The Haynes Family: The Villas, 134 Laughton Road, Dinnington
Photographs of the Haynes family taken in the garden of 134 Laughton Road, Dinnington.
Samuel Haynes, Surveyor and Mining Engineer at Gedling, Dinnington and Maltby Colliery.
By Ian Rousell
Our grandfather was born in 1886 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire. His father managed/owned an electrical and gas engineering business in Nottingham and funded his son’s education possibly at the University of Nottingham.
In 1907 he gained the following medal “Awarded by the Board of Education for Proficiency in Science. Around the edge it states, “Samuel Haynes Principles of Mining 1907”
He started work at Gedling Colliery in Nottingham in 1908. At the time of the census in 1911 he is listed as a “Surveyor and Draughtsman” living at Carnarvon Grove Gedling. In 1909 he was married to Bernice Arline Alberta Everard and my mother Bernice Lillian Haynes was born in 1910 in Gedling. At some date after 1911 he moved to Dinnington, and lived at 134 Laughton Road, in the colliery “Villa’s”
I don’t think one could overstate the enormous responsibility Samuel and the team of mining officials had for the health and safety of the miners. It was a constant, daily necessity, hourly necessity.
Coal Mining was “getting or winning the coal” which occurred in narrow seams trapped between the parent rock, often deep underground. There were so many unknowns, the solid geology carefully surveyed and mapped is only part of the story, the reality lies underground. The actual nature of the coal deposits, how they were deposited, compressed and folded by movements of the earth is a geological puzzle which has to be resolved so that the coal can be extracted safely. As the coal face was driven forward constant decisions had to be made.
Samuel began his career in “new” mines where the main shaft had only recently been sunk. He was entering a rapidly expanding industry where expertise was in high demand and possibly in low supply. Samuel would have gained, “hands on”, underground experience from day one. This and his knowledge of geology, mining and surveying he would soon have been influential in decision making. As the coal was extracted the miners had to put new roof supports in place and back fill the worked out seams. Samuel and his team would have to ensure that what they had planned met the realities underground. At the same time they would have had to be preparing to open up new faces, close old ones and making sure that all approach tunnels, coal faces and worked out areas were safe.
The largest number of deaths of miners occurred between 1900 and 1920, the very time Sam was starting his career. At Gedling Colliery between 1908 and 1912, 9 men were killed, 3 from roof falls, 6 were crushed to death by tubs or machinery. Dinnington Heritage Web site record the following,
“It must be said that Dinnington Colliery had a very good safety record at the side of many other collieries both local and further afield“.
“Roof falls were the main cause of deaths especially in the early years with health and safety measures in short supply. The next most common cause of death was transport accidents.”
The miners would have needed a huge amount of confidence in the management. Was the mine safe? Accidents happened on a daily basis, but generally only fatalities were recorded. There is also no record of the damage done to miner’s lungs by inhaling coal dust. Samuel, even in 1921 suffered from frequent bronchitis brought on by his work and no doubt his constant smoking of a pipe loaded with various brands of tobacco which had been carefully blended, soaked in rum and matured in tobacco barrels.
“Firedamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata, and when they are penetrated, the release can trigger explosions. Historically, if such a pocket was highly pressurized, it was termed a "bag of foulness".” On 28th July 1923, at Maltby Main Colliery such an explosion resulted in the deaths of 27 miners. The report states that firedamp was ignited by spontaneous combustion. I do not know if Sam was working there at the time, but the family was living in Maltby in September 1923.
In 1921 my mother, Bernice Lillian Haynes aged 11 wrote the following in her diary.
I don’t think one could overstate the enormous responsibility Samuel and the team of mining officials had for the health and safety of the miners. It was a constant, daily necessity, hourly necessity.
Coal Mining was “getting or winning the coal” which occurred in narrow seams trapped between the parent rock, often deep underground. There were so many unknowns, the solid geology carefully surveyed and mapped is only part of the story, the reality lies underground. The actual nature of the coal deposits, how they were deposited, compressed and folded by movements of the earth is a geological puzzle which has to be resolved so that the coal can be extracted safely. As the coal face was driven forward constant decisions had to be made.
Samuel began his career in “new” mines where the main shaft had only recently been sunk. He was entering a rapidly expanding industry where expertise was in high demand and possibly in low supply. Samuel would have gained, “hands on”, underground experience from day one. This and his knowledge of geology, mining and surveying he would soon have been influential in decision making. As the coal was extracted the miners had to put new roof supports in place and back fill the worked out seams. Samuel and his team would have to ensure that what they had planned met the realities underground. At the same time they would have had to be preparing to open up new faces, close old ones and making sure that all approach tunnels, coal faces and worked out areas were safe.
The largest number of deaths of miners occurred between 1900 and 1920, the very time Sam was starting his career. At Gedling Colliery between 1908 and 1912, 9 men were killed, 3 from roof falls, 6 were crushed to death by tubs or machinery. Dinnington Heritage Web site record the following,
“It must be said that Dinnington Colliery had a very good safety record at the side of many other collieries both local and further afield“.
“Roof falls were the main cause of deaths especially in the early years with health and safety measures in short supply. The next most common cause of death was transport accidents.”
The miners would have needed a huge amount of confidence in the management. Was the mine safe? Accidents happened on a daily basis, but generally only fatalities were recorded. There is also no record of the damage done to miner’s lungs by inhaling coal dust. Samuel, even in 1921 suffered from frequent bronchitis brought on by his work and no doubt his constant smoking of a pipe loaded with various brands of tobacco which had been carefully blended, soaked in rum and matured in tobacco barrels.
“Firedamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata, and when they are penetrated, the release can trigger explosions. Historically, if such a pocket was highly pressurized, it was termed a "bag of foulness".” On 28th July 1923, at Maltby Main Colliery such an explosion resulted in the deaths of 27 miners. The report states that firedamp was ignited by spontaneous combustion. I do not know if Sam was working there at the time, but the family was living in Maltby in September 1923.
In 1921 my mother, Bernice Lillian Haynes aged 11 wrote the following in her diary.
Samuel Haynes, Bernice Arline his wife and our mother Bernice Lillian lived in the first house, 134 Laughton Road. This must be a very early photograph as the garage to the left of the tree had not been built.
By 1923 he was working at Maltby Colliery and they lived in a house in the pit yard. My mother said she planted trees on the slag heaps. They then moved back to Dinnington. I was born in 1944 and spent many happy hours with my grandparents, particularly my grandmother in the house and the garden.
I remember Samuel spent evenings and weekends tending his allotment in the grounds of the miner’s institute, the “stute” which must have been thirsty work for he also spent even more happy hours playing snooker and having a pint!
This is an example of his work. He spent many years surveying the rivers and land in N. Yorks.
This is an example of his work. He spent many years surveying the rivers and land in N. Yorks.
Following his retirement in 1958 at the age of 71 my grandparents came to live in Worksop. But Dinnington was in his blood. Most weeks, on a Thursday, Sam drove his 1938 Jowett to Anston and Dinnington. This is a typical record made in his diary in September 1965,
I must add that he had a wooden “Tetley’s crate” and he bought the 6 pints to take home and have with his lunch!
These extracts are from the diary of Samuel Haynes's daughter, Bernice Lillian Haynes, which she wrote in 1921 when she was aged 11. They all refer to places and events in Dinnington that year.