Alex Mills -The 1960's

After the disaster

^To listen to Alex press play.

The sorrow was unreal, they were all united. They were good men, they were lovely men to work with. I think that was the only men that were down the pit at that particular time. One of them was a personal friend of mine, in fact two of them. Jock McNeil and Harry Green were personal friends because Harry was a great trade union man you know. Well they tell me they drove a mine through; I don't think it really materialized fully. The men would have never got out anyway they tell me because it was sludge that killed them. It was terrible the men were all out a job. They were all getting displaced or placed in other pits; Pennyvennie, some men went to Yorkshire. 1200 to 1300 men at that particular time. The majority finished up in Killoch as lot of the men wouldn't come back to the Barony because of the fact there was four men lying entombed down there.So the men came in from, you name it. We had men coming from New Cumnock, we had men came from Kirkconnel, we had men came from Annbank all round about, Pennyvennie. They brought they men into that big pit. The men who opened up that pit up, the poor souls who drove all those mines in all that foul air and filth. Were all the Polish boys that had become integrated into the area. That was another thing that government did with them after the war. Those men were only allowed to stay in these villages if they went down the pits.

England

^To listen to Alex press play.

I left that Barony Colliery, because I went to England. I went to England and worked in a pit in South Staffs and Shropshire. Bagridge and it was horrendous also. It was warm and there were a lot of coloured boys there that worked in that pit. It was still conventional coal mining in certain parts of that pit and there were ponies in that pit. That was the method of getting the supplies in; Ponies got the sack out of Bagridge. I was on the executive of the West Midlands NUM and I got the sack for not telling the manager I was going to the mining school on the Monday. Obviously you know what happened there. I was too militant. Anyway I came back up the road, no problem, got into Mauchline. Mauchline in general was a good pit to work in wae the men. The comradeship was brilliant no matter what pit you were in. It was brilliant. It was all hard work. I was constant backshift in Mauchline and I did all the jobs on the face. Every occupation, I was at it and then Mauchline closed. They were taking all the men back to the Barony after the disaster. So, what did they do with me ? They telt me there was no job for me. Bobby Johnson, the manager. No Chance!If you're here I'll no be here he says. You're trouble ! Hah Hah Hah Hah. Well I says I'm afraid that you'll no get away with that, because the miners union will not tolerate that situation. So was out for a couple of months, so I enjoyed it the sun was shining and eventually they had to pay my wages for the two months. The Union took them to town and I got straight back into the Barony. I became the delegate within 9 months.

Led by yours truly...

^To listen to Alex press play.

Then that became a terrible situation. I became delegate and there were officials who were hell bent on development and production. After the disaster in 1962 all hell let loose; develop, develop, and develop. These roadways were 14 x 10's coal and stone. Sometimes pure whin and 16 x 20 drivages some of the roadways. I had to get some of the development drivages contracts revised. Management wouldn't hear tale of it. I said "Oh yes" A fair days pay for a fair days work. And I managed without any twisting of the arms to achieve that and the men did make reasonable wages for a miner. Well they were two levels in Barony Colliery at the time. There was the 8700 level and the 9000 which they hadn't even considered going into at that particular time because the pit was reopening. New development everywhere. We had a lot of men that were injured there. Because they brought them in from the other collieries without giving them the requisite training. Because it was intense mechanization that they had introduced onto the facelines. It was different from the conventional method. We had to go into the office and make agreements as to how many men they wanted on a faceline. How many men they wanted for brushing roads. Main and Tail gates. That was another problem what the men went on strike for. Again, led by yours truly. Because I didn't care about what they had agreed in London – The National Powerloading Agreement drew up by Joe Gormley or the late Joe Gormley, he died. It had references in it if the men didn't keep up with the brushing then they would be sacked! Well I wouldn't tolerate that. Because these big machines on these 600ft facelines were rumping up and down. You couldn't see for dust. No matter how much water they put on them. The head of these machines. You just couldn't see. Then there would be faults come into the faceline. And that meant they were cutting the dirt and the men who were on the top side of it were swallowing all that filth. Shotfiring any man on the top side of a face. You couldn't see. The fumes of the shotblasting and it was Polar Ajax at that particular time. It was terrible stuff.

A man doon the shaft

^To listen to Alex press play.

I worked with the men. I was either in one road or one face no matter what day it was: I was there. I would come up the pit at lousing most days and I would have dispute meetings with the manager of the pit under the conciliation machinery. And he would say to me "You should be coming up the pit a bit earlier, because I'm not going home at no 5 or 6 o'clock tonight. And I used to walk up fae the Barony to home and the manager would stop his car and he would say "Cmon and I'll give you a lift" and I would say "On your bike, I'm walking" and I never took a lift from the manager of the colliery. Because I knew at the end of the day his motive was; Coal Coal Coal. And my motive was : A fair days work for a fair days pay and work safely. I was lying in my bed one morning and the chap came to my door about half past six. It was an engineer boy. He said "Alex the manager says you've to come to the pit there's a man down the shaft". So I went away down, I was offski down to the pit. It was Adam Blair that was the manager. He says " Jimmy Loys down the shaft" I said "Oh My" He said "But worse still… his sons down the pit he's down the other shank". I said "His sons down the pit, his sons been lent down the pit." Aye nobody told him. For goodness sake. So they got his son up the pit and that pit remained idle for another couple of days. And we never got a graveside. There was a memorial service down in the community centre. That shaft was a horrendous shaft for families. Number 3 shaft was a horrendous shaft for families in this community. Because prior to me going to the Barony, there were other men lost their lives; Shankers. Tony Cano, Soldier, and a Polish boy. And these men were young, fit, agile men and one wonders how these boys went down the pit; Even to this day.

Framed up and Fired!

^To listen to Alex press play.

Approximately 7 weeks after Jimmy Loy went down the shaft. One Thursday morning I met my men: this was pay line day. To see if they had any problems. And I was a bit late and got the last tow down the pit. Charlie Harkness said to me, "Alex if you hurray up you'll get the train at the loop". So I scurried away in and I put my head down when the driver of the locomotive was just coming round the corner slow. "I said Dick, hold the train a minute to I get on." And Dick did that and I shouted "Right Dick" and away he went. And when I went to the inside, the men were all away inbye and I'm coming in off the second last carriage. And this Undermanager, this VILLAIN, that's what he was, along with an Oversman says " You jumped onto a moving man riding train – you're sacked!"; I says " Don't you dare, I did no such thing" and they got away with that. And the reason they got away with it and this is where Frank Allan comes in, a former Barony miner's delegate. He went to the miners conference he says "There's been a delegate sacked in the Barony and he's been framed up" They wanted rid of him because the coalboard offered him a job 6 hours after at Killoch Colliery, just to get him out of the Barony. Because he was looking after his men, both wages wise, safety wise and you name it wise. And that's fact. I got sacked and I refused to take their job and I had a family. Five years I was kept out because of the fact that they claimed they offered my a job in Killoch Colliery, I wouldn't have worked at Killoch Colliery if they have gave a me a million pound a week; Because I'd heard enough about it. Well I went to the dole and I told them never give me another job nowhere. I was framed up and these people got away with it. Couldn't get a job, no employment, no employment. What I did do was get a wee job here and a wee job there. I managed to make ends meet. My family helped me, my outer family helped me. The men even in the Barony started a campaign that we would fight the case in the Court of Session. Unfortunately the Coal Board warned the men if you don't stop lifting money on the buses we'll sack you; one and all of you.That was the National Coal Board (NCB) management at that particular time. Which was disgraceful, nothing short of disgraceful.