RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: BattyB on Thursday 12 October 17 13:42 BST (UK)
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I have been told that a few of my relations went to Wales during WW1 to work in the mines. Is there a list of miners names for that time period ? Thank you.
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In 1913, there were 232,000 men working in 620 mines in South Wales, so I very much doubt there is a list of names for the period you want.
Stan
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Thank you - it was worth a try :)
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In 1913, there were 232,000 men working in 620 mines in South Wales, so I very much doubt there is a list of names for the period you want.
... and all those mines separate and privately owned ....
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Its possible that they went to the mines because they had been granted conditional exemption from military service after conscription was introduced. If this was the case then there may be some tribunal records available, or if they were conscientious objectors they may be on the CO database.
If you post details (names, ages, locations etc) we can try to help.
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Jomot - there were several young men with the same surname and from the same village who were farm labourers that went to Wales. The problem that I have is distinguishing the same forenames i.e. Thomas, James etc.
I don't think there is an easy way around this...........
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My grandfather and his brother went the same way ;D
They were from Wiltshire, and first moved to Bedminster (Bristol) to work in the Somerset Coal Fields.
When those mines closed, they went to South Wales.
If you know in which town/village they lived, it might be possible to narrow the list of nearby mines?
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Thank you - will trawl through my records and see what I can find.
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You don't say when they went, but if it was during the war period then from 1916 they will have been subject to conscription.
Although miners were granted certificates of exemption, the war machine soon needed more men and so the mine owners had to start 'combing out' men, starting with those who had entered the mines after the start of the war.
If they didn't serve in the forces then I'd still suggest checking for tribunal or CO records.
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I will do that or see if they did go to war - thank you for your help.
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Were they not called "Bevin boys"
Mike
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Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom, between December 1943 and March 1948.
Stan
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Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom, between December 1943 and March 1948.
Stan
I must learn to read the post fully :) :)
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There are some interesting links on this site - Resources for Welsh Mining Research
http://www.welshmines.org/links/l_rschr.htm
Whilst it may not have details of workers, I do believe it does have details of the pits.
Regards
GS
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There are lists of mining accidents on ancestry, you may be able to identify the pits they worked in from that
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I seem to remember someone telling me that farm labourers were (not sure if they were conscripted) asked to go to Wales to replace miners that were conscripted to France for tunnel construction. Could this be true ? If so it would explain why so many went from the same village.
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I seem to remember someone telling me that farm labourers were (not sure if they were conscripted) asked to go to Wales to replace miners that were conscripted to France for tunnel construction. Could this be true ? If so it would explain why so many went from the same village.
There was no such thing as conscription to the mines in WW1. However, the number of miners volunteering in the early years did cause some shortages and later on, when conscription came in, men who had been granted conditional exemption from military service were often required to carry out work considered nationally important instead, including mining.
However, you have to bear in mind that once conscription came in every man between 18 & 41 was deemed to have enlisted for general service or in the reserve, unless they were exempted. If they were already coal miners at that time then they remained exempt (although this only applied to certain classes of miners), but as the war progressed the government asked mine owners to release more men.
The Miners Federation ultimately agreed that all 'Class A' men who entered mining after 4 Aug 1914 would be released first, after which it would be extended to all mine workers, based on certain criteria.
The point I'm trying to make is that men could not simply 'choose' to work in the mines after 1916, so if they were replacing conscripted men then they will probably have been instructed to do so by their local tribunal board as a condition of their own exemption, hence my suggestion that you check for tribunal records.
If they went after 4 Aug 1914 but before 1916 and were medically fit (Class A) then they will have been released to the military per the Miners Federation agreement, unless they then applied for & were granted a special exemption.
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Phew ! That's a lot to take in - will keep hunting for dates. Thank you for so much detail.
To follow up on above -
I have found a great uncle Charles Henry Doble who, on the 1901 census was aged 30 working as a Collier below Ground - living at Abercarn, Monmouthshire.
Getting there !
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So he was down the mines well before the outbreak of war then, and not 'replacing' conscripted men as you had thought. That makes more sense, especially as you mentioned that a number of men left from the same village.
If he married before November 1915 then he would probably have held onto his exemption from military service throughout the war, and so unlikely to have gone before a tribunal.
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Things are falling into place - thank you all