Town Hall Frontage

Biddulph’s Coal Mining Heritage

Coal mining played a central role in shaping the identity of Biddulph for over three centuries.

While the earliest records date back to the early 1600s, the industry gained real prominence in the 19^th century, thanks to advances in transport and communication.

In 1857, industrialist Robert Heath introduced large-scale mining to the area, founding the Biddulph Valley Coal and Iron Works, later known as Victoria Colliery.

Robert Heath and Sons Ltd had extensive coal and iron interests in the Biddulph and Kidsgrove areas and also operated brickworks in the Grange area of Cobridge in the early 1900’s.

At the peak of his empire, Robert Heath and Sons owned 28 coal and iron mines, 8 blast furnaces, 114 puddling and ball furnaces, 14 rolling mills and 33 heating furnaces,together employing about 5,000 people.

Robert Heath (1816-1893) 

Robert was born in Barsham, Staffordshire and played a key role in the growth of the coal and iron industries in North Staffordshire.

He began his working life at the age of 14, alongside his father, who was manager of the Clough Hall Collieries and Ironworks.

In 1857, Heath acquired the lease of Childerplay Colliery, on the Knypersley Hall Estate, which was owned by John Bateman.

He significantly increased production and invested in the wellbeing of his workforce, building houses, schools, churches and public houses. He’s said to be responsible for the construction of The Biddulph Arms Hotel in 1874 and in the early 20^th century he oversaw the construction of Knypersley Villas to accommodate senior ironworks staff.

In 1871, Heath purchased Biddulph Grange from James Bateman, the son of John Bateman.

He died on 7 October 1893 in Harrogate and was buried at St Lawrence’s Church.

His executors were his sons Robert Heath, James Heath and Arthur Howard Heath.

Victoria Colliery – ‘The Bull’

Victoria Colliery — known locally as ‘The Bull’ or ‘Black Bull’, after the nearby village, was one of the most significant coal mines in the region.

In the 1850s, Robert Heath leased the mineral rights beneath the Knypersley Hall Estate from John Bateman and developed his Biddulph Valley Colliery. The ‘Magpie Shaft’ was renamed the ‘Victoria Shaft.’ Other shafts were also developed and renamed: the ‘Deep Pit’ became known as the ‘Engine’ and ‘Bye Pits’ was deepened and renamed the ‘Havelock Shaft.’

In 1887, Heath acquired the nearby Brown Lees Colliery. An underground link was created between it and the Biddulph Valley Colliery (Victoria), coinciding with the sinking of the pumping ‘Salisbury Shaft’ at Victoria. As a result, Victoria Colliery operated with three main shafts: ‘Victoria’, ‘Havelock’, and ‘Salisbury’.

From 1860 to 1953, the colliery was the heart of employment and community life in Biddulph. In 1908, it employed over 1,100 men and boys; by 1953, that number had risen to 1,580. Even as coal demand declined, the site continued to employ around 600 workers until its closure on 28 July 1982.

The image below shows Victoria Colliery in 1967.

This photo shows colliers at Victoria in September 1978.

From left to right, back row: Jeffrey Hartshorn, Peter Evans, Les Taylor, Fred?, Don Sherratt, Herbert Morris.

Front row: Dennis Adderley, Cedric Pass and Frank Myott.

Chatterley Whitfield Colliery 

Located near Chell, at the heart of the historic North Staffordshire Coalfield, Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is one of the most iconic mining sites in Britain. Coal extraction on the site is believed to date back to the 14th century, with the area developing into a working colliery by the 1800s.

By the 1930s, Chatterley Whitfield had become the largest colliery in North Staffordshire, employing over 4,000 men at its peak. In 1937, it made history as the first colliery in Britain to produce over one million tons of coal in a single year.

Following the Second World War, the coal industry was nationalised, and the colliery underwent significant modernisation. In 1974, an underground link was established with the nearby Wolstanton Colliery, enabling more efficient coal extraction from that site. Coal production at Chatterley Whitfield ceased on 25 March 1977.

Two years later, in 1979, the site reopened as the Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, offering visitors a rare opportunity to experience life underground via the ‘Winstanley Shaft’. At its peak, the museum attracted up to 70,000 visitors annually.

However, the closure of Wolstanton Colliery in 1986—which had been responsible for pumping water from the underground tunnels—raised serious concerns about flooding. Despite efforts to continue operations, the museum went into liquidation and closed permanently on 9 August 1993. Today, the site’s legacy is kept alive by The Chatterley Whitfield Friends, a volunteer group dedicated to promoting its remarkable history.

The image below is of Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

Honouring a Legacy 

In 1983, to commemorate Biddulph’s mining past and to honour the town’s coal mining legacy, a pit balance rope pulley wheel from the ‘Victoria Shaft’ was installed outside Biddulph Town Hall.

At the time, the Evening Sentinel reported: “Biddulph is to have a permanent reminder of its connection with the coal industry…”

On 3 December 1983, the wheel was officially unveiled by 83 year old Mr. Mountford, the oldest surviving miner from Victoria Colliery. A plaque on the wheel read:

 1857—1983

This Balance Wheel was removed from the base of the Victoria shaft upon the closing down of Biddulph Victoria Colliery, and is erected on this site by the Town Council on behalf of the people of Biddulph, as a reminder of the debt owed to the Mining Industry, upon which the development of Biddulph has so greatly depended.

 G.Humphries

Mayor or Biddulph

2nd December, 1983

A Presence That Remains 

Biddulph continues to commemorate its rich coal mining heritage through a number of local landmarks:

The Victoria Centre at Biddulph Methodist Church features rooms named after local mining shafts and coal seams, ‘Havelock’ (a mining shaft), ‘Salisbury’ (a pumping shaft), and the seams ‘Bullhurst’, ‘Banbury’, and ‘Winpenny’.

Victoria Business Park, located in Knypersley, occupies the former site of Victoria Colliery, blending the town’s industrial past with its modern future.

In 2024, three miner’s lamps were installed on the St John’s Road roundabout, serving as a striking tribute to the generations of miners who shaped the town.

Here’s a photo of one of the lamps:

Biddulph Town Hall Frontage Project 

In February 2025, work began to transform the space in front of Biddulph Town Hall into a more accessible, welcoming, and versatile community area.

Partly funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the project has created a hard-landscaped plaza designed to host events and gatherings, celebrating both the town’s future and its proud industrial past.

A central feature of the new space is the balance rope pulley wheel from Victoria Colliery, originally installed outside the Town Hall in 1983. It has been restored and raised onto a plinth, giving it greater visibility and prominence as a tribute to Biddulph’s mining heritage. An information board has been added, telling of story of Biddulph’s mining past.

Beneath the wheel, a curved memorial wall has been constructed, incorporating 256 engraved bricks to honour individuals connected to the town’s mining history. These commemorative bricks were available to purchase in 2024.

Cut through the red block paving at ground level is a charcoal grey feature band, representing the profile of the distinctive dip and rise of the North Staffordshire coal seam that runs beneath Biddulph. The seam and the mining wheel are lit by low voltage lighting.

