Tips Today

Below is a photo of both tip areas. You can see how extensive they were/are.

A lot of the waste from the Bargoed tip is being use as fill for the new road project and the new £30 million Retail and Leisure park area . The Aberbargoed tip still belongs to the NCB and as such can not be used so that still sits there. It has been grassed over but without much success.

THANKS

I would like to thank Richard and his family for the loan of this book with all the photos.
There were so many interesting ones it was difficult to choose which ones to put on the blog. I hope the ones I chose will be of interest to you.
Also to the photographer who took such evocative pictures back in the 1970s, they were really moving.
When I was young and I saw the tiredness in my father's eyes when he came home from working in the pit it just went over my head as it does when you are young. But seeing these pictures reminded me how hard it was to earn a living then and how much I owe him.
Thank you all, especially Dad.

Strike

This is the time of the 1974 strike.

Here are some miners at the entrance to the colliery opposite Bargoed railway station. Whether they are pickets or waiting for transport to other areas I'm not sure.

Bargoed High Street

Bargoed High Street on a cold wintry evening, early 1970s.

It's 10 past 5 and the shops are still open.

The Emporium! where you could get anything you needed, Boots chemist only recently closed and the Crown wallpaper shop.

Hard Work & Home time

Someone had a hard job breaking all that lot up

Coming home after work - crossing the bridge from the pithead baths and canteen over to Aberbargoed

Walking up the old "Stoney" path. It was a long hike after your shift

Never Learn

I will never learn I still post blogs in the wrong order.
I should have done the "after" first then the "before" and it would have looked better.

After

I NEEDED THAT ONE!

Checking the clock in the yard

Off to the baths

Before

Here are some of the boys before they go down for their shift

Coming up & Pay Day

Miners coming up

in the cage after a shift underground

and then queuing for their pay
waiting patiently in line after a hard weeks work

Union Meeting

BARGOED SURFACE LODGE N.U.M.

meeting in the Institute in Aberbargoed.

Held on Monday October 29th at 6pm.

You can see the reflection of the head gear in the window opposite the notice board where the meeting poster was placed

Colin Cook former County Councillor and Surface Lodge Secretary is on the mike with Mark Farrant in the front row looking at the camera.

Sadly Mark passed away in 1998 but Colin is still around (April 2008)

Everyone is looking very intent, Colin must have had something important to pass onto the men as there is a good crowd there and I don't think the meetings were always that full

Perhaps it was about the strike

Winding House & Washery

I am told that these pictures are of the winding house and washery

What's going on down there?
Mr Les Wolldridge is having a breather.

The Screens in the foreground with the washery in the background

Underground

As much as we lamented the loss of employment and the coal industry, what a way to have to earn your living.

Every day in danger of serious injury or death with only your comrades to look after you if anything should happen so far underground

Lunch break "Snap"underground

Health & Safety

Health and Safety would be pulling their hair out today with these safety notices

Two views of the colliery

More to come

Roy Llewellyn Jones

This is Roy Llewellyn Jones of Aberbargoed.

Roy worked as a mechanic on all the machines throughout the area. Here he is at Bargoed Colliery crossing the bridge from Aberbargoed to the colliery screens.

Bargoed Colliery 1970s

I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments on and off the blog.

A special thanks go to Richard and his family who lent me a book with some very interesting photographs in of Bargoed Colliery and the workers there in the 1970s.

I can not understand a word of it though as it is in Swedish but I recognise a number of the men so I have added a few of the photos

Here is the front cover

It looks like he his having one last drag on his fag before he goes underground for his shift.

I believe these names are of the author and photographer of the book.

Hard Work

Bargoed Colliery

1970s

Here is a collier carrying a heavy pit prop with a lot more to do.