Problems with the Workforce - Air Raid Precautions - Shortages and Other Problems - Finedon Railway - Other Constructions - A Typical Hand-Mining Working Face 1937 to 1965 - Looking to the Future
Problems with the Workforce
During the war years the mine
produced nearly 2 million tons of ore, equivalent to the tonnage produced
during the whole of the previous 20 years.
Considering that all this ore had to be lifted from the floor
into wagons by muscle power alone, and given all the wartime problems which arose, it
is astounding that this output was achievable.
It was a highly labour-intensive enterprise and, maintaining a sufficient labour-force was always
difficult, particularly during the early wartime months when young able-bodied
men were still free to leave the Company to join the Forces.
To produce the tonnage required by Ebbw Vale the mine and quarry ran two shifts daily, and the Sinter Plant worked
continuously on three shifts.
Under the
Essential Work Order
which was introduced nationally in March 1941, men, when ‘called up’, could opt
instead to work in essential industries.
Under this Order the Irthlingborough Mine began to draw new workers from, in particular, the shoe factories
and building firms in Irthlingborough and surrounding towns, though some men were recruited from further afield.
These recruits were consequently known as ‘optants’ (not
to be confused with ‘Bevin Boys’ who were compulsorily selected by ballot to work in the coal mines after 1943).
Unfortunately many of the men who were sent to
Irthlingborough Mine were unsuited to the arduous work required.
For instance, in July 1940 two coal miners from Deal in Kent, not local optants, arrived
to be set on as helpers; a fortnight later, however, they each tendered their
notice saying that the work was too heavy.
A Belgian worker, taken on in 1943, appealed to an organisation in London claiming ‘work too big, pay too little’.
In March 1943, following further appeals against
working conditions by a number of disgruntled optants, the National Service
Officer visited the mine, with a colleague, to see for himself the working conditions
underground.
He expressed surprise that conditions, on the contrary, were so congenial, having regard to the statements made by many applicants for release.
Later a Ministry of Labour official called at the mine to assess manpower needs, and was told,
in no uncertain terms, that prospective underground workers should be of the
‘navvy’ type; optants received to date were not assisting, were a liability and
miners were refusing to work with them (a miner with an inefficient helper would find his own potential daily earnings reduced).
By 1945 nearly 20% of underground workers were absent during the week.
On Saturdays it was even worse with up to 36%
of the men not arriving for work.
These men felt that it was hardly worth the
time and effort spent travelling to the mine and walking up to one mile underground
to their working place, to load ore for only half a day and, in effect, be doing
little more, they felt,than ‘earning money for the Tax man’
Whilst labour relations were usually amicable, the following example, recorded in the Weekly Report for 5 March 1945, illustrates the type of
dispute that could occasionally arise.
The following list shows the number of workers employed at the mine in January 1942, their home town or
village and its distance in miles from the Steps Entrance.
At that time there were a total of 472 employees. (In October the following year the workforce
had risen to 530 men,
the maximum number ever employed).
Distance in Miles
Distance in Kilometres
Numbers Employed
Irthlingborough
1
1.6
160
Finedon
2
3.2
125
Wellingborough
4
6.4
75
Burton Latimer
4
6.4
85
Kettering
8
12.9
15
Higham Ferrers
3
4.8
10
The Addingtons
3
4.8
10
Rushden
4
6.4
7
Raunds
5
8
7
Irchester
4
6.4
7
The Harrowdens
6
9.7
5
Woodford
5
8
5
Ringstead
6
9.7
4
Stanwick
3
4.8
3
Cranford
7
11.2
3
Earls Barton
8
12.9
3
Wilby
6
9.7
2
Thrapston
10
16
2
Lavendon
13
20.9
2
Bozeat
9
14.5
1
Wollaston
7
11.2
1
In May 1943 the Mine Manager was driven to compose a series of 14
exhortations which were to be placed in the men’s weekly pay packets.
He appealed to their patriotism with such stirring words as :-
Unfortunately these appeals did not appear to have any effect; absenteeism continued to rise,
and only returned to a normal 5% after all of those men, who had been previously directed to work underground,
had returned to their peace-time occupations.
Another problem, which had to be
addressed in February 1945, was the late arrival, and early leaving, of miners
from the Steps Entrance.
