I was doing all sorts of jobs for the first 10 years and then for the last 21 years I was a deputy or a fireman, as they say. I looked at safety and firing the coal and all that. It was a staff job really. I went there in 1951, I think, and came from there in about 1983. It was around 32 years.

I was working on a farm before that and then I married a miner's daughter, so I went to work down the pit. There was more money there than on the farm, you see.

We went to Gresford for a couple of weeks, just to get used to being underground, I suppose. I got used to that pretty handy and then I came back after a fortnight and started on the job. I suppose I'd have been about 26. I'm 85 now, but don't tell anybody!

Somebody suggested I should go for the fireman job and then I went to the tech in Wrexham for over three months to know all about the Coal Mines Act.

Safety was the first job and then firing the coal for the men to load it. They were loading it with shovels and then would see if the ventilation was clear of gas. We fired with powder and a detonator and then came a system where we were firing with compressed air. That was dangerous and wasn't very successful.

Why did I want to be a fireman? Well, it was a staff job for one thing so that meant more money. If you were home sick, you would get your money just the same. The men on the coal were on piecework so the more they got, the more money they would take home. My money was the same all the time.

I was a fireman for 21 years. It was a big change for me, coming from the moors in Denbigh and going underground! The responsibility was the heaviest job. If anything went wrong, you were responsible and the manager wanted to see you.

I've been lucky with the dust. I get short of breath occasionally but it hasn't affected me so much.