I started my working life at Treeton in July 1952, we had to work on the screens until the training course started. Training was done at a prefab at the top of the pit road, (still there) with the underground training at Orgreaves.
I finished my training on 12 Dec 1952 and was assigned as a Haulage hand at the loader on D wall. Reuben Pyatt was the corporal, Jackson was Deputy and some queer old fart was the Overman. I recall Alfie as the knocker off of the empties and Brian Marvin, who did something higher up the level. I left Treeton in Nov 1953, on reflection that was the longest year of my life.
I spent months working in the spillage hole, I shouldn't have worked there untill I was 18, I was in fact 16 and had I been 18 I would have got another 1s/6 per day, still it gave me a great upper body strength and calcified the bottm 30% of my lungs. Nobody gave a **** in those days and even less today, if I had stayed in the mines to the end of 1954 I would have the ablity to make a claim. Thank the lord I got out of it and joined the Royal Navy where I was able to recover from the trauma.

Reuben Pyatt lived on bole hill treeton used to deliver is home coal
I know is son george lives at aston

tony,i did similar at orgreave in the sixties,worked on the screens and in the fire house ,did the training up at the top of the lane at treeton ,i remember old rubber neck the p t instructor,we were later sent to dinnington college to carry out more training,i then went down the pit and worked on haulage and belt maintainance with a bit of track laying ,i wonder if anyone remembers the flooded pit workings under orgreave,i had to go down there in a boat,(yes a boat in the pit )and retrieve old props from the workings ,never seen rats as big in my life ,all for £ 8 and 2 and 6 pence a week, i still have my underground certificate and chit after all those years ...