A Mine Deputy was appointed to keep a record of offenders at the entrance for one week.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, the 26th. of February, a
fight broke out between a miner and the Deputy, who suffered a cut cheek.
No record of the early leavers was made that
afternoon as a result, and the miner was prosecuted at Wellingborough
Magistrates Court the following week.
Miners maintained that if they had used up all
their explosive there was no point in remaining at the face, and they objected
to carrying more than 5 lbs. (2.27 kg.) of explosives.
Eventually, after opposition on their behalf by their Union, miners were persuaded by the management to carry more powder.
By September 1944 absenteeism
and short-time working had reached such high proportions that the management felt
obliged to take strong action.
On one occasion the Under Manager and the Mine Agent talked directly to the face workers
on the afternoon shift at their various Meeting Stations underground, and told
them that, henceforth, offenders would be reported to the Ministry of Labour
for prosecution.
Other workers would be confronted in the following week.
This problem was not confined to
Irthlingborough Mine, as the following notice, posted at the Steps Entrance, shows
:-
The following week it was reported laconically :-
Air Raid Precautions
In the event of an Air Raid the Company was given an early ‘Purple Warning’ before the public air raid siren was sounded and, in order to reduce the glow from the
Sinter Plant, work on the plant had to
stop. Problems were also caused by the
glow from the kilns, which had been brought back into use in March 1940.
The Weekly Report of the 19 October 1940 noted:-
In the same week it was reported :-
In December 1940 the Sinter
Plant Superintendent discovered that, if the speed of the sinter strand were to be
reduced to 40 inches (101.6 cms.) per minute, the glow was reduced and sintering could
proceed during raids.
In June 1940, 2 inch (5.08 cms.) water pipes were laid on top of the kilns so that, should an air attack be imminent, water could be sprayed into
the kilns to extinguish the glow.
These air raids were particularly disruptive
during 1940, but became less so as the war progressed.
During the week ending 9 August 1940 nearly 30 hours were lost due to enemy action.
As it happened, the Irthlingborough Works were
never attacked, and the nearest the war came to the plant was at 1 am. on the
night of Thursday 4 June 1942, when a
Whitley bomber
of 297 Squadron,
Netheravon, Wiltshire crashed, after engine failure, behind the Ebbw Vale
Cottages on Wellingborough Road.
The plane normally carried a crew of five. Two men survived the crash and were able to tell the rescuers that there were no bombs on board. Sadly, the other three airmen perished in the flames.
It only just missed the cottages but damaged 12 yds. (10.97 m.) of hedge and severed the overhead electricity supply,
cutting off the power to the mine ventilation fan and affecting the power
supply to the working faces, causing the drills to work more slowly.
The miners went home as a result, although it
was considered by the management ‘that there was no excuse’.
The Company was, however, continually organising Air Raid Precaution drills with the surface
workers; the following entry in the Weekly Report of the 8 August 1942 describes
the procedure.
In November 1940 two air raid shelters
were built near the Sinter Plant, and the entrance to the mine was made
available as a temporary air raid shelter to residents in the Ebbw Vale
Cottages on Wellingborough Road.
Shortages and Other Problems
One of the main problems in maintaining
dispatches of iron ore to Ebbw Vale was the restricted availability of main
line hopper wagons.
On occasions work underground, and in the Sinter Plant, had to be stopped due to the shortage of these
wagons.
Enemy action was a constant threat; for example, during the week ending 5 October 1940 the supply of
hopper wagons was delayed by aerial attacks on the railway.
Several times during 1945 it was reported that hopper wagons had been
diverted to Newport to unload ships bringing in foreign ore for Ebbw Vale.
It was imperative that these ships be unloaded as quickly
as possible, and every available wagon was needed.
The hand-held electric drills were continually breaking down, and the armatures needed to be rewound by
direct labour in the Company’s workshops.
Unfortunately, in October 1942, the one electrician who was expert at this task was conscripted into the Forces, and other
electricians had to be trained to do this specialist work.
Replacement parts were not available, and miners
had to revert to using the old hand-ratchet drills which took much longer to
drill holes, resulting in a loss of output.
In July 1944 a miner and his helper, anxious to keep possession of an
electric drill, were found to have hidden it under a pile of iron ore.
