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{{Short description|British men conscripted to work as coal miners in WW2}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2011}} {{Use British English|date=October 2011}}
{{for|the Indian technical workers sent to the UK in the 1940s|Bevin trainees}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2011}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

] ]
'''Bevin Boys''' were young British men ] to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom, from December 1943 until 1948.<ref></ref> Chosen at random from conscripts but also including volunteers, nearly 48,000&nbsp;Bevin Boys performed vital but largely unrecognised service in the mines, many of them not released from service until years after the ] ended. Ten percent of those ] aged 18–25 were selected for this service. '''Bevin Boys''' were young British men ] to work in ]s between December 1943 and March 1948,<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714065513/http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/sources/coal/bevin/page41441.html |date=14 July 2009 }}</ref> to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of ].<ref name=gov_stats>{{cite web |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/historical-coal-data-coal-production-availability-and-consumption |title= Historical coal data: coal production, availability and consumption |date= 25 January 2019 |publisher= UK Government |access-date= 23 April 2020 |archive-date= 23 April 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180423193104/https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/historical-coal-data-coal-production-availability-and-consumption-1853-to-2011 |url-status= live }}</ref> The programme was named after ], the ] politician who was ] in the wartime coalition government.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|id=31872|title=Bevin, Ernest}}</ref>


Chosen by lot as 10% of all male conscripts aged 18–25 (plus some volunteering as an alternative to military conscription) nearly 48,000&nbsp;Bevin Boys performed vital and dangerous ] service in coal mines. Although the last ballot took place in May 1945 (shortly before ]), the final conscripts were not released from service until March 1948. Few chose to remain working in the ] after demobilisation; most left for further education or for employment in other sectors.<ref name=Museum_Wales>{{cite web |url= https://museum.wales/articles/2008-01-03/Remembering-the-Bevin-Boys-in-the-Second-World-War/ |title= Remembering the Bevin Boys in the Second World War |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 3 January 2008 |publisher= National Museum Wales |access-date= 24 April 2020 |archive-date= 21 September 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200921065412/https://museum.wales/articles/2008-01-03/Remembering-the-Bevin-Boys-in-the-Second-World-War/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
==Creation of the programme==
The programme was named after ], a former ] official and then ] politician who was ] in the wartime ] government. At the beginning of the war the Government, underestimating the value of experienced coal-miners, conscripted them into the armed forces. By mid-1943 the coal mines had lost 36,000&nbsp;workers, and they were generally not replaced due to the availability of cleaner work. It became obvious the miners needed to be replaced. The government made a plea to men liable to conscription, asking them to volunteer to work in the mines instead, but few accepted and the shortage continued.


Bevin Boys were targets of abuse from the general public, who mistakenly believed them to be ] or cowards. They were frequently stopped by the police as possible ].<ref name=Museum_Wales/> Unlike those who had served in the military, Bevin Boys were not awarded medals for their contribution to the war effort and official recognition by the British government was only conferred in 1995.<ref name=Museum_Wales/>
By December, Britain was becoming desperate for a continued supply of coal both for the war effort and winter at home. It was decided that some conscripts would be directed to the mines. The colloquial name "Bevin Boys" came from the speech Bevin made announcing the scheme:
{{quote|We need 720,000 men continuously employed in this industry. This is where you boys come in. Our fighting men will not be able to achieve their purpose unless we get an adequate supply of coal.}}


==Creation of programme==
As Britain could not import coal during World War II, the production of coal from mines in Britain had to be increased. The Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, decided that a percentage of young men called up to serve in the forces should work in the mines. From 1943 to the end of the war one in ten of the young men called up was sent to work in the mines. This caused a great deal of upset as many of the young men wanted to join the fighting forces and many felt that they were not valued. These conscript miners were given the nickname 'Bevin Boys'. Many suffered taunts as they wore no uniform and were wrongly assumed to be avoiding conscription which was mandatory for young men in Britain.
===Shortfall in UK coal output===
]
At the start of WWII, the UK was highly dependent on coal to power ships and trains, and as the main source of energy for electricity generation.<ref>{{cite book |first= Leslie |last= Hannah | author-link = Leslie Hannah |year= 1979 |title= Electricity before Nationalisation |chapter= War and Post-war Crisis |location= London |publisher= Macmillan |pages= 289–328 |isbn= 978-0-333-22086-3}}</ref> Although output from mines had increased as the world economy recovered from the ], it was in decline again by the time war broke out in September 1939.<ref name=gov_stats/>

