Ormiston
Working at Limeylands, 1940-50 - David Fleming shares his memories:
Going further in you passed groups of hutches (six); they were clipped to a moving wire rope, which took the coal to the pit bottom. About a mile from the bottom you came to the section where the coal was being won. At the face conditions were bad. There was a low roof with a constant flow of water coming from it, which was pumped away by a small pump driven by an electric motor. The coal was undercut to a depth of three feet over a distance of between 60 and 100 yards then holes were bored in the top of the coal, which was blown down by sticks of gelignite. Everybody had to get out when they fired - the reek and coal dust was horrendous and took ages to clear. It was a dangerous business with many injuries and a few fatalities over the years.
After the coal was down, the face men filled the hutches brought up to them by the drawers. When the hutch was filled the drawer pushed them to a road head where the haulage took over. It was backbreaking work. If you worked hard you could make a good wage and most of the young lads worked like horses.
With the gelignite reek, stone and coal dust, and the effects of water and dampness - many men were finished at 40 - some lasted longer but eventually they too paid the price. As the money was good they made hay while the sun shone.
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© 2004 Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian Society