An Addition To My Thornhill Memory

A Memory of Thornhill.

I've remembered those names. Bob's name was Corrie; Wilf was Wilf Myers, they were two of three Overmen (Deputies) at Haile Moor. The third was big Alf Varah.

A gentleman called Chris Gibson sent me a message asking if I remembered certain people. Like an idiot I have somehow lost it. As I recall, the names he mentioned were Jimmy Cowan, James Booth and I think Ted Gribben. I remember the name Jimmy Cowan very well. I keep saying in my head Jimmy Cowan, Jimmy Cowan, hoping a face or a job will come to mind; so far nothing.

Ted Gribben was Office Manager at Beckermet. I remember him as a wee man with glasses and spikey grey hair. I seem to remember he was a bit bandy legged, probably a good fast right winger in his day. Always efficient, helpful, friendly and polite. A wee gent!

Jim Booth was the top man the so called Agent, a sort of General Manager. This means he was in charge of the iron ore mines, the fireclay mine at Micklam (near Lowca) and the limestone quarries at Rowrah.When I first met himm May-ish 1961, he was in his last few weeks before retirement. His replacement Geoff Hird was already in post. He was a 'Coal Man' (NCB) so not considered ideal by the locals. Trouble was there was no one of General Manager ability left in the iron ore industry, certainly not with underground, ie Cumberland-type mining experience.

I remember Mr Booth as a wiry, grey haired rather grizzled old chap with a slight stoop. He had quite a piercing eye and a bluff outspoken manner. I think I was supposed to be intimidated. I wasn't, I was merely respectful. I would say that in his day he had been a strong hard man. Unlike his successor he went down the pit regularly and, as I saw it, loved to exchange banter with the miners in their workplace, he knew everyone by first or nickname. I was introduced to him formally in his office by my boss, known, disrespectfully, as Dr Dick. I dunno why his name was Bill. West Cumberland sense of humour I guess. They were right as I found later out, he was a bit of a DICK!! We later met at the pit bottom while waiting for a ride to the surface. Him in trousers and tweed jacket both indistinguishable after years of saturation in iron ore 'muck', me in relatively new, dark blue overalls. I still have them, now saturated in their own right. You would never get that red colour out; but then I wouldn't want to.
As I recall, the coversation went something like this.
" So you're the new Geologist?" Nod from me.
"Yull come to dinner". "Thank you" from me.
Note that "Yull" was YOU WILL! Not a rhetorical question "will you"?
He continued as we got into the cage.
"We've had a number of you Geologist fellahs fro' Sheffield over the years.."

Sheffield was the United Steels HQ and was Jim's fount of all evil and worship. In fact the geologists worked out of the central Research and Development Department in Rotherham.

To continue- " We need you to find us some new metal son". (ie new ore deposits).
"As far as I'm concerned, I've brought metal (iron ore) up this shaft on MY CLOG IRONS as has ever been found by you geologists." "I need you to prove me wrong". He retired shortly after.

Some four years later I did find a significant ore body. I could argue that if Jim had been as smart as he thought he was, he should have someone look in this location 15 years earlier. But p'raps that is unkind. At this later time, when I had more to contribute, it would have been nice to have longer chats with Jim over a good fire and a few malts. In my experience the best iron ore gets mined in the wee small hours in front of a good fire by those who do not have to sweat over a BANJO (shovel to the uninitiated).

If you read this Chris, please get in touch about Mr Cowan.


Geoff Potts

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