MY WAY.
It
was some years ago that I started my interest in tracing my family roots what
an adventure that was to become as a beginner I did all the wrong things click on
the link If you want to skip to family information like the.
I had a vague idea
that you paid a visit to the local records office and they would tell you all
you wanted to know about your family history.
I was only partly
right on a scale of 1 to 10 I was barely on number one
I did not deem it
necessary to buy a book on the subject after all I was an Intelligent person
that was soon to be put to the test and found to be wanting.
My first visit to a
records office made me realise just how complicated researching your family
could be if you were as unprepared as I was but I am a fast learner back home I
started to assemble my tools the first thing I bought was a book on Genealogy
over the years I have found that there is no need to buy the most expensive as
the cheaper one’s have the same basic information to start you off later when
you start to specialize then you will know what you want to buy and do not
forget that your local library has books on Genealogy you can borrow.
I bought my first book
for three pounds and it is as relevant today as it was back then for nothing
has changed in regard to the written records these books tell you to research
Birth, Death, certificates, Wills ,family papers church records and
other documents but importantly they explain
how to gain information from these documents armed with this information the
trip to the record office is not as frustrating.
The second Item of my
tool kit was a tape recorder this was an inspiration and what a very important
item of my tool kit it has turned out to be I tape all interviews so that when
editing the tape later nothing is lost through my poor memory I already had a
typewriter hard work very hard work but the only means of keeping a record of
my research as it turned out the work I did on this machine helped me years
later when I got a computer virus. That
wiped my hard drive of all my research data no foolishly I had not made a backup
I do now after every session at the computer.
Beside the usual
writing books in which to take down notes part of my toolkit was two magnifying
aids one a full A4 size sheet magnifier and a small hand magnifying glass
invaluable in trying to read old documents later I purchased a small hand held
tape recorder this is far better to use when in a church yard especially if it
is raining I simply talk into the mike whilst reading the Information on a
tombstone I also give the position the grave lay in the church yard a camera is
another important item.
This then was my basic
tool kit other items followed over the years talcum powder to sprinkle on hard
to read lettering on worn tombstones a folding board to blot out bright
sunshine from the tombstone for the same reason as sometimes it is easier to read
the lettering if the tombstone is in shadow Never scrub an old tombstone
to clear away moss and lichen as this damages the surface of the stone and
after you have finished using a soft
paint brush clean away the chalk of the talcum.
One of the most important
tools of your research is your own memory the memories of your childhood often
we would have been told family stories or overheard family secretes how often
have you been talking in confidence to some one with a small child present
paying no attention to the fact that the child is not deaf and can hear all
that is being said.
I started out with
flawed family information as we had always thought we were of Irish decent this
proved to be wrong and it was not until I sat one day thinking on the problems
I was encountering in searching for the Irish connection that I remembered
being told by my mother that my Grandfather was from Devon I found out that he
was not but his father was and this was the key that opened up the past for me.
So sit down and think
about all you were told as a child get it down on your record
The first wonder
machine of my research was a Amstrad Pcw word processor what a marvellous
machine I still have mine and do a lot of work on it it is like an old friend
it made my research so much easier than the old typewriter it stored all my
research on 3.1/2 inch floppy disks when the computers became available I
bought an IBM now the pc was not compatible with the Pcw software so a way had
to be found to copy all my research off the Pcw floppy disks and onto my IBM
pc.
luck was with me as some clever person wrote
and produced a program that would do just that loaded onto the Pcw it converted
the Loco-script files into files that could be read by my IBM pc.
Research records keeping got a lot easier I
bought a Program called Family tree maker that really did make things a lot
easier to handle so buy the best program you can afford.
The Welsh connection
started before the 18th Century but I am only concerned with the
period my great Grandfather came to Wales on other parts of these interactive
sites will be the history of the Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall Families check
out the site of Roy Blackmore a
cousin of mine who lives in Somerset.
The opening up of the South
Wales Coalfields coincided with the slump in agriculture in the farming
communities of the West Country men left agriculture to look for work many came to the South Wales Valleys lured
by the prospect of work one such a man was my Great Grandfather Samuel Sparks
He was born in Sheldon a Devon village four miles from the Market town of Cullompton he was the son of Edmund and
Ann Sparks both from Sheldon Samuel had five brothers John, Edmund, William,
Christopher, Thomas, he also had two sisters Mary Ann and Elizabeth.
