I was born in 1940 and raised in the village of Pyle which was, at that time, a typical mining village where most of the men were employed by the National Coal Board (NCB).

My father John (pictured above right with brother Harry) was a miner and had been most of his working life at Newlands Colliery and was a fireman there.

I can remember him coming home from work to bathe in a tin bath in front of the fire, and one day I threw a cup full of cold water on him which didn't go down very well.

Then came the opening of the pithead baths, so this practice ceased, and by then we had a bathroom with a bath at home.

Many of my friends automatically followed in their fathers' footsteps to go underground, but my dad would have none of it concerning me.

One day we were informed that he had had an accident at work and a stone some seven yards long had fallen on him.

By an absolute miracle he survived, with nothing more than cracked vertebrae as he had been buried in small coal first.

He suffered with back problems all his life after that but was never given any compensation from the then NCB.

Some people at that time complained about the price of coal - I never did after that, and the so many disasters that were caused by mining it.

My father died in 1974, and at the time prior to his demise when he was at work, me the son that he didn't allow to follow in his footsteps was earning on a Sunday in the Steel Co of Wales more than he earned in a week. So much for the good old days.

I'm glad myself all the collieries are closed now, but those days certainly bring back memories I will never forget.

Alan Waite - January 2007