The image below is an ‘artist’s impression’ of the re-developed area.

Here’s some photos of the development work, stage by stage.

This photo shows the actual frontage, including the ‘Biddulph’s Mining Heritage’ information board.

And this photo below shows the area lit at night.

The original decorative railings, installed in 2002 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, have been carefully restored and reused.

The railings feature symbols representing Biddulph’s diverse industrial heritage:

• A bow (representing the local textile industry and ribbon manufacturer Selectus, at one time Biddulph’s largest employer)
• A miner’s wheel (coal mining)
• An anvil (iron and steel)
• A plough (agriculture)
• Decorative ivy leaves

The photo below shows left to right: Councillor Jim Harrison, Biddulph’s Mayor 2003-2004, Councillor Kate Harrison, Mayoress, Charlotte Atkins, Member of Parliament (MP) for Staffordshire Moorlands, Mr Sveikutis, Mrs Hilda Sheldon, Mr Hawley and Staffordshire County Councillor, Christina Jebb.

The benches have been restored and two new benches added.

One in memory of Tony Lally:

In Loving Memory of Tony Lally

Who saw the beauty in every corner of Biddulph

and captured it through his lens.

A friend to many.

And a ‘Happy to Chat Bench’. Sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello!

We’ve also planted a new tree in memory of Hilda and David Sheldon:

In Memory of Hilda & David Sheldon

Whose vision and dedication helped a town blossom.

Their love for Biddulph lives on in every flower.

Biddulph remains forever thankful for their enduring legacy.

To soften and enrich the space, raised planting beds have been introduced. These feature roses surrounding the wheel, alongside perennials and sensory plants, including the clematis ‘Miss Bateman’, named after the daughter of James Bateman, the creator of Biddulph Grange Gardens, adding colour, fragrance, and biodiversity to this new civic focal point.

Official Opening of the Town Hall Frontage 

The Town Hall Frontage was officially opened at 2pm on Saturday 13 September 2025, by the Deputy Lieutenant for Staffordshire, Mrs Judy Scott-Moncrieff, accompanied by Biddulph’s Town Mayor 2025-26, Councillor Adrian Lawton.

To coincide with the unveiling, there was a mining heritage exhibition in the Town Hall in which mining memorabilia, donated by families with connections to the former coal industry, were on display.

There was also children’s activities in the Hall, such as coal miners outfits and hard hats to try on and coal to dig for!

Here’s the speech the Mayor gave:

‘Good afternoon everyone. It gives me immense pride to stand before you today – not just as the Mayor of Biddulph, but as someone who was born and raised here in the High Street.

I’ve walked these pavements my whole life. I remember when this very town hall was being built, and I’ve watched – with pride and sometimes a little awe – as Biddulph has grown, changed, and found new ways to honour its past while building for the future.

Today, we officially open the new frontage of our town hall – a space that’s not just been renewed, but re-imagined. And at the heart of it stands a symbol that means so much to so many: the beautifully refurbished mining wheel.

That wheel is more than just metal and engineering – it’s memory. Together with the named bricks, it’s a tribute to generations of men and women who worked at the mines and who shaped the character of this town with their strength, resilience, and deep sense of community. Many of us here today have family members who worked at the pits.

Their legacy is not forgotten – it’s been restored, respected, and placed where it belongs: at the very centre of our civic life.

This new frontage is not just a facelift – it’s a statement. It says: “We remember where we’ve come from – and we’re proud of where we’re going”. The frontage will now allow us to come together for events and activities that will keep our town centre alive at a time when this is a real challenge.

I’d like to thank all those who made this possible: the designers, the local historians, the town hall team and the community groups who lent their voices, their memories and their time to ensure this redevelopment was done with heart and with heritage in mind.

As someone who’s seen this town evolve over decades – from gas lit streets and corner shops to a growing, vibrant community hub – I can say with confidence: “This is one of the most meaningful changes we’ve made. Because it connects our history to our present and makes it part of our everyday lives once more”.

So let’s take a moment to reflect. Let’s honour those who came before us. And let’s look ahead with hope, unity, and that never say die / indomitable Biddulph spirit.’

Photos: Jasper Van Der Vilt

Here’s a list of the individuals remembered on the memorial wall (if permission was given at the time of application).

If you wish to add or amend information, please get in touch.

 

Aaron Lawton

Aaron Lawton was born in 1878 and died in 1928. He followed his grandfather and father into the mining industry and by the age of 13 he was working as a colliery labourer. This was possibly at the nearby pit at Lane Ends, Packmoor which was owned for some years by the Lawton Brothers, one of whom was his father (also named Aaron). At the time of his early death, aged 50, he was employed as a fireman at Robert Heath’s Victoria Colliery. His widow came to live first in Biddulph, then at Brown Lees and is laid to rest at St Lawrence’s. A grandaughter, a grandson and a great grandson of Aaron live in the town today. Aaron represents all the many members of the Lawton family who were colliers in this locality for several generations.

Adam Gold

Born 17 May 1937. Worked as a deputy miner at Victoria Colliery.

Alan Armstrong

Born in 1959. A miner at Victoria Colliery from 1975 to 1982, then went on to work at Hem Heath Colliery.

Alan Brown

Born in 1965. A development worker at Holditch and Silverdale Collieries.

Alan Kidner

Born 15 December 1950. Started at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in 1967, then at Holditch Colliery until 1989. Lived in Tunstall Road, Biddulph.

Alan Nixon

Born in 1936 in Congleton. Moved to Biddulph in 1956. Worked at Victoria Colliery for many years, then later at Hem Heath Colliery.

Alan Thornton Armstrong

Born in 1937. A miner at Victoria Colliery from the early 1960’s to 1982, then went on to Holditch Colliery.

Albert Foden Jnr

Born 28 January 1909. Lived at ‘The Haven’, Craigside, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery, as was his father before him (Albert Foden, born 1881; lived at 51 Albert Street, Biddulph.)

Albert Fowler

Born in 1924. Worked at Victoria Colliery at the coal face from 1963 until the pit closed.

Alfred Moss

Born 26 May 1920. Employed as a miner at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

Alfred Parkinson

Born in 1910. Worked at Victoria Colliery as a face worker from 1924.

Alfred William (Bill) Sefton

Born in 1916. Worked underground as an engineer from 1951 until his retirement in the 1980’s. Was responsible for ensuring the pit was kept running and safe for when the miners returned from strike. Was well respected. Worked at Staffordshire collieries – Brereton and Lea Hall.

Allan Knapper

Born in 1943. Worked at Holditch Colliery from the age of 15. Employed as a fitter at Wolstanton Colliery and at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

Anton Intihar 

Born in 1925. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from about 1952 until 1965, when a pit accident left him paralysed and in a wheelchair.

Arnold Cooke

Born in 1948. Started to work at Victoria Colliery in 1975 and was one of the last to leave. He was one of the men who salvaged the pit.