Samuel was born in 1837 in Sheldon
he was baptized on the 10/09/1837 in 1847 he was living with his Parents on
Southgate farm where his father was employed as a farm Labourer within a couple
of years he was living on the William Blackmore farm Higher Northcott there
must have been a relationship for he was only eight years old working as a farm
servant by 1851 he was still working for William Blackmore aged 12 his
employment was farm servant also working with him was his brother Edmund.
Between 1851 and 1859 Samuel
had moved to South Wales Some researchers confuse him with a probable cousin a
Samuel Sparks who married Sarah Blackmore in 27th January 1870 they
also where born in Sheldon they also lived in South Wales at that time 1881at a
place called Roggiet in Monmouth and at Llanvihangel in Monmouthshire to
further confuse the researcher Samuel and Sarah lived at Baglan between Neath
and Port Talbot in Glamorgan the subsequent home ground of my family Samuel
died 5th October 1927 Sarah
died 3rd January 1930
both died at Roggiet Another Chard family member Samuel Sparks lived
in South Wales living at High Street in
Ystrad in the Rhondda valley a coach builder he became widowed and eventually moved back to Chard in Somerset.
My Great Grandfather Samuel
met and married his wife Johanna Scandling she was from Ballylongford in
Ireland now there is the Irish connection that had led me so far astray when I
first started my quest a family story had told that she was from Hereford and
had been in service there we had all assumed that she was from that area their
first child Margaret was born in 1859 in the town of llantrisaint (Llantrisant)
a year later another daughter was born Mary Ann and in 1861 a son was born they
named him William all the children of Samuel and Johanna where born in
Llantrisaint.
In all they had Eleven
children.
Margaret born
1859. Mary
Ann. born 1860
William. born 1861.
Edward. born. 1863
Samuel. born. 1864. Edmond.
born. 1863
John. born, 1865. Thomas. born. 1867
Christopher. born. 1869. Johanna.
born. 1870
Frederick. born, 1874.
There are twins in the family
on a number of occasions so it is possible that Edward and Edmund are twins but
as the records we researched are from two different sources it is possible that
Edward was a miss heard name of Edmund and they could be the same person one
can see that Samuel followed family tradition in naming his children with
family names with two exceptions ( Margaret and Frederick).
In 1877 Thomas died he had caught the Scarlatina /
Diphtheria childhood disease the
records tell us that Thomas lay in the Surry Bank Sanatorium hospital for four
days choking to death because of his swollen throat his father Samuel sat by
his bedside the whole time until his son had died that must have been a
terrible thing to witness Samuel signed his name with a X so up until this date
could not write but all of his children attended the National school at
Llantrisiant. There is a grave and headstone in the churchyard
of St Iltyd St Gwynno St Dyfodwg for
Thomas that reads
In Memory of Thomas son of
Samuel and Johanna Sparks
Of this town who died
Feb.21st 1877 aged
10 years.
The family
did not stay in the town for long after his death while they lived in
Llantrisaint one of the places they lived was at High Street in a house named
Ty-R-Meibion. Translated into English from the Welsh language it means the
house of men High Street has changed little so the house is still there.
Samuels employment in 1865 at
the birth of my Grandfather John was as a Colliery Banksman this work was on
the surface and entailed sorting out the drams that came up from underground
filled with coal cut by the face workers underground these drams would have to
be sorted and empty ones sent back down to be refilled by the miners
underground a very busy job as the miners underground where often paid by the
tonnage they produced in later years Samuel himself worked underground as did
his sons in 1915 the wage of a Banksman was six shillings a day Samuels wage
was a lot less than that at the time he was at llantrisaint.
After the death of his son Thomas
the family moved to the village of llangeinor at 28 Cardiff Street In the Garw
valley not all his children were living with him at that time.
Sparks living at Llangeinor, Glamorgan)
SPARKS Samuel
45 Labourer Sheldon, Devon.
Joanna 44 Wife Ballylangford Ireland.
Margaret 21 dau Llantrisant Glam
William 20 Son Llantrisant Glam
Edmond 18 son Llantrisant Glam.
Samuel
17 son Coalminer Llantrisant
John 15 son Llantrisant
Christopher
l2 son Llantrisant
Joanna
9 dau Llantrisant
Frederick
5 son Llantrisant
Frederick is the only one that we know of
who stayed in Llangeinor further up the valley at Nantymol was another family
of Sparks they were probably related.