When it was pointed out to them that this act was a hindrance to production,
and also foolish treatment of the machine, both men promised not to do such a
thing again; as evidence of their regret they volunteered to contribute 10/- (50p) each to the P.O.W fund.
In October 1940 it was recorded that,
because steel arches for roof support were unobtainable, the Company had to
resort to using 34 lb. (15.42 kg) rails and timber wherever roof support was required.
Throughout the war, in order to
avoid a complete shut-down during the normal August holiday week, the Company
arranged for miners to take their leave in batches.
On the 6 May 1940 the first 6 miners
and 6 day workers were allowed to take their annual week’s holiday with
pay.
This process continued throughout the
year until the Autumn.
The sticky nature of the quarry
stone continued to cause problems in the ore preparation plant at
Irthlingborough, particularly during the winter months.
The only solution was to mix the contents of the wagons
coming from Finedon with the drier stone coming from the mine.
Various proportions were used, sometimes up to 5 mine
wagons to 1 quarry wagon. Eventually the
iron ore in the southern part of Buccleuch Quarry was found to contain an
unacceptably high level of sulphur, and for this reason, also, wagons had to be
mixed to even out the sulphur content during the autumn of 1945.
Many of the workers lived in outlying villages and there was a particular problem for those who relied on the local bus
service. Many men on the afternoon shift would
leave the mine early, soon after 10 p.m., to catch the last bus home.
In November 1942 the United Counties Omnibus Co. Ltd. was prevailed upon to
provide a late bus, leaving Irthlingborough Cross for Wellingborough at 11.15 p.m.
(11.20 p.m. on the A6 near the Steps Entrance).
Finedon Railway
When it was found that the
quantity of iron ore from Buccleuch Quarry had reached the limit of the amount that
could be handled at Irthlingborough, and in an effort to increase the quarry output
sent to Ebbw Vale each week, it was decided to lay a standard gauge railway direct
from the quarry to connect with the, now, London Midland & Scottish Railway, just
north of Wellingborough [fig.1].
Land north of Harrowden Lane, Finedon, was also prepared for the laying down of calcining banks.
One of those banks still remains on the north side of Harrowden Lane, adjacent to the River Ise.
The route, and the levels of ‘cut and
fill’ for the track, were designed at Irthlingborough.
The work was paid for by The Ministry of Supply in October 1940, and carried out by
the Trevor Construction Company Ltd.
2,040 yds. (1865.38 m.) of track, together with a
weighbridge, were laid. A concrete bridge
under Station Road, Finedon, a level crossing over Harrowden
Lane and a bridge across the River Ise were also
constructed.
Huts, camp beds, sleeping bags, blankets, palliasses, pillows, 50 wooden lockers and trestle tables were
supplied for the use of the construction workers.
Italian prisoners of war were brought in by
bus from their camp each day to supplement the workforce.
In September 1942 the following note in the Weekly Report suggests that they continued to be employed after the track was
completed.
In October 1942 it was reported that :-
Given all the problems that were encountered during the war years, it is amazing that the levels of production at
the mine were maintained at an average of 6,000 tons per week; indeed, in November 1944, the mine reached an output of 35,683 tons (36,255.6 tonnes),
equivalent to 7,137 tons (7,251.53 tonnes) per week.
Other Constructions
In April 1940 a new explosives
magazine was built alongside the cinder track which gave access to the Steps
Entrance, and the existing magazine near the Laboratory at Irthlingborough was demolished.
A second storey was built onto the Laboratory building in October 1942 and the Offices were moved there from Pine Lodge.
The ambulance room was repositioned in the Laboratory in December 1944 to allow an office to be
established within the building for the Mine Under-Manager.
A Typical Hand-Mining Working Face 1937 to 1965
The system of hand-mining as described here was a standard practice in the mine after the introduction of
hand-held electric drills in 1937, and carried on even after the advent of mechanisation in 1947.
The photograph (fig. 2) shows a
miner and his helper working at the face.
Having filled their wagon, they are
waiting for the ‘tractor boy’, seen sitting in his Greenwood & Batley
Battery Locomotive, to haul the wagon to the siding outside the district.
The miner has chalked the wagon with his
number, ‘2 ’, and the number of his wagon loaded that week, ‘14.’