Arthur Ayre

(1901-1959) was born in Brindley Ford and spent much of his adult life working at the Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) site. He was latterly employed by the National Coal Board as the colliery surface foreman at Victoria Colliery.

Arthur Mould

Born 11 December 1936. Lived at 4 Wraggs Lane, Biddulph Moor. Worked at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) and then at Florence Colliery, as an underground fitter.

Arthur Reginald Austin

Born 16 August 1943. Lived at 28 Lotus Avenue, Knypersley. Was a coal delivery driver at Fenton and Wolstanton Collieries.

Arthur Sharman

Born in 1914, Arthur worked for most of his life underground as a miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. He lived in Craigside. Arthur died in 1973, aged 59, from work related issues.

Arthur Wilshaw

Born in 1932. Was employed as an overman at Victoria Colliery.

Barrie Wayman

Born in 1939, Barrie was an electrician apprentice from 1956 to 1960. He was employed at Hanley Deep Pit in 1961 and at Wolstanton Colliery from 1962 to 1975.

Barry Harrison

Bertie John Green

Born in 1901. He was recognised for 44 years loyal and efficient service to the industry and the county.

Bill Harrop

Born in 1938. He completed two spells at Victoria Colliery, broken by National Service in the Army. Bill was a very popular blacksmith.

Bill Jukes

Born in 1912 and worked at Victoria Colliery all his working life as a collier, fireman and overman. Bill was also Captain of the Victoria Mine Rescue Team, and attended many mining disasters.

Bill Perry

Born in Pontypridd, South Wales on 11 June 1921. Bill moved to 15 Queens Drive, Biddulph in August 1954 to work as a miner at Victoria Colliery.

Brian Jackson

Born in 1955. Worked at Victoria Colliery as a fitter engineer, and also at Hem Heath Colliery.

Bruce Blackhurst Ryles

Born in 1932. Worked in the fitting shop at Victoria Colliery as a fitter and central lathe turner until its closure in 1982. Was then employed at Chatterley Whitfield Museum.

Bryan Dodd

Born 30 May 1944. A miner at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery, and at Hem Heath Colliery.

Carl Walley

Born 8 April 1958. Employed at Victoria Colliery as an electrician between 1974-1982. Transferred to Hem Heath Colliery until 1993.

Cecil Dutton

Born in 1930. Worked as a miner at Victoria Colliery for 36 years. Lived on Congleton Road, Biddulph. Passed away in 2008.

Charles Pearson

Born 9 July 1914. Lived at 25 Church Road, Biddulph. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery as a surface foreman.

Charles William Blunt

Born in 1910. Was a face worker for 48 years. Started work aged 14 at Parkhouse Colliery. After a few years he started work at Bellington Norton until he retired. Passed away December 1985. He was a miner all his life, where he made lots of friends. When he started work he worked in wooden clogs. Then it was wellington boots because he worked in water. He was injured in a roof fall, but he still carried on working in the pits, it was his life, and he loved it.

Charles William (Big Bill) Hunter

Born in 1929. ‘Big Bill’ Hunter (Charles William) was a gentle giant who was dedicated to his wife and four children. Originally from the North East. He was an ex army man who became a miner in 1965. He re-located his family to Biddulph, where he worked at Wolstanton Colliery for over 30 years as a face worker. He became Health and Safety Officer and Instructor to the young men at Kemble Training College. With his ease of manner and sense of humour, he was highly regarded and respected by all who knew and worked with him.

Charlie Matthews DSM

Born in 1917. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from 1954 to 1973 as a deputy shotfirer.

Charlie Reynolds

Born in 1942. Worked at the Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) for many years, before transferring to Wolstanton Colliery.

Christopher Wood

Born in 1959. Employed as a mechanic from 1976 to 1985.

Claude Wilshaw

Born in 1925. In 1952, aged 27, he began to work underground at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery. Later moving to Chatterley Whitfield Colliery as a methane gas sampler.

Colin Morton

Born 6 August 1960. Lived at 28 Castle View, Biddulph. Worked at Victoria Colliery and Florence Colliery.

Cornelius Balmer

Born in 1926. Cornelius (Neil) worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and Victoria Colliery from 1963.

Daniel Page

Born in 1932. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1949 until his retirement in 1983. Worked as a volunteer guide at Chatterley Whitfield Museum after his retirement.

Darren Shaw

Born in 1965. Was an electrician at Wolstanton Colliery and Silverdale Colliery.

David (Diddles) Downes

Born in Biddulph in 1961. Lived in Knowle Road until he was married. Was an apprentice electrician at Victoria Colliery from 1977 to 1981. Transferred to Florence Colliery (1981 to 1994). Came out of time as an electrician in 1982, went on to gain IMEMME honours in electrical engineering and gained his electrical engineers certificate in 1986. Went on to be a shift charge engineer (electrical) in 1988. Stayed at Florence Colliery until the shafts were filled in after closure. Worked for 4 months at Point of Ayr (North Wales) before moving to Silverdale Colliery as an underground coal face electrician until the pits closure in 1998.

David Brookes

Born 28 October 1952. Worked as an electric fitter at Victoria Colliery.

David Edward Wickstead

Born in 1959. Started at Victoria Colliery in 1975. Transferred to Holditch Colliery in 1981, then transferred to Hem Heath Colliery in 1990.

David Hunter

Born in 1959. Originally from Bannockburn in Scotland. Was a miner at Florence Colliery.

David John (Jack) Williams

Born in 1915. Started mining aged 14 in South Wales. Employed at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from 1950 to 1969 as a deputy. He retired after 40 years, due to ill health from mining. He died in 1994 aged 79 and is buried at Biddulph Churchyard.

David John Willott

Born 23 January 1945. Died 21 February 1999. Employed at Norton, Victoria and Hem Heath Collieries.

David Miller

Born in the Rhondda, South Wales on 26 June 1940. He started to work in the coal mines, aged 15, in 1955. For 10 years he worked in and around Wales, before settling in Biddulph. He moved to the community of Biddulph to work at Victoria Colliery in 1965. He worked at Victoria from 1970 until the closure of the pit in 1982. In August 1982, he started to work at Hem Heath Colliery. He stopped working in 1986, due to ill health. He passed away on 1 August 2017.

David Neil Wright

Born in 1959, Dave lived in Biddulph all his life. On leaving school, he worked at Victoria Colliery (‘The Bull’) as a mining electrician. He later worked at Hem Heath Colliery until its closure. Dave absolutely loved his pit days and campaigned tirelessly against the pit closures. Dave is a well respected Biddulph guy and loved dearly by all his family.

David Stanway

David Wallace

Born 11 February 1948. Worked at Victoria Colliery.

David William Waterton

Born in 1918. Moved from Northumberland due to pit closures to work at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. Worked on the coal face.

Dennis Brookes

Born 18 February 1950. Worked as a miner at Victoria Colliery.

Dennis Stephen Roberts

Born 29 January 1948 at Mount Pleasant, Mow Cop. Was an electrician at Victoria Colliery during the 1960’s to early 1970’s.

