South Wales Coalfield Collection

Miners Institutes Study

Ref No. Description Dates
AUD/78 Interview of Beams, Alfred.
Interview of Williams, Richard.

Recorded memoirs of Alfred Beams, Chairman, and Richard Williams, Secretary, of Abergorky Institute. Mainly relating to the history of the Institute and of the Workmen's Hall, and of it's impact on the community. Also included are their personal experiences, including working conditions, black-legging and the white shirt era, horses, war experiences and evacuees.
Covers period : 1900-1974 (c).
Running time : 1hr 21mins 48secs.
1.5.1974
AUD/170 Interview of Hutchinson, Lee.
Recorded memoirs of Lee Hutchinson, Resolven. Includes working conditions when first entered the mine; problem of water underground; bathing when returned home; role and impact of the Miners' Institute; public houses in Resolven, and attitude to alcohol; timber work; skin complaint due to the wet conditions in the pit; reasons for returning to the pit.
Covers period : 1875-1960 (c).
Running time : 1hr 49mins 50secs.
13.5.1974
AUD/198 Interview of Thomas, Eddie.
Recorded memoirs of Eddie Thomas, Fforestfach. Includes working in the tin industry; first time working underground, and the methods used; use of conveyors after 1918; Workers Educational Association meetings and their content; differences between National Council of Labour Colleges and WEA meetings; activities organised in the Fforestfach Institute Hall, including the cinema; and the position of the Welsh language.
Covers period : 1900-1970 (c).
Running time : 1hr 5mins 59secs.
4.2.1974
AUD/215 Interview of Powell, Walter.
Recorded memoirs of Walter Powell, Tredegar. Includes his opinion of Aneurin Bevan; jobs undertaken as a boy; working in the pit and on the screens; role of the women who worked in the colliery; inhibitions of men i.e. prevented pit-head baths being built sooner; working in America, and a comparison of working conditions in America and South Wales; his return to South Wales, and role in the running of the Tredegar Institute; impact of nationalisation on relations with management; direct relationships between workers and officials; work as a pit official; and transfers of men from pits which had closed.
Covers period : 1900-1974 (c).
Running time : 53mins 49secs.
14.1.1974
AUD/265 Interview of Williams, Gwilym.
Recorded memoirs of Gwilym Williams, manager of Aberbargoed Institute (circa 1954-74), concerning the history of the Institute, including its library; its role in the mining community; his experiences in the pits including his disablement; strength of the Powell Duffryn Company in the area; and the decline of the Institute.
Covers period : 1900-1974 (c).
Running time : 31mins 20secs.
17.5.1974
AUD/316 Interview of Powell, Oliver.
Recorded memoirs of Oliver Powell, Tredegar. Includes the attitude of the workforce after the 1926 General Strike; the scab union in Pochin; attitude of the Powell Duffryn Company to militants within the pit; the Tredegar Combine, including book selection for Tredegar Institute library, profits of cinema ensuring the continued funding of the library, concerts, and lectures; his opinion of Aneurin Bevan; conflict between the Tredegar District of the South Wales Miners' Federation, and the Tredegar Combine; seeking employment in the South of England; visiting Germany in 1937 with the International Friendship League; and opinion of objectors to World War I.
Covers period : 1900-1973 (c).
Running time : 2hrs 11mins 6secs.
29.11.1973

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