At the beginning of the war the Government, underestimating the value of strong younger coal miners, conscripted them into the armed forces. By mid-1943, the coal mines had lost 36,000&nbsp;workers, and they were generally not replaced, because other likely young men were also being conscripted to the armed forces.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Industrial relations were also poor: In the first half of 1942, there were several local strikes over wages across the country,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Kent coal strike over |date= 29 January 1942 |page= 2 |issue= 49146}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Colliery Taken Over By Mines Department |date= 1 June 1942 |page= 4 |issue= 49250}}</ref> which also reduced output.<ref name=min_wage>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Miners Accept Wage Award |date= 24 June 1942 |page= 2 |issue= 49270}}</ref> In response, the government increased the minimum weekly pay to 83 shillings (for those over the age of 21 working underground)<ref name=min_wage/> and established a new Ministry of Fuel, Light and Power, under the leadership of ] to oversee the reorganisation of coal production for the war effort.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= The Coal Plan |date= 4 June 1942 |page= 5 |issue= 49253}}</ref> In late summer, a bonus scheme was proposed to reward workers in mines that exceeded their output targets.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Bonus on coal output |date= 31 August 1942 |page= 2 |issue= 49328}}</ref> These measures resulted in an increase in production in the second half of 1942,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Increased output of coal |date= 16 October 1942 |page= 2 |issue= 49368}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Coal output up slightly |date= 12 November 1942 |page= 2 |issue= 49417}}</ref> although volumes were still short of the tonnage required.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Coal output still below standard |date= 13 January 1943 |page= 2 |issue= 49442}}</ref>

Absenteeism (miners taking time off work as a result of e.g. sickness) also rose through the war from 9.65% in December 1941 to 10.79% and 14.40% in the Decembers of 1942 and 1943 respectively.<ref>{{ukhansard | house=HC | date= 29 May 1945 | vol=411 | c=109}}</ref>

By October 1943, Britain was becoming desperate for a continued supply of coal, both for the industrial war effort and for domestic heating throughout the winter.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

===Appeals for volunteers===
]
On 23 June 1941, Bevin made a broadcast appeal to former miners, asking them to volunteer to return to the pits, with an aim of increasing numbers of mineworkers by 50,000.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Urgent call to miners |date= 24 June 1941 |page= 2 |issue= 48960}}</ref> He also issued a 'standstill' order, to prevent more miners being called up to serve in the armed forces.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= No more miners for the army |date= 25 June 1941 |page= 5 |issue= 48961}}</ref>

On 12 November 1943, Bevin made a radio broadcast aimed at ] boys, to encourage them to volunteer to work in the mines when they registered for National Service. He promised the students that, like those serving in the armed forces, they would be eligible for the government's further education scheme.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Coal output up |date= 13 November 1943 |page= 2 |issue= 49702}}</ref><ref name=Bevin_speech>{{cite book |last= Bevin |first= Ernest |author-link= Ernest Bevin |chapter= A call to youth for the coal mines|orig-year=1st broadcast 12 November 1943 |date= December 1943 |title= British Speeches of the Day |volume= 10 |location= London |publisher= British Information Services |pages= 22–24 }}</ref>

{{quote|We need 720,000 men continuously employed in this industry&nbsp; This is where you boys come in. Each one of you, I am sure, is full of enthusiasm to win this war. You are looking forward to the day when you can play your part with your friends and brothers who are in the Navy, the Army, the Air Force&nbsp;... But believe me, our fighting men will not be able to achieve their purpose unless we get an adequate supply of coal&nbsp;... So when you go to register and the question is put to you "Will you go into the mines?" let your answer be, "Yes, I will go anywhere to help win this war".|Ernest Bevin, 12 November 1943<ref name=Bevin_speech/>}}
The term 'Bevin Boys' is thought to originate from this broadcast.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

===Conscription===
On 12 October 1943, ], ], announced in the ] that some conscripts would be directed to the mines.<ref>{{ukhansard | house=HC | date=12 October 1943 | vol=392 | cc=764-766}}</ref> On 2 December, Ernest Bevin explained the scheme in more detail in parliament, announcing his intention to draft 30,000 men aged 18 to 25 by 30 April 1944.<ref name=Bevin-Dec-43>{{ukhansard | house=HC | date=2 December 1943 | vol=395 | cc=521-529}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Young men for the mines |date= 3 December 1943 |page= 4 |issue= 49719}}</ref>