Denzil Hunter

Came down from Scotland in the 1960’s. Worked as a face worker at Hem Heath Colliery.

Derek Brookes

Born 24 July 1957. Worked as a face worker at Victoria Colliery.

Derek Weston

Born 4 May 1931. Lived in Woodland Street, Biddulph for many years. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1944 to 1985, as a miner from the age of fourteen and later became a senior overman. His lamp number was 44. He liked piccalilli sandwiches for his work packed lunch.

Derek Wills

Born in 1940. Served a mechanical apprenticeship from 1956 to 1961 at Victoria Colliery. Was mechanic for the mine until 1969. Was assistant mechanical engineer and deputy mechanical engineer at Wolstanton Colliery and Parkside Colliery until 1990.

Derek Worth

Born in 1945. Began working at Victoria Colliery as a fitter in 1961, and carried on to become mechanic in charge of the mine. Also joined the mines rescue service in 1965 becoming Captain. Finished in 1990 at Silverdale Colliery.

Douglas Dishman Jnr

Born 11 August 1954. Employed at Victoria Colliery as an electrician from 1970-1976.

Douglas Dishman Snr

Born 8 March 1933 in Blyth, Northumberland. Moved to Biddulph in 1964. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1964-1982. Transferred to Holditch Colliery, Chesterton.

Edgar Wallace Stanway

Edward (Ted) Ogden

Born in 1922. Served as a Bevin Boy at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

Edwin Bedson

Born in 1910. Ted Bedson was a deputy at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery, where he served 47 years. He also served in the Mining Rescue Team and as a member of St Johns Ambulance.

Elliott Wooliscroft

Born in 1899. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery. Although his name was Elliott, he was called Eddie.

Enoch Yeomans

Eric Brereton

Born in 1925. A mechanic at Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton Collieries.

Eric Mountford

Born in 1941. A miner at Victoria Colliery until the closure of the pit.

Eric Roy Hatton

Born in 1947. Worked at Victoria Colliery from April 1963 until November 1983, then moved to Silverdale Colliery until 1993, employed as a maintenance fitter.

Ernest Brown

From Mow Cop. Born 30 September 1934. Worked at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) as a miner, then at Holditch Colliery, Chesterton.

Ernest Fradley

Born in 1902. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) over 49 years.

Ernest S R Wills

Born in 1910. Ernest brought his wife and four children to Biddulph in December 1954 to start a new life. He previously worked in the mines in his native South Wales.

Ernest Whatmore

Born in 1890. Was a coal miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, following First World War service. Was the Branch Secretary, National Union of Mineworkers.

Ernest William Archer

Born in 1900. Was Baths Superintendent at Victoria Colliery for 33 years, from the day they opened until his retirement in 1965.

Francis William Gierak

Born in 1952. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1967-1973, serving an apprenticeship from 1967-1971, and then as a district fitter on No9 Hamms from 1971-1973.

Frank Clarke

Born 25 September 1905. Lived at 63 Congleton Road, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery.

Frank Edge

Born in 1928. Worked for 25 years at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, then at Victoria (Black Bull) pit in Biddulph.

Frank Hancock

Born in Biddulph on 4 July 1895, Frank lived at 91 Craigside, Biddulph from 1926 until his passing in January 1963. From the age of 14 he was employed all his working life underground at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery for over 51 years in several types of employment, aspiring to deputy overman of an underground district. His final role at Chatterley Whitfield, due to ill health, was loco superviser at the pit bottom, until he retired in 1960.

Frank Holland

Born in 1889. Worked all his life at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery, including the 1914-1918, 1939-1945 wars – known as one of the Bevin Boys.

Frank Wilde

Was the last man to be killed at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in 1971. Was an under manager at Chatterley Whitfield and Parkhouse Collieries. Spent a lot of years working in coal mines in India after the Second World War. Born in Brown Lees and was living in Conway Road, Knypersley when he was killed.

Frank Yates

Born 29 June 1917. Lived at 69 Park Lane, Knypersley. Was a deputy at Victoria Colliery. Died underground 16 February 1962.

Fred Whitehurst

Born in 1922. Worked for many years at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery. His job was on winding. In the winding house he was responsible for manual descents and ascents of the miners.

Frederick Challinor

Born 5 January 1942. Was employed as a shaftman at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

Frederick Cottrell

Born 4 May 1912. Lived at 20 Moorland Road, Biddulph. Worked at Victoria Colliery until his death at the age of 52 years. Worked at Victoria for the whole of his working life, excluding the period when he was in active service during the Second World War.

Gary William Everill

Born in 1959. Started work at Victoria Colliery in 1975 as a coal miner. Transferred to Hem Heath Colliery when Victoria closed, until Hem Heath closed in 1993. Spent 12 months on strike in 1984.

George Abbotts

Born 4 February 1889. Was a bricklayer, and built the colliery head baths at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

George E (John) Ditcher

Born in 1923. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from September 1953.

George Henry Dale

Born in 1919. Was a safety officer at Victoria Colliery in 1953. Lived at 67 Station Road, Biddulph.

George Humphries CC

Born in 1919. Most of Mr Humphries working life was spent in the mining industry in collieries at Chatterley Whitfield, Norton and Victoria,  from where he retired in 1981. Throughout his career he remained a loyal member of the National Union of Mineworkers, acting as Pit Secretary for fifteen years, during five of which he was President of the local branch. He also spent a lifetime involved in local politics. At one time, being a councillor at town, district and county. He was a member of Biddulph Urban District Council and Biddulph Town Council continuously for 47 years, from 1952 until 1999, and occupied the position of Biddulph Town Mayor on two occasions in 1978 and 1983. The balance wheel from the base of the Victoria shaft was unveiled outside the Town Hall in 1983, when Councillor George Humphries was Mayor, as a lasting memorial to the colliery.

George Leszczynski

Born Mieczyslaw Leszczynski on 4 July 1919 in Grudziadz, Poland. After serving with the British Army during World War II, he was granted naturalisation. Worked as a miner at Ashington Colliery, Northumberland before transferring to North Staffordshire, where he was a miner at Victoria Colliery.

George William (Bill) Ansell

Born 7 March 1928. Lived in Cross Street and Craigside, Biddulph. Worked as a boiler operator at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from the age of 14 in 1942, and retired in 1988.

George William Doorbar

George William Knox

Born in 1930. Came to Biddulph from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to work in the pits. He was a miner from a young boy in Newcastle, then in Staffordshire. Working mainly at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. A hard worker who provided for his family; loved and missed by his family.

Gerald Leonard

Born on the 19 September 1920, worked as a miner at Victoria Colliery underground on the face digging for the coal in very small spaces, spending most of his time lying on his back.

Gilbert Reginald Sargeant

Born 7 October 1931. Lived at Knypersley. A miner at Victoria, Norton and Hem Heath Collieries.

Glen Shelley

Born 15 December 1958. Began his mining career as a face worker at Wolstanton Colliery in 1975. Following its closure, he continued his profession at Florence Colliery.