I have mentioned that there was a slump
in agriculture that forced men like Samuel to seek work out side their home
counties in bad times members of the families of Sparks and Blackmores who
owned farms employed members of either family but there was only so much that
they could do Samuel like other young men of the farming communities left their
home counties for the South Wales coalmines what a culture shock that must have
been to Samuel he had been brought up in the clean air of the Devon
countryside.
Although he was now living and working in
the South Wales mountains and valleys the area had been made black and squalid
by the working of the mines there were steam engines blacksmiths forges and any number of small workshops all using
coal fires in some way or other to produce equipment for the mine the coalmines
belched out black coal dust from ventilation shafts also from these shafts that
were all around the area spewed black dirty smoke from fires that were kept
burning at the bottom of these shafts.
Ventilation of the underground galleries
and tunnels was achieved by burning coal fires at the bottom of the ventilation
shafts the upsurge of heated air to the surface created a draft that carried
the foul and dust laden air of the underground tunnels to the surface the dirty
smoke and dust laden air was carried by the wind to be deposited over the
surrounding area a truly nightmare scenario by today’s standards young boys
called door boys under ten years of age
many were only eight years old where employed underground looking after the
ventilation screens.
These boys would be sitting at junctions
of the underground tunnels they worked long hours
10-12
hours at a time sitting alone at their posts most of the time without
light and when the air got too foul in one tunnel the boys would close the
tunnel that had been receiving the draft from the ventilation shafts and open
the foul aired tunnel.
This was achieved by the simple procedure
of closing or opening the tunnel by means of a barrier that closed off the
tunnels that had been receiving the welcome draft and opening the barrier to the
foul tunnel so that it would receive the full benefit of the ventilation draft
the barriers where made of canvas or wood.
Those ventilation fires were the cause of
many an underground explosion as the gas levels rose in the tunnels and were
drawn towards the fire the men tried to prevent this buildup of gas by
continually calling on the young boys at the screens to open the tunnel to the
draft there was also a man employed as a Fireman.
His work entailed the safe setting fire
to gas pockets he was furnished with a long pole on the end of which was a live
flame he pushed this flame towards the gas setting it afire if he miss
calculated the amount of Damp gas that was in the pocked he would be the first
person to die as the gas would erupt into a huge explosion.
At this period young boys and women were
employed underground assisting the miners by physically pushing the filled
drams to the mine shaft to be conveyed to ground level and returning to the
coal face with empty drams they also brought back pit props for the miners to
shore up the tunnel roof they did countless small jobs to aid the miners who
stopped for nothing in their work at cutting coal some of these youngsters
labored at loading some of the drams with caol it was not until 1841 that the child
labor act came into force this prevented very young children from working
underground it was also the start of women and young girls not being allowed to
work underground.
After
1877 Samuel was working in the mines in the Garw valley then by the early 1900
they were living at Caerau just out side the town
of Measteg they lived at 139 CAERAU
ROAD they worked at the Caerau pit Samuel was employed as a roadman and John
his son was employed as a Haulier two very dangerous jobs that required absolute
trust in each other.
The
work of a Hauler was at the pit shaft bottom he was in charge of the steam
powered winch attached to the winch was a steel cable that was attached at it’s
other end to the drams of coal filled by the miners the Haulier operated the winch
and hauled the drams to the pit shaft bottom there he loaded them into the
lifting cage sending them up to the top above ground.
The
roadman was in charge of hooking the full drams to the train of drams attached
to the cable of the winch these full drams were left at the side tunnels by the
miners the roadman would uncouple an empty dram and leave it in place of the
full one he was taking away many a roadman had been crushed between the drams
in the act of uncoupling or hooking on the full drams each man relied on
signals given by the other that’s where absolute trust came into the Job at the
winch no Hauliers wanted a snapped cable flying back at him.
One
of the major benefits that came about for miners working underground was the
Pit pony these clever little horses could do a lot accept plod along with their
heads lowered because of the height of the roof of the tunnel because of the
employ of the pit pony to pull the drams underground the roof of the tunnels
were made higher thus the miner no longer had to walk around the main
galleries half bent over but at the
side tunnels and the coal face men still had to crawl around almost on their
hands and knees this situation lasted for many years when the pit pony was
introduced into the mines the job of hauliers changed for instead of having to
operate a winch the Hauler was to use the pit pony hitched to the train of
filled drams.
