Wigan Album

I think this the King Mine,as it appears to be reasonably thick and split in to 2 leaves: the Upper and Lower King. The Queen seam normally about half a metre thich would be a couple of metres or so below the King,and usually left solid

Mike Barton, you seem to be a very knowledgeable chap about the local coalfield geology. Are you ex NCB/British Coal as I am?

Hello Chris
Well spotted. I worked for NCB/BC Opencast in total for nearly 18 years. I was one of the Geologists based in the offices at Kirkless, for 8 of those years and I had a hand in managing the exploratory drilling, coring and geologging on most of the opencast sites in and around the Wigan area.

Hello Mike.
Your name does sound familiar. I may have heard it mentioned. I was a Surveyor in deep mines for 16 years from !972 till 1988. Mainly at Golborne. I worked with Tony France the Geologist quite a lot,logging the tunnel drivages. I knew a few of the opencast surveyors at the time, Dave Woodward, Alan Green, Billy Forster. I always meant to pay a visit to an opencast site when they were all the rage round here but never got round to it.

Hi Chris.

I knew you were an ex Coal Board man from some of your other posts and comments on WW. I knew both Tony France, and Gerry Price who was the other Deep Mines Geologist based in Lancashire, quite well, via work and through membership of Wigan Geological Society. I can well remember the trip down Bickershaw that Tony organised for a few of us from the opencast. I moved away from Lancs. to coalfields new (to me anyway!) in 1984 and lost touch with him.

A couple of times year, about a dozen or so former North west opencast staff meet up for a drink and catch up etc. The last time we met was only a couple of weeks ago and Dave Woodward turned up unexpectedly. If he comes again I will remember you to him. Sadly Alan has passed away, and I don't know what Billy Fulster is up to. I gather he went to work for Warrington New Town for a few years and then moved on to English Partnerships but I don't know if he is still there.
Best regards and have a good Christmas.

Hello Mike
I didn't know about Alan passing away. Sad to hear that.

Where are you working now or are you retired like me? When I left British Coal in 1988, I went working as a freelance site engineer in construction up until I decided to retire earlier this year. Didn't Dave Woodward have his own mining company? Billy ( I always get his name wrong)I used to see at Wigan Latics often, but not for a few years now.
Anyway, all the best to you for Christmas.

Hi Chris
Dave Woodward did set up his own company and it seems to have been a success for him. I stayed with British Coal until 1992. In 1984 I decided to change disciplines and moved from Wigan to become a Site Engineer in Yorkshire. I was only there for short while and then came down to the West Mids coalfields, working mainly in Shropshire (Telford area). Post the British Coal era, I worked for West Mids Regional Development Agency for a number of years but like you I am now retired. All the best, Mike.

What interesting posts - it's good to hear from the men "behind the scenes" so to speak - all vital contributors to the most important of Wigan's (and this countries) once great industries.

great to see this Eddie. I used to work at Todds and knew Vinny well, i remember him getting that Leyland 6 wheeler brand new, he drove an old erf before that i think.