Gordon Cummings

Born in 1915. Moved from Durham. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

Graham Evans

Born in 1936. Started working at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in the mid 1950’s and moved to live in Springfield Road, Biddulph soon after, living there until 2019. He was one of ‘Bings Boys’, part of the Chatterley crutting team which created a roadway to Wolstanton Colliery, when it was decided in 1974 that Whitfield coal could be more easily worked from Wolstanton. He worked at Chatterley Whitfield until it closed in 1976, moving then to Wolstanton Colliery.

Harold Booth

Born 15 April 1898. Lived at 1 Ox-Hey Drive, Biddulph. Was a face worker miner at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Harold Jukes

Born in 1908. Worked at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) for 49 years, starting at 14 years of age. Harold received a National Coal Board certificate for long and meritorious service signed by the Chairman of the Board and the Area Director. He was a colliery fireman below ground for many years, and detonated the coal face. Harold passed away on 14 August 1975.

Harry Davies Shemwell

Born in 1911. Employed as a contracting crutter from South Staffordshire during the early 1940’s at Victoria Colliery.

Harry Kendall

Born in 1925. Worked at Victoria Colliery as an overman prior to retiring. He was also part of the miners rescue team for a number of years.

Henry (Harry) Allen

Henry Hunter Ostler

Born in 1940. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1966 to 1972, then transferred to Berry Hill Colliery.

Herbert Hancock

Born in 1919. Employed as a face shearer at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

Howard Parkinson

Born in 1920. Howard moved materials from the pit bottom to the face at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull). He worked there all his life until 1975. In 1951 Howard had a serious accident and broke his spine, but returned to work after a period of rehabilitation at Betley.

Hugh Jones

Born 20 March 1909. Was a miner in Wales, who came to Biddulph for work in 1955, working at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, until he retired in 1974. He lived at 121 Springfield Road, Biddulph, all the time he worked at Chatterley Whitfield.

Hugh Kirkland Smith

Born in 1931. Lived at 140 St Johns Road, Biddulph. Was a deputy at Victoria Colliery. Later employed at Hem Heath Colliery as senior overman.

Ian Dale

Born in 1942. Served an engineering apprenticeship at Victoria Colliery from 1957 to 1962. Lived at Station Road, Biddulph.

Jack Green

Born in 1906. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery for most of his working life.

James (Jim) Boardman

Born at Mount Pleasant, Odd Rode on 24 October 1907. His family later moved to West Street, Mow Cop. When he married in 1934, he and his wife, Clarice, moved to Congleton. He was a miner for all of his working life, most of it at Black Bull (Victoria Colliery). He worked at the coal face as a hewer.

James Booth

Born on 27 February 1887 at Lodge Barn. Employed as a miner, working at Victoria Colliery. In the 1921 census was ‘an out of work miner’, possibly on strike. Died 14 October 1961.

James Collinge

Born 27 July 1903 at 20 Tunstall Road, Biddulph. A miner at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

James Hartshorn

Lifelong miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. Lived at Cole Street, Biddulph.

James Henry Mavin

Born in 1933. Dedicated 38 years service working in the mines, firstly in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Moved to Biddulph in 1965. Worked at Victoria (Black Bull), Chatterley Whitfield, Hem Heath and Holditch Collieries.

James Laing

Born in 1950. Worked at Victoria Colliery and Silverdale Colliery. Came down from the North East as a child.

James Pointon

Born in 1883. A Gillow Heath man of City Bank. A miner in the local area and the Black Bull (Victoria Colliery). Also a keen methodist preacher. Died aged 35.

James Porter

James (Jim) Porter was born at Mow Cop on the 30 June 1926, His family home was in Biddulph and later at Long Valley Road, Gillow Heath. He was a miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

James Salt

Born in Burslem in 1903. Conscripted to work in the coal mines between 1943 to 1948, as a Bevin Boy.

James Sanderson

Born 23 February 1925. Lived at 44 Pennine Way, Biddulph. Was a fireman and miner at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

James Stanway Jnr

Born in 1926. Was a draughtsman and abandoned mines officer at NCB Victoria Road, Fenton.

James Stanway Snr

Born in 1902. Was a colliery overman at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

James Whitehurst

Born in 1899. James was a colliery surface worker at the Victoria Colliery and had previously worked for Robert Heath and Low Moor as a pig iron wheeler.

James Williamson Wylie

Born in 1935. James moved from Scotland to Biddulph in 1954 where he met his wife Joan Bevan (from Wales) and went on to have five children. He was first a miner at the Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery and later worked at Hem Heath Colliery. He remained living in Biddulph until his death in 2009.

Jeffrey Hartshorn

Born 21 May 1953. Lived at 7 Springfield Road, Biddulph. Was a miner at Silverdale Colliery.

Jeffrey Williams

Jess Whatmore

Born in 1924. Was a carpenter at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery for 20 years, then was nationally in charge of moving mineworkers from closing collieries to areas where skills were needed, including in Biddulph.

Jim Hagan

Born in 1949. Lived at 50 Mayfield Road, Biddulph. Employed as a miner at Victoria Colliery.

Jim Mountford

Born in 1943. Worked at Victoria Colliery in the early 1960’s through to the 1970’s, working on the coal face.

Jim Winkle

Born in 1937. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery as a chief electrical engineer.

John (Jock) Keily

Born in 1943. Worked at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) for 17 years.

Joe Jackson

John (Jack) Barnes

Born 1 April 1893. Lived in Mill Road, Cheadle. A miner at Foxfield Colliery, Dilhorne circa 1922-1958.

John (Jack) Parkinson

Born at 7 Albert Street, Biddulph in 1901. He commenced work in 1915 at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, aged 14 years. In 1921 he was transferred to Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) where he worked as a miner until his retirement in 1966, spending 51 years in the industry underground.

John (Jack) Williamson

Born in 1925. Moved from Northumberland (Hadston) to find work in Stoke on Trent. He worked on the coal face at Victoria Colliery from 1965 to 1982.

John Bankhead

Born in 1941. Transferred to Victoria Colliery from County Durham in 1966. At the closing of Victoria pit he transferred to Hem Heath Colliery until its closure in 1993. He was the National Union of Mineworkers Representative at both collieries.

John Brown

Born in 1938. Was a development worker at Victoria and Holditch Collieries.

John Ivan Cucyk

Born in 1917. Arrived from the Ukraine via Italy in 1948 and was repatriated in the UK. After being moved to many camps throughout the British Isles, he eventually settled in Stoke-on-Trent, where he started work at Hanley Deep pit with various contract firms: ATC, Cementaion, Tysons. Transferred to Sneyd Colliery, then to Chatterley Whitfield pit and finally at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) when he was injured by a fall of rock and was put on light work until he retired in 1980.

John Melvin Brookes

Born 15 July 1946. Worked as a fitter at Victoria Colliery.

John Neville Sherratt

Born in 1936. Started at Victoria Colliery in 1952 as an errand lad, left in 1982 and transferred to Holditch Colliery. Was National Union of Mineworkers Secretary from 1979 to 1982, when the colliery closed.

