I was 16 when I started at Ifton in 1960. My father didn't want me to go into the coal mines but I learnt that my three pounds a week at a furniture firm could be doubled to six pounds a week if I went into the colliery, so that was that.

Ifton lasted until 23 November 1968 and I was there on the last shift at the top with the tippers when the last two tubs came up the pit. Little did I know at the time that they were keeping those for the press - 'The last two tubs to come out of Ifton'.

I sent them into the tipper as soon as I saw them come out. I was just doing my job!

They were going mad because, to be fair, they had written instructions on the side in Welsh to leave the tubs alone but I hadn't seen them. I managed to save one by grabbing it by the back axels with the machine.

It didn't really matter with it being the last day. They couldn't have done much to me.

I was 23 years old when Ifton closed and I didn't know where to go, what jobs were available or what training there was. Just around that time there were pits closing all over the place. It didn't turn out to be a problem for me in the end because within a fortnight I had a job in Dunlop in Marchwiel.

There were around 600 men left in Ifton by the end but I'm told there were more like 1000 in its hey dey. People came on buses from Ellesmere, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Glyn Ceiriog and Cefn so it was quite a big employer for the whole area. St Martins certainly suffered for a while.