From 1943 to 1945, one out of every ten young men called up was sent to work in the mines. This caused a great deal of upset, as many young men wanted to join the fighting forces and felt that as miners, their contributions would not be valued.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} The first Bevin Boys began work, having completed their training, on 14 February 1944.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= First "Bevin Boys" start work |date= 14 February 1944 |page= 2 |issue= 49779}}</ref>


==Programme== ==Programme==


===Selection of conscripts=== ===Selection of conscripts===
To make the process random, Sir Geoffrey Ince's secretary was called to Ernie Bevin's office to pick a number from a hat ( number 9) containing all ten digits, 0–9, and all men liable for call-up that week whose National Service number ended in that digit were directed to work in the mines, with the exception of any selected for highly skilled war work such as flying planes and in submarines, and men found physically unfit for mining. Conscripts came from different professions, from desk work to heavy labour, and included those who might otherwise have become ]s. To make the process random, one of Bevin's secretaries each week, from 14 December 1943, pulled a digit from a hat containing all ten digits, 0–9, and all men liable for call-up that week whose National Service registration number ended in that digit were directed to work in the mines, with the exception of any selected for highly skilled war work such as flying planes and in submarines, and men found physically unfit for mining. Conscripted miners came from many different trades and professions, from desk work to heavy manual labour, and included some who might otherwise have become ]s.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}
<ref>Personal recollection of Sir Geoffrey Ince's secretary</ref>


An appeals process was set up, to allow conscripts the opportunity to challenge the decision to send them to the pits, although decisions were rarely overturned.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Bevin Boy loses appeal |date= 3 April 1944 |page= 2 |issue= 49821}}</ref> Those who refused to serve in the mines were imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Bevin Boy changes his mind |date= 14 April 1944 |page= 2 |issue= 49830}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Prison for Bevin Boy |date= 23 August 1944 |page= 2 |issue= 49942}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Bevin Boy cases |date= 6 September 1944 |page= 8 |issue= 49953}}</ref> By 31 May 1944, 285 conscripts had refused to serve as miners, of whom 135 had been prosecuted and 32 had been given a prison sentence.<ref>{{ukhansard | house=HC | date= 15 June 1944 | vol=400 | c=2105}}</ref> By the end of November 1944, out of a total of 16,000 conscripts, 143 had refused to serve in the mines and had been sent to prison, some with the imposition of hard labour.<ref>{{ukhansard | house=HC | date= 14 December 1944 | vol=406 | c=1328}}</ref>
===Working conditions===
] at Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, in February 1945]]
The Bevin Boys were first given six weeks of training (four off-site, two on) before working in the mines. The work was typical coal mining, largely a mile or more down dark, dank tunnels, and conscripts were supplied with helmets and steel-capped safety boots. Bevin Boys did not wear uniforms or badges, but the oldest clothes they could find. Being of military age and without uniform caused many to be stopped by police and questioned about avoiding call-up.<ref>Called Up Sent Down : The Bevin Boys' War – Tom Hickman Pub. The History Press 2008 ISBN 0-7509-4547-8</ref>


===Training===
Since a number of ] were sent to work down the mines as an alternative to military service, there was sometimes an assumption that all Bevin Boys were "Conchies". The right to conscientiously object to military service for philosophical or religious reasons was recognised in conscription legislation, as it had been in the First World War. However, old attitudes still prevailed amongst some members of the general public, with resentment by association towards Bevin Boys. In 1943 UK Government minister Ernest Bevin said in Parliament: "There are thousands of cases in which conscientious objectors, although they may have refused to take up arms, have shown as much courage as anyone else in Civil Defence.<ref>, Peace Pledge Union</ref>
] at Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, in February 1945]]
Boys when they were nearly 18 years old received an official ] instructing them in five days time to report to a training centre such as at ], Derbyshire.<ref name="ReferenceA">Interview 29 August 2019 with ex-Bevin Boy Kenneth Jones born 1926.</ref>


Bevin Boys with no previous experience of mining, were given six weeks' training (four in a classroom-type setting and two at their assigned colliery).<ref name=Bevin-Dec-43/> For their first four weeks of underground work, they were supervised by an experienced miner.<ref name=Bevin-Dec-43/> With the exception of those working in the south Wales coalfields, the conscripts could not work at the coalface until they had accrued four months' experience underground.<ref name=Bevin-Dec-43/>
==End of the programme==
The programme was wound up in 1948. At that time the Bevin Boys received no ]s, nor the right to return to the jobs they had held previously, unlike armed forces personnel. Bevin Boys were not fully recognised as contributors to the war effort until 1995, 50 years after ], in a speech by ].