The
mines were a very dangerous workplace roof falls were pretty common an uncle of
mine was crushed by a large stone that became dislodged from the roof it broke
his back he was never to walk again right up into the 1930’s naked flame was
used underground in the shape of candles to work by also there were cap lamps
called peg and ball the ball was filled with Paraffin whilst the stick like
wick protruded through the ball soaking up the paraffin with a naked flame at
its tip.
Carbide
lamps where also used at this time dry carbide powder and chips where placed in
the bottom part of the Lamp whilst a steady drip of water was released onto the
carbide the wet carbide produced a gas that was highly flammable this when lit
produced a flame this lamp in itself was dangerous as Carbide gas was a very
explosive gas under pressure if not released fast enough the lamp could explode
so the mixing of water and Carbide had to be exact and the flame burn had to
take away the gas generated before pressure built up too high later models were
a lot better but still dangerous underground.
When
my father worked at Dyffryn pit he had to work lying down sometimes in water but as a young man he
left the mines but that did not save him from the miners lung disease he
suffered many years with this disease the dust the men had to breath as there
were no means of filtering the dust from the air would clog the lungs scars
would form inside the lungs due to the abrasive nature of these coal dust
particles these were always susceptible to infection as time went on the effect
of dust clogged lungs and continual infections caused a rapid decline in
breathing ability the sight of an ex-miner struggling to get air into damaged
lungs is not a sight one would want to witness that we had to witness my father
going through that will live with us forever.
Boys
of his young age were used to crawl on their stomachs into low coal seams
hacking at the coal wall with small hammer sized picks in front of them they
would have a steel or wooden box called a curling box or sledge into this with
their bare hands they loaded the coal they had just cut then inch their way
backwards for they where unable to turn round they would drag the box of coal
to a dram in the main tunnel into this dram they would tip the contents of
their curling box then crawl back to their coal seam to start the process all
over again with no light mostly in pitch darkness we can only imagine the
terror of a young boys first days down in the mine and not forgetting that
prior to 1841 very young boys and girls
did the same type of work.
Hygiene
at the pit was non existent no toilet facilities for the men when a worker had
to obey the call of nature he would use one of the disused tunnels called gobs if he was lucky enough to be
near one otherwise he did it where he could often only feet away from his
workmates he ate his food at the working face once down in the tunnels the
miner stayed down until end of shift often twelve hours or more each man and
boy had to carry his own water and food with them to the working area in some
pits this meant a few miles walk in underground galleries in pitch darkness
candles and other lighting aids had to be saved for use at the time they were
digging away at the main coal face men were not paid until they actually
started to dig coal there were no washing facilities at any of the pits.
The
Rates paid for working the 7ft seam at Caerau
Collery near Maesteg when my Grt
Grandfather worked there along with some of his sons I thank Byron Gage
Secretary of the Cymmer local History society for his help in compiling the
following rates
Messrs.
NORTHS' NAVIGATiON LIMiTED.
S D
1. Cuttirg and filling Clean Large Coal .. 2 9' per-ton
2 , Cleaning
Brass and Gobbing 1/1/2 “”””
3. Coal Sticking
half width of working face ..- I.4 per ton
Coal Sticking over whole width of working face. 2.7. per ton
4. Headings narrow,
11 feet wide. 5. 10. per yd.
wide, or through faces, not
under 12 feet Wide 3- 10.7 – per yd
5. . Level headings, if driven the Same. Dimensions
as wide Headings 3 10.7. per yd
6. Driving
Airways, Double Rib 2. 9 , per yd
7. Cutting
open Stalls, long cut only, with one Rib 1. 4 /1/2 per yd
with
Two Ribs 2. 9
per yd
8. . Double
Turn. Two Men in headings. 1. 4!/2 per yd
Double turn third man only.
8.2 per yd
9. Walling
headings. Gob not less than 4 feet
wide. 1. 0.4
per yd
Walling Headings if turning
stalls on both sides
payment to be made on both sides
10.
Double Turn in stalls, if required by the management. 0 2.7
per Ton
11. Setting timber 7ft to 9ft when
required.
