep copies of all episodes and they had only retained 3 copies of the more important 'Have a Go' shows. What a complete waste of our heritage that such gems have been destroyed. Why didn't they ask the people concerned or relatives if they would like copies of such archives before they got rid of them? Just consider the time and effort, invested by numerous people in the past, which must have been lost forever, due to a few inconsiderate people at the BBC.

Life was hard for people when Mam and Dad were children. In parts of Derbyshire almost every family had one or more menfolk working down t'pit. Some parents sent their children down the mines when they were just 11 or 12. Just imagine what a frightening experience it must have been for a child, stepping into that pit cage and descending into the blackness of the coal mines with its rats, vermin and exceptionally wet and dangerous conditions. Then there was the ever present danger from rock falls or the coal trucks that roared down the underground roads at occasional terrible speeds unless they were pulled by pit ponies. It resulted in boys who should have been enjoying their childhood up in the fresh air instead becoming ingrained with the rough routine of the miners; tough men whose own recreation, apart from breeding children, was drinking with their mates until they forgot that tomorrow would bring another day of dangers and back-aching soul-destroying work underground.

Other industries local to our community were the pottery, wagon works, railways, the ICI dynamite factory, a jam factory, a brick works and local quarries, including the clay pits for the pottery. There was also a large coal and iron works at Sheepbridge with very large steel blast furnaces lighting up the dark night sky. They have all gone now.

 Reviews of Life Down t'Lane

It really is a great and authentic record of life during and after World War II. I know it will reflect the experiences of many local people and I am sure they would greatly enjoy reading it.

Tony Benn, MP for Chesterfield 1984-2001