For the most part, the Bevin Boys were not directly involved in cutting coal from the ], but acted instead as colliers assistants, responsible for filling tubs or ]s and hauling them back to the shaft for transport to the surface.<ref name=Museum_Wales/> Conscripts were supplied with helmets and steel-capped safety boots.
On 20 June 2007 ] informed the ] during ] that thousands of conscripts who worked down mines during the Second World War would receive an honour. The ] told the Commons the Bevin Boys would be rewarded with a Veterans Badge – similar to the HM Armed Forces Badge awarded by the ].<ref>The debate can be found </ref>


===Pay and working conditions===
The first badges were awarded on 25 March 2008 by the then Prime Minister, ], at a reception in 10 Downing Street, marking the 60th anniversary of discharge of the last Bevin Boys.


Almost as soon as the first Bevin Boys had reported for training, there were complaints that their remuneration (44 shillings per week for an 18-year-old) were barely sufficient to cover living costs.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Grievances of Bevin Boys |date= 20 January 1944 |page= 8 |issue= 49758}}</ref> Some 140 went on strike in Doncaster for two days before their training had finished.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Pit recruits go back |date= 22 January 1944 |page= 4 |issue= 49760}}</ref> There were also complaints from experienced miners, who resented the fact that a 21-year-old recruit received the same minimum wage as they did.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Coal strikes continued |date= 11 March 1944 |page= 4 |issue= 49802}}</ref>
Responsibility within government for the Bevin Boys lies with the ].


Bevin Boys did not wear uniforms or badges, but the oldest clothes they could find. Being of military age and without uniform caused many to be stopped by police and questioned about avoiding call-up.<ref>Called Up Sent Down : The Bevin Boys' War – Tom Hickman Pub. The History Press 2008 {{ISBN|0-7509-4547-8}}</ref>
The Bevin Boys Association is trying to trace all 48,000 Bevin Boy conscripts, optants or volunteers who served in Britain's coal mines during and after the war, from 1943 to 1948.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/am28467 |title=Bevin Boys Association entry on Culture24 |accessdate=16 December 2009}}</ref>


===Contemporary attitudes to Bevin Boys===
]]]

On Tuesday 7 May 2013 a memorial to the Bevin Boys was unveiled by the ] at The ] at ], Staffordshire. The memorial was designed by former Bevin Boy Harry Parkes. The memorial itself is made up of four stone plinths carved from grey Kilkenny stone from the Republic of Ireland. The stone should turn black like the coal that the miners extracted.<ref name="memorial">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/royalfamilyvideo/10041949/Bevin-Boys-memorial-unveiled-by-Countess-of-Wessex.html|title=Bevin Boys memorial unveiled by Countess of Wessex|work=]|accessdate=12 May 2013}}</ref>
Many Bevin Boys suffered taunts as they wore no uniform, and there were accusations by some people that they were deliberately avoiding military conscription. Since a number of ] were sent to work down the mines as an alternative to military service (under a system wholly separate from the Bevin Boy programme), there was sometimes an assumption that Bevin Boys were "Conchies". The right to conscientiously object to military service for philosophical or religious reasons was recognised in conscription legislation, as it had been in WWI. Old attitudes prevailed amongst some members of the general public, with resentment by association towards Bevin Boys. In 1943 Ernest Bevin said in Parliament:

{{quote|There are thousands of cases in which conscientious objectors, although they have refused to take up arms, have shown as much courage as anyone else in Civil Defence and in other walks of life.|Ernest Bevin, 9 December 1943<ref>{{ukhansard | house=HC | date=9 December 1943 | vol=395 | c=1108}}</ref>}}

==End of programme==
The final conscription ballot took place in May 1945 (shortly before ]); however, the final conscripts were not released from service until March 1948.

==Recognition of contribution to the war effort==
<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->

Within a few months of the first Bevin Boys starting work, there were calls for a badge to be awarded in recognition of the importance of their national service.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Young mine workers |date= 31 May 1944 |page= 8 |issue= 49870}}</ref>

After the war, Bevin Boys received neither ]s nor the right to return to the jobs they had previously held,<ref name=Museum_Wales/> although like forces veterans, they were entitled to participate in the government's Further Education and Training Scheme, which paid university fees and an annual means-tested grant of up to £426 to cover living expenses whilst studying.<ref>{{cite book |last= Dent |first= Harold Collett |year= 2007 |title= Growth in English education, 1946–1952 |location= London |publisher= Routledge |chapter=Chapter 1 |isbn= 9780415432160}}</ref>

The role played by Bevin Boys in Britain's war effort was not fully