2. 4.8 per pair
12. Walling waste.
11. per yd
13. Unloading rubbish including walling. 7.6 per tram
A Collier (Face working miner) had to pay
his assistant out of his own wage a minimum assistants wage was set down that
the collier had to pay at the 1915 rate it was
Between
the age of 14 and 15 2 shillings 3
pence per day plus percentage of Tonnage
There was a scale as the age of the assistant increased over 21
the assistant was paid by the Collier 5 shillings a day plus percentage this
was the lowest rate they could legally pay their assistants but they could pay
nine pence more without involving management Colliers soon learnt to pay the
best assistants the extra nine pence for then his work load increased and they
both had a higher percentage of tonnage produced peace work in industry is not a
new thing the miner earned his wages in this manner almost from the start of
mining in South Wales.
Hauliers underground earned five shillings eleven and a half
pence per day if they were on tonnage it was six shillings and three pence per
day
Roadmen underground were paid Five shillings eleven and a half
pence per day
A Banksman working above ground was paid six shillings per day.
Other
hazards faced the miner besides roof falls rats abounded underground and they
were not afraid of the miners they would try to raid the food supply of the
miner for that reason food was carried in metal boxes sometimes called a snap
as was the water this was a metal bottle called a Jack miners were bitten by
these creatures quite often and some contracted deadly diseases from the rat
bite.
Water
was a constant problem and soaking wet a miner had to finish his shift this led
to all sorts of illnesses the coal dust they breathed led to the deadly miners
Lung disease’s gas underground was a deadly and sometimes silent killer
survivors of a gas inhalation if severe were condemned to live their lives
almost unable to breath due to the damage caused by the gas not many survived .
Many
miners bred Canaries as this little bird would be taken by the miners
underground there it would be placed where the miners could take a look at it
every now and again not for any other reason accept that when gas started to
build up as it had no smell to it the only way the miner could tell if it was
present was by looking at the bird as the tiny creature was more susceptible to
the gas it would die at the first hint of a build up of gas if one of the
miners found that the bird was dead they would all run for their lives to get
clear of the deadly invisible killer if they did not suffocate first the gas
could be triggered into a mighty explosion.
The
grt Grandfather of my Brother in Law was killed in one of the worst mining
disasters in Port Talbot William Cuthbert Barrass was under manager at Morfa
colliery in 1890 he was underground sorting out problems when a huge explosion
ripped through the mine killing William and 86 miners it was impossible for
rescue to be attempted the mine was reopened some time later then five years
after the explosion miners working in a heading broke through into the old
workings there they found huddled together a number of bodies these were some
of the miners of that 1890 disaster they had survived the explosion but
probably knew that their rescue was not possible they had huddled together to comfort each other waiting for death
among the dead miners was the remains of William Cuthbert Barrass he was
Identified by his Gold watch which was inscribed with his name .
The
recovered watch was cleaned and still works to this day unfortunately this
Barrass heirloom part of their family history passed out of the hands of the
Barrass family.
My Grandfather John met the widow Adaline Rickets and they
married on APRIL 24th 1905 she and JOHN SPARKS were married in the parish
church of LLANGYNWYD about seven miles from CAERAU near MEASTEG in the COUNTY
of GLAMORGAN.
The details of the certificate of marriage were.No, 282 WHEN
MARRIED APRIL 24 1905 NAME AND SURNAME JOHN SPARKS. AGE 39 CONDITION BACHELOR
RANK OR PROFESSION HAULIER This job was
at CAERAU PIT RESIDENCE AT THE TIME OF
MARRIAGE 139 CAERAU ROAD(CAERAU) FATHERS NAME AND SURNAME SAMUEL SPARKS.
RANK OR PROFESSION OF FATHER. ROADMAN
THE DETAILS FOR ADELINE ELIZEBETH. RICKETTS AGE 36 -- --- RESIDENCE 18
HERMAN ROAD (CAERAU) FATHERS NAME AND SURNAME THOMAS JONES .In the presence of
THOMAS GEORGE JONES AND DAVIS? HUDSON they lived at Victoria Terrace.
The story of the RICKETTS
family was that Adaline Elizabeth Jones
BORN 1866 was married to a man named RICKETTS she had six children by him three
boys and three girls
George Alwyn Johnny .Alizabeth Olive .Katy .known as kitty the
family owned and ran a business (SHOP)? in CAERAU When her husband left to work
in the mines in CANADA. he left his wife to sell up and follow him out with the
children.