John Shaw

Born in 1949. Employed at Wolstanton Colliery, Victoria Colliery and Podmore Hall Colliery – all in Staffordshire.

John Staples

Born in 1940. Employed at Victoria Colliery from when he left school in 1955 to 1965. Worked as a chutter.

John Thomas (Jack) Jones

Born in 1929. Worked for 35 years delivering coal for the National Coal Board from Victoria Colliery. Mainly delivering concessionary coal to miners.

John Thomas Richardson

Born in 1947. Employed as a fitter at Victoria Colliery from 1954 to the pits closure, and then employed at the area workshops.

John Thomas Tracey

Born 14 April 1934. Lived at 3 Mayfield Road, Biddulph. Began working in the mining industry at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in 1949. Transferred to Wolstanton Colliery in 1976, until he retired in the 1980’s. Employed as a fitter.

John Wesley Collins

Born in 1925. Employed as a rope splicer at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull).

John William Brookes

Born 25 May 1920. Worked as an overman at Victoria Colliery.

John Wysoczan

Worked at the ‘Bull’ Victoria Colliery from about 1953/54. Known as ‘Whisky Soda’ amongst his work mates. Ended work when the pit shut in the 1980’s. Was born in Lviv, Ukraine in 1925.

Joseph Cumberbatch

Born 17 September 1909. Died in a mining accident at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery on 17 July 1964.

Joseph Greatbatch 

Born in 1913. Worked at Victoria Colliery, then went to Chatterley Whitfield for a while before returning to Victoria. He worked as a contractor from 1936, until he retired due to ill health in 1961.

Joseph (Jossy) Gosling

Born 5 August 1928 in Rowlands Gill, Newcastle upon Tyne. Worked in the Durham coalfields. Moved to Biddulph with his wife Audrey and son Michael in 1964. Lived at Springfield Road. Worked at Victoria Colliery until its closure. Returned back to the North East and lived there until his death on 15 May 1988.

Joseph Lawton

Born on 26 May 1879 in Albert Street, Biddulph. Moved to Harriseahead where he was a coal dealer, haulier and miner. Died 27 December 1954.

Joseph Stanway

Joseph Stonier

Joseph William Stonier

Born in 1911. A coal face worker at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Joseph Wood

Born in 1924. After discharge from the army after the Second World War, returned to the mine at Chatterley Whitfield.

Jozef Pieniazek

Born 14 October 1919. Entered the mining industry after six years of combat duty (in Poland, Siberia, Persia, Palestine, North Africa, Italy – Monte Cassino) arriving in the UK in late 1946. He  settled in North Staffordshire, and commenced colliery training at Kemball Colliery, where he continued directly into employment at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, living in Biddulph from late 1947. He worked through and up to the pit closure in 1977 and continued to work at the mining museum from 1979 until 1984. His passion was for horticulture. His loyalty was toward duty, community and unconditional kindness. Through this journey he lost a homeland and found a lasting home among the North Staffordshire hills.

Julian Kaminskas

Born 6 January 1918 in Lithuania. Lived at 8 Edgeley Road, Biddulph. A miner at Victoria Colliery.

Karol Kinder

Born 3 February 1917 in Poland. Lived at 95 Lynmouth Close, Biddulph. Employed at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery as a miner and shot firer until his retirement (date unknown) due to serious injuries resulting from a roof collapse within the mine.

Keith Fodden

Kenneth (Ken) Taylor

Was a Fireman/Overman/Miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery and various private mines. Lived at Gillow Heath and Mow Lane.

Kenneth Edward Bebbington

Born 27 March 1942. A colliery deputy at Victoria Colliery from 1957 to 1982 and from 1982 to 1992 at Hem Heath Colliery.

Kenneth John Evans

Born 6 September 1925. A miner at Victoria Colliery and a guide at Chatterley Whitfield Museum until it closed.

Kevin Jackson

Born in 1952. A fitter at Victoria Colliery from 1967-1977.

Lech (Les) Gierak

Born in 1928. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from 1953-1965, and then at several mines as a contractor, and then from 1971-1973 at Victoria Colliery.

Lenard Brittain

Born 20 December 1921. Lived at 124 Well Street, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery.

Leonard (Len) Boon

Born in 1931. Left school to work at Victoria Colliery as a colliery mechanic. Upon closure of the Victoria Colliery transferred to Trentham Workshops. Stayed there until his retirement. Len passed away in February 2012.

Leonard Pointon

Born in 1907 at City Bank, Gillow Heath. Worked boy and man until his retirement at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery. Was a hewer (coal digger) by trade.

Leonard Richard Bambridge

Born in 1923. Worked at Bearpark Colliery in the North East upon leaving school. Moved to Stoke and worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, then Hem Heath Colliery. Was Mayor of Biddulph 1980-81.

Les Moreton

Ian Leslie Colin Moreton (known as Les). Born 11 September 1923. Lived at 48 Craigside, Biddulph. Was an electrician at Victoria Colliery until it closed on 28 July 1982.

Les Taylor

Born in 1945. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, Hem Heath Colliery and Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Luigi Caruso

Born in 1924. Lived at 67 Springfield Road, Biddulph. Came over from Sicilly and worked at Chatterley Whitfield, Hem Heath and Wolstanton Collieries.

Malcolm John Benson

Born 5 August 1948. Lived at 25 Coppice Close, Biddulph. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield, Victoria and Hem Heath Collieries. Was a PLA face worker.

Malcolm Sword

Born in 1948. Malolm’s family came to Biddulph from Northumberland in 1953, as transferred miners taking up employment at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. He joined the mining industry at 18, working at Victoria Colliery from 1966-1982 and Florence Colliery, Longton from 1982 to 1999. Employed underground on the coal face, then on the surface in the fitting shops working with the mechanical staff. Later, was a banksman operating the signal used to send the cage up and down the mine shaft. His check number was 145 (used to identify who was underground).

Matthew Bryson

Michael Harrop

Michael Tracey

Born in 1961. Worked at Victoria Colliery before being transferred to Holditch Colliery and then finally employed at Hem Heath Colliery.

Micheal Kaliczak

Born in 1921. Was a refugee from Ukraine in 1943. He settled in Northumberland where he worked in the mining industry. He moved to Biddulph in 1953 and worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. Micheal passed away in 1970, aged 49.

Neil Eric Boon

Born in 1959. A miner at Victoria Colliery. Upon closure of the Victoria pit, he transferred to Holditch Colliery, where he worked as a deputy, then he transferred to Trentham Colliery, where he worked as the Health and Safety Manager, until the pits closure.

Neil Parsonage

Born in 1940. A coal face worker at Victoria Colliery and Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

Norman Bailey

Born in 1918. Employed as a face worker at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Norman Hancock

Born in 1919. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery as an underground electrical engineer. Also worked at Sneyd and Wolstanton Collieries.

Norman Shaw

Born in 1908. Employed at Victoria Colliery.

