"To say that we were absolutely tamping mad, we had worked our socks off, only for one reason, to get a half an hour off to get down to Cardiff to see them play Newport in a rugby match. The year was 1937-38 and during this period they played four matches against each other in one season. We wanted to see the fourth match, because Cardiff had won three matches and they had never beaten Newport four times, so this fixture was going to be some game.

And then when we asked our Foreman for a half hour off, he, being sometimes a miserable so and so, refused us and that was the reason for us being mad. Us being Godfrey, Howard and me.

It was Saturday morning and we worked in Albion Colliery in Cilfynydd in the Engineering Shop on the surface. This happened at a time before the Five Day Week, we worked a basic 47 ½ hours a week.

The usual procedure on Saturday morning was that all machines were cleaned and the whole shop as well.

As I've stated we had worked our socks off and had finished by 11.45, and in spite of all that we had been refused our half hour off.

So went into a huddle and being barely eighteen years of age, we came up with an excellent idea to finish early, and being of the age when we didn't consider what we were really doing.

So this was our idea, Howard and I armed with a few hammers went down by the side of the winder where we could get into the basement of the compressor, which housed circulating pumps and electric motors. All we did was to start hammering pipe work and as soon as we spotted the compressor attendants feet on the open steps we were gone like two greyhounds, and while he was downstairs, Godfrey moved the clock hands on a half hour, and then returned to the Engineering Shop.

We of course never said a word to anybody. As soon as the hooter blew we were gone. We got to the match which Cardiff won and of course they'd beaten Newport four times in the season for the first time. We were over the moon, that is until Monday morning when the three of us were escorted to our bosses office.

First of all he tore into us, we denied doing any wrong, but when he told us that people in the village came running down to the colliery, thinking that there had been a big accident in the pit.

This pulled us up with a bump; it was something that we had never thought of. So we confessed and apologised to him because of what we had done.

He couldn't sack his own Nephew Godfrey and he couldn't sack Howard and I without Godfrey. So we got away with it luckily, except he arranged with our foreman for us to work in the dirtiest, stinkingest places for a whole week.

In conclusion we blamed our foreman - if he'd given our half hour off, it wouldn't have happened!"

Doug Stephens