He was killed in the
FRANKS SLIDE AT CROWSNEST PASS.on APRIL 29th 1903 a 90-million- ton wall of
rock split from the side of TURTLE MOUNTAIN at 4-10.am in the morning most
people were asleep when a gigantic wedge of limestone 2.100 feet high 3.000
feet wide and 500 feet thick crashed down from TURTLE MOUNTAIN.
Ninety million tons of rock swept over a mile of valley
destroying part of the town of FRANK 70
lives were lost men women and children.
It buried an entire mine plant and railway in approximately 100
seconds the old town was at the western edge of the slide Killed with Ricketts
was CHRISTOPHER SPARKS age 34 who was
born at llantrisaint 1869 the son of SAMUEL SPARKS brother to John Sparks
another tragic death of one of the Sparks a group of South Wales miners had
left to start new lives in Canada they had only arrived at Frank some hours
earlier to start work in the coal mines of Frank the town and everyone in it is
still buried at Frank there was so much heavy rock that they had no means to
dig them out..
Even after a hundred years the path of the slide
can be plainly seen
.
Turtle mountain had become
unstable due to the amount of Tunneling for coal when we were there we heard a
story of a group of miners working deep inside the mountain when the landslide
happened the tunnels were blocked solid with rock from the collapsed tunnels
the miners tried to dig their way out back through the blocked tunnel but it
was hopeless the collapse was complete.
We had better make our peace with
the almighty one of the miners said and led the men in prayer they sang hymns
sitting around in the small space that had been their coal face workings such a
short time past one of the miners stood up I cannot wait for death if I am to
die then I will die working hard as I have always done in my life.
He swung his pick high and
brought it down hard striking the wall of their tomb with a roar and rush of
cold air the whole wall fell away and before and below them they saw the open
sky while some two hundred feet below
they saw that the whole valley was covered with rubble the men could not
believe their luck first they had survived the tunnel collapsing behind them
then the mountain had split just inches from them another few inches and they
would have been swept away in the slide then for one of their number to decide
to dig rather than wait for death and hit the wall just where it was
weakest A true miracle.
Adeline had two children by JOHN SPARKS a son Edward born 4 March
1906 my father and a daughter NELLIE
CATHERINE born 1904 Nellie was 11 years old when she died of Scarletina.in 1915 at Aberafan yet another young
Sparks to be taken by this disease.
By 1915 John and Adaline had moved to Aberafan Edward went to
school in the national school in St Mary’s hall until he left to start work his
first job was at Dyfryn pit working with a collier but he was determined that
he was not going to become a miner over the next couple of years he worked
underground with a few telling’s off for taking days off this went on for some
time but he was a hard worker and the collier did not want to lose him then
came decision day.
They were working in a three foot seam which was flooded for most
of the time they took turns in digging only their head above water as they lay
in the seam digging the Collier told my father carry on digging that seam I am
going into the heading he walks off my father scrambles out of the seam and
walks off up to the heading catching up with the Collier who said I told you to
stay in that seam my fathers reply was if that seam is too much for you then it
is too much for me I have had enough that was the last day my father worked in
a pit the Collier called round to my grandmother pleading with her to make my
father change his mind but my grandmother supported her son if he wants to
leave the pits then he shall.
I remember when I left school I had a green ticket from the
employment exchange to go to work underground my father asked me what job they
had given me when I showed him my green card he tore it up no son of mine will
ever go down a pit he told me go look for another job.
I thank my lucky stars
that my father felt the way he did about the mines now that I know what a
terrible place they were to work in he never romanced about his years in the
pits they were a dreadful place to work and he made no attempt to tell tales of
the mines other than what they were a place not fit for anyone to work in.
Story after story I have heard ex-miners tell of the work of a
miner and the comradeship they had for one and other I remember the stories
told by my father I read of the coal bosses and other historical works
sometimes I listen in amazment.
I wonder that some of these ex-miners can tell a different story
of how wonderful a miners life was I am afraid these ex-miners live in a romantic
world of make believe trying to glorify a way of life that ruined the health
and lives of so many .
Comradeship there had to be for all through the mining era men
had to fight the bosses for a living wage fight also to improve working
conditions fight to get compensation for their injuries and ill health the
miners did stick together and thanks to their efforts benefits hard won from
the coal bosses spilled over into other industries no one can take from the
miner the achievements he gained for fellow workers.