In order to get as much ore as possible into
the wagon they have stacked large lumps on top.
Miners were instructed to restrict the height of the stacked stone to
21" (53.34 cms.) above the top of the wagon.
In March 1944 miners were found to be overfilling the wagons and this caused problems
when they entered the tipplers at the surface (see illustration of
tipplers in Chapter Two).
In order to make sure that the excess ore was removed before the wagon was weighed, a
horizontal bar was erected at the surface, before the weighbridge, which
scraped off the extra ore as the wagons passed beneath.
In the two weeks ending 20 March 1944, 60 tons (61 tonnes) were taken from wagons in this way.
The miners asked for this ore, known
henceforth as ‘Bar Stone’, to be allocated between them all, in equal
proportions.
The Company acceded to their request, but warned them that in future no other payment for Bar Stone
would be made.
The photograph also shows the miner’s drills, each marked with his number, a wooden stemming rod and a metal
crowbar.
In the foreground can be seen a drum containing the electric cable, which was unwound as the tunnel advanced, to feed the hand-held
electric drill at the face (not shown).
Looking to the Future
Ever since the Ebbw Vale
Conference, in 1920, the Company had considered ways of introducing a mechanical
system of handling the ore underground, but economic events in the steel
industry during the 1920’s and 1930’s had prevented any further advance.
In 1937 the Mine Agent from Irthlingborough made a trip to Northern Germany to see a mechanical loader in operation
but, owing to the declaration of war in 1939, nothing further came of it. In 1944, however, the Company again turned its
attention to devising a scheme of producing more iron ore with fewer men. They no doubt realised at that
time that, when hostilities ended, and the Essential Work Order was lifted,
half of the workforce would return to their peacetime occupations, resulting in a
reduction of output from 6,000 tons to a probable 3,000 tons per week.
It was, therefore, imperative that a system of mechanical
loading be introduced to increase the output per-man-shift; the first experiments began in the closing
months of the war.
quantity of iron ore from Buccleuch Quarry had reached the limit of the amount that
could be handled at Irthlingborough, and in an effort to increase the quarry output
sent to Ebbw Vale each week, it was decided to lay a standard gauge railway direct
from the quarry to connect with the, now, London Midland & Scottish Railway, just
north of Wellingborough [fig.1].
Land north of Harrowden Lane, Finedon, was also prepared for the laying down of calcining banks.
One of those banks still remains on the north side of Harrowden Lane, adjacent to the River Ise.
The route, and the levels of ‘cut and
fill’ for the track, were designed at Irthlingborough.
The work was paid for by The Ministry of Supply in October 1940, and carried out by
the Trevor Construction Company Ltd.
2,040 yds. (1865.38 m.) of track, together with a
weighbridge, were laid. A concrete bridge
under Station Road, Finedon, a level crossing over Harrowden
Lane and a bridge across the River Ise were also
constructed.
Huts, camp beds, sleeping bags, blankets, palliasses, pillows, 50 wooden lockers and trestle tables were
supplied for the use of the construction workers.
Italian prisoners of war were brought in by
bus from their camp each day to supplement the workforce.
In September 1942 the following note in the Weekly Report suggests that they continued to be employed after the track was
completed. 
waiting for the ‘tractor boy’, seen sitting in his Greenwood & Batley
Battery Locomotive, to haul the wagon to the siding outside the district.
The miner has chalked the wagon with his
number, ‘2 ’, and the number of his wagon loaded that week, ‘14.’
In order to get as much ore as possible into
the wagon they have stacked large lumps on top.
Miners were instructed to restrict the height of the stacked stone to
21" (53.34 cms.) above the top of the wagon.
In March 1944 miners were found to be overfilling the wagons and this caused problems
when they entered the tipplers at the surface (see illustration of
tipplers in Chapter Two).
In order to make sure that the excess ore was removed before the wagon was weighed, a
horizontal bar was erected at the surface, before the weighbridge, which
scraped off the extra ore as the wagons passed beneath.
In the two weeks ending 20 March 1944, 60 tons (61 tonnes) were taken from wagons in this way.
The miners asked for this ore, known
henceforth as ‘Bar Stone’, to be allocated between them all, in equal
proportions.
The Company acceded to their request, but warned them that in future no other payment for Bar Stone
would be made.