Norman Wood

Born 7 August 1935. After working in coal mines in Durham and South Wales, Norman moved to Biddulph in 1965 and worked at Norton, Victoria and Hem Heath Collieries.

Patrick Short

Born in 1918. Started to work at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery in 1946 after leaving the Forces until he retired at 65.

Paul Bub Cucyk

Born in 1960. Started work at Victoria Colliery on the 20 September 1976 as a bricklayer, then worked in haulage and then onto crutting and developments. Finished salvaging ‘The Bull’. In 1982 he transferred to Holditch Colliery, also known as ‘Brymbo’. Worked the cruts and development until 1984 and was on strike for the whole duration until 1985, exactly 1 year. Returned to working the cruts until 1987, when was promoted to grade one deputy and was in charge of the Holly Lane faces 301 and 303 until the pit finished and was transferred to Hem Heath Colliery, which was renamed the Trentham complex. Was hurt in a roof fall in 1992, which ended his career in 1993, when the pit shut as a coal board run pit.

Paul Roy Beardmore

Worked as a fitter at Victoria Colliery until promoted to chargehand. Left when the colliery closed. Then went to work at Silverdale Colliery as a FSV fitter until that pit too closed. Born 24 March 1958. Died 2 December 2008.

Paul Sproston

Born 12 November 1959. Lived at 16 Cornfield Road, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery, and later at Holditch and Hem Heath Collieries.

Paul Tracey

Born in 1959. Worked in the coal mines for twenty years at Holditch, Silverdale and Hem Heath Collieries.

Peter (Oakey) Oakes

Born in 1939. Was a miner at Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton Collieries.

Peter Harrop

Peter Stanway

Phil (Clunk) Clews

Born in 1951. Began working at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in 1966, then at the Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery in 1967 until it closed. He moved to Hem Heath Colliery in 1983, and worked up from haulage to being a deputy. He also spent 10 years as part of the mines rescue team.

Philip Rod Moston

Born in 1949. Worked at Victoria, Holditch, Hem Heath and Apedale Collieries. Employed on face and developments , then as a deputy.

Raymond Arthur Taylor

Raymond James Smith

Born in 1958. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1979. Transferred to Hem Heath Colliery in 1981.

Raymond Longshaw

Born 29 May 1926. Employed at Victoria Colliery as an electrician.

Reginald Nixon

Born in Biddulph in 1920. Lived at 36 Victoria Row. Was a miner on the coal face employed at Victoria Colliery.

Reginald Salt

Born 24 December 1924. Lived at 105 Woodhouse Lane, Biddulph. Worked as a miner at Victoria Colliery and later as a lamphouse attendant.

Richard (Dick) Archer

Born in 1940. Employed at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Richard (Dick) Jukes

Fireman/Overman at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery. Lived in Biddulph; at Cole Street, John Street and on St John’s Road.

Richard Percival Shaw 

Born in 1885. Employed at Victoria Colliery.

Richard Shaw

Born in 1857. Employed at Stonetrough Colliery, Brown Lees.

Robert (Bob) Shaw Snr

Born 21 July 1936. Worked as a face miner from the age of 17 until 26 at the Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery. Died 20 May 2022.

Robert E (Bob) Roberts

Born in 1914. A deputy at Wolstanton Colliery, and a lamproom attendant at Sneyd Colliery, Burslem. Was a Biddulph resident.

Robert Michael Brittain

Born at Lynmouth Close in 1963. On leaving school he went to work at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery and then on to Hem Heath Colliery. Was a miner for 10 years.

Robert Phillip Smith

Born 19 February 1955. Lived at 4 Senn Row, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victora Colliery.

Robert Smith

Born 21 August 1928. Lived at 16 Church Close, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery, after being transferred from Rising Sun Colliery, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Robert Stubbs

Born in 1880. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and at Victoria Colliery.

Robert William Lightfoot

Born in Brindley Ford in May 1912. Moved to Biddulph when he married Martha Gibson in January 1938, living in John Street and later in Moorland Road. Spent all his working life as a miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. Obtained his shot-firers certificate. Died May 1988.

Ron Bowery

Born in 1935. Moved to Biddulph from Durham in 1964. Worked at Sneyd Colliery and then at Wolstanton Colliery, where he was one of the last 20 miners there. He retired the day before they closed the mine.

Ron Rodgers

Born in 1927. Started work at 14, working at Horden Colliery in the North East. Moved to Biddulph in the 1950’s with his wife Ruby. Employed at the Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery until a work related accident forced him to leave many years later.

Ronald Nixon

Born 3 March 1933, lived at 58 Church Road, Biddulph. Started working at the Victoria ‘Black Bull’ Colliery from age 14, until its closure. Moved to Florence Colliery until his retirement. A total of 42 years, 3 months man and boy!

Ronald Shaw

Born in 1930. Worked as a miner all his life at a number of mines, including Victoria Colliery and Holditch Colliery in Newcastle. Passed away in 2003.

Ronald Slack

Born in 1927. Transferred from Durham Coalfield in September 1964 to Victoria Colliery, where he remained until his death on 28 July 1968, aged 41.

Roy Parsonage

Born in 1946. Was an electrician at Victoria Colliery.

Roy Cope

Born in 1931. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) and Chatterley Whitfield Colliery – worked as a deputy.

Roy Mitchell

Born 11 April 1947. Was a miner all his life until Wolstanton Colliery closed. Died in 2019.

Roy Whitehurst

Born in 1938. Was a coal face worker at Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Russell Fern

Born 23 August 1938. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery for 30 years. Also at Holditch Colliery for 5 years.

Samuel Brereton

Born in 1905. Worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) as a miner. Started at the age of 14.

Shane Beckett

Born in 1970. Worked at Hem Heath Colliery/Trentham Complex in haulage/development from 1986 to 1993.

Sidney (Sid) Fawcus

Born in 1940. Worked as a coal cutter at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and on the team to take the connection to Wolstanton Colliery. The team’s nickname was Bing.

Stanley Hartshorn

A lifelong miner at Victoria Colliery (deputy fireman). Lived at the Uplands, Biddulph.

Stanley Norman Nichols

Born in 1940. Moved to Biddulph from Durham with the pits. Worked at the Victoria Colliery (‘The Bull’) and was known as ‘pan pin’ by his fellow miners.

Stefan Marcfeld

Born 25 December 1923. Employed as a miner at Victoria and Chatterley Whitfield Collieries from 1953 to 1983.

Stephen George Oultram

Born in 1949. Worked at Victoria Colliery from 1964 until it closed in 1982, as a fitter and shafts man, then moved to Hem Heath Colliery until that also closed.

Stephen Warburton

Born in 1923. Employed as a charge hand engineer at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery.

Steve Pearce

Born in 1967. Worked at Hem Heath Colliery as a back up worker and union official, then at Point of Ayr Colliery in Flintshire, North Wales as a roofbolter and union official.

Stewart Stanway

Born 16 February 1941. Lived at Crossways, Broadmeadows, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) and later at Hem Heath Colliery.

Ted Hagan

Born 31 March 1921. Employed as a miner at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

Thomas Broad

Born in 1932. Lived in Church Road, Biddulph until he passed away in 2021 at the age of 88. Thomas started his working life in the mines at the age of 16. Employed at Lowlands: 1948-1950 as a surface worker, from 1950-1952 as a loader and from 1952-1956 as a faceworker.  Employed at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery from 1956-1977 as a loader/haulage until the colliery closed in 1977. Employed at Victoria Colliery from 1977-1982 on belt maintenance, until the colliery closed in 1982. Employed at Florence Colliery from 1982- 1989 on belt maintenance, until he accepted redundancy due to ill health. The colliery closed in 1994.

Thomas Edward Swingewood

Born in 1920. Was a ‘Bevin Boy’ and worked for many years at the Chatterley Whitfield pit head, from the 1930’s through to the 1960’s.

Thomas Peter Robson

Born in 1934. Came down from the North East (Durham) and worked at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery and also Holditch Colliery, where he was a deputy. Sadly he passed away at the age of 42 years.

Thomas (Tommy) Johnson

Born in 1924. Worked in the Durham and Northumberland coalfields before moving to Biddulph in 1960 to work at Victoria Colliery.

Thomas Wilshaw

Born on 14 January 1865 at Beacon House, Gillow Heath. A local miner, recorded on the census of 1921 as working for Robert Heath, Low Moor. Died 4 January 1925.

Thomas Worth Jnr

Born in 1913. Worked at Victoria Colliery all his working life; completing 48 years service. Started as a workman then became a deputy, and finally an overman, before being injured and having to work on the surface.

Thomas Worth Snr

Tommy Sproston

Born in 1926. Lived at 36 Highfield Road East, Biddulph. Worked at Victoria Colliery all his working life.

Tony Sproston

Born 8 November 1961. Lived at 7 Plover Drive, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery and later at Holditch and Hem Heath Collieries.

Victor William Cox

Born 1909 at Magpie Cottages, Brown Lees. Worked at Victoria Colliery for over 40 years as an underground/surface worker.

Wilbert George Nicholson

Born in 1933. Came to England in the 1960’s from Jamaica. Was killed in a mining accident at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in 1966, leaving behind his wife Imagene and three children. He was just 33 years old.

Wilfred Edge

Born 28 August 1929. Lived on Station Road, Biddulph. His time working in the mine ended when his leg was caught in a coalcutter in 1952.

William (Bill) Allen

Willam Arthur Jukes

Worked at Victoria Colliery (Black Bull) for many years. Was involved in the 1926 miners strike. His job was an overman at Victoria. He was born 29 June 1910 and died 7 December 1968, after being involved in an accident underground on the 17 October 1968.

William Arthur Taylor

Born in 1912. Employed as a miner at Chatterley Whitfield, working on the face – Timber Snigger. Known as Cody Taylor, worked a night shift. Died in 1985.

William Bailey

William was born in 1894, the son of Harry and Hannah Bailey of Elmhurst Farm, Hurst Road, Biddulph. After school at Biddulph North he worked on the family farm before starting as a ‘hooker up’ at Robert Heath’s Victoria (Black Bull) pit. On his second day at the pit and without any experience of underground working a tragic accident occurred. At 8.20 in the morning, against all the rules, coal trucks were allowed to run away down the 10-yard dip where William was working. Being new to his job and quite unaware of the danger approaching, these runaway trucks hit him and caused terrible crushing to his legs. This was on Tuesday 28 September 1909. In terrible pain from his injuries, and alone, William was found crawling along the dip bottom when help arrived. He was taken to the surface and transferred by ambulance to the North Staffordshire Infirmary, but sadly died on the way. William was only fifteen years old. He was buried at Christ Church, Biddulph Moor on Saturday 2 October 1909.

William Carter Smith

Born in 1941. Began working at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in  1956, aged 15 years. Trained as a coal face worker, and worked for 17 years underground. He moved to Victoria (Black Bull) Colliery in 1973 and then to Hem Heath Colliery in 1983, as a development worker, where he worked until 1989.

William Charles Richardson

Born in 1907. Was employed at Wolstanton Colliery, then at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.

William Cottrill

Born 31 August 1896 at 33 High Street, Biddulph. Was a miner at Victoria Colliery for a short time until he joined the Staffordshire Regiment and fought in the Great War. He later worked from 33 High Street, Biddulph as a cobbler, providing clogs for miners. He passed away on the 1 May 1968.

William E Beckett

Born in 1945. Was employed as an electrician at Chatterley Whitfield and Victoria (Black Bull) Collieries.

William Harrison

Worked for 50 years in the mining industry – what an amazing thing to do in a lifetime! Born in 1915. Lived at 18 Fan Row, Brown Lees. Died 28 February 1995.

William James (Bill) Moss

Born in February 1943. Lived at 14 Devon Grove, Biddulph. Was a chargehand fitter at Victoria Colliery until the pits closure. He then transferred to Silverdale Colliery as a chargehand fitter. He was on the Victoria Mines Rescue Team for many years.

William Thomas Archer

Born in 1910. Was Colliery Manager at Victoria Colliery and then Area Group Manager for Chatterley Whitfield, Norton and Victoria Collieries.

William Yates

Born 1888. Lived at 43, Albert Street, Biddulph. Worked at Victoria Colliery. Was the National Union of Mineworkers  Branch Secretary from 1949-1951. He retired aged 75 years.

Glossary of Mining Terms 

We’ve enjoyed working on this project and have learnt many mining words, that we don’t regularly hear today.

Here’s a few explained:

Banksman—worked at the pit bank to dispatch the coals and organise the workforce. Was in charge of loading and unloading the cage, drawing full tubs from the cages and replacing them with empty ones.

Bevin Boys—were young men, aged 18 to 25, conscripted to work in the collieries during the Second World War, in a scheme introduced by Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour and National Service, to support the war effort by increasing coal production. Many miners had been conscripted into the armed forces, which led to a declining workforce in the coal industry. The selection of Bevin Boys were conducted via a ballot system. Young men registering for National Service had their numbers drawn randomly and were required to report for mining duty.

Cage—was a lift that transported the workers up and down the mine shaft.

Coal Face—the part of the seam (underground layer of coal) being worked.

Chargehand—a general term for a supervisory worker.

Deputy—was an underground official who had supervision of a district and the men working in it.

Fitter—was responsible for the maintenance of underground machinery.

Hewer—a coal face worker who loosened the coal with a pick.

Lampman—had responsibility for maintaining lamps and for issuing them from the lamp room at the start of a shift.

Overman—was the foreman or senior underground official of a pit responsible for production or output. There was generally one overman for each shift.

Shaft—a vertical or near-vertical tunnel that gave access to a coal mine.

Shaftman—referred to a worker who inspected and repaired the shafts.

Shotfirer—was qualified to detonate shots or explosive charges.

Winder—either the winding engine that raised or lowered the cages in a shaft or the worker who operated it.