But a wonderful place to work it was not men chose that way of
earning a living for that was the only way they could put a roof over the heads
of their family feed their children and clothe them given the choice how many of
those long ago miners would chose to work in the coal mines.
Those early miners who worked in that industry I truly admire for
they worked in those conditions so that their families could prosper they paid
out of their own meagre wages money put towards a fund to build Institutes of
learning so that their children had a chance to become something other than a
miner many of those mining families children did become great leaders in all
fields of Government arts business throughout the world the miner paid to set up clubs for young children to use these
clubs have become a web of youth clubs all over the uk.
After the coal mine my father worked for Richard Thomas and
Baldwins in the tinplate industry working hard he progressed through the
hotmill some years later I was to follow in his footsteps as a tinplate worker.
My Father and mother met as teenagers in fact my mother was just
sixteen when they where married they remained married for over sixty years only
parting at my fathers passing in 1993 that year was their sixty fourth year
together my mother passed away a few short months later in 1994 they had eight
children twins died almost at birth four daughters and two sons where brought
up my father left the tinplate works and started working at the carbide factory
during the war my father did not go to the army as he was on important war work
producing the carbide for munitions he was in the Home Guard and did the usual
training and patrol duty.
My mother worked in the ammunitions factory producing ammunitions
for the forces this continued until the end of the war my father continued to
work in the Carbide factory until the late 1950’s when the years in the coal
mine started to take its toll on his health the scars on his lungs left by the
hard coal dust turned to TB a killer disease we feared the worst in those days
no one recovered from TB but my father was as strong as ever.
I always remember him as a strong spirited man never letting
things get him down it was at that time the drug antimisen came on the scene a cure for TB my father
among others were the guinea pigs it cured thousand of people my father being
one of them we had him back but from that point on the miners lung disease took
its toll but in spite of the disease he lived another forty odd years.
One of my older sisters the next oldest to me emigrated to Canada
in the early fifties her husband had just left collage as an architect he had
his call up papers to join the army the next day not wanting to go to the army
he left the country and they ended up in Canada there my sister lived and
brought up a son and daughter single handed she was told that she had a month
to live as she had cancer she had never smoked in her life led a healthy
lifestyle but became exposed to asbestos dust this was what caused her cancer.
After being given a month to live most people would have given up
the fight not so my sister she lived another thirty odd years fighting her
cancer every step of the way another Sparks with that iron will to succeed.
My Mother was born in
November 30th 1910 in Aberbargoed in the Rhondda valleys her
mother Martha nee Jenkins her father
was James Jones she was Christened Mary
Violet Anne she and my father were
married on October 5th 1929 her father left them as young children not
entirely his fault but the fact remains she and her siblings never knew their
father after a very young age he served in France in the Army it was on his
demob that he left for good.
By 1926 Martha had moved with her children to Aberafan where my
mothers half sister Gwen (Gwenllian) was born at 12 Cornwall street the
children of Martha and James Jones where.
James (Jimmy) Son Aberbargoed
Robert ( Bobby) Son. Aberbargoed
Mary.
Dau. Aberbargoed
Harriet.
Dau. Aberbargoed
Children not of James Jones
Violet. Half
sister. Aberbargoed.
Children of Martha and partner Hugh Thomas Jones (Luie )
David ( Dai
) Son. Aberafan
Thomas. (Tommy) Son.
Aberafan
Gwenllian ( Gwen
) Dau. Aberafan.
The dreaded disease of Cancer took Martha when Dai Tommy and Gwen
were very young and they were placed in a home for children a sad time for the
small children of the Jones family what became of the Jones family will be told
in the Sparks family book.
The events related in this page were of the hard times of the
late 1800’s through to the mid to late 1950’s when times got better it does not
tell of the time when no food was to be had 1921 for there was no money to pay
for it nor does it tell of families scouring the waste tips of the Collieries
in search of bits of coal to heat the home or sell for food.
Or the brutal tactics of police drafted in to drive men back to
work or the selfless action of sharing what little one had with a neighbour.
It does not tell of the coal mine disasters of over 200 from 1695
to 1971 the death toll in mining disasters were over 6000 men women and
children and that is only in Wales
anyone who claims they were the good old days could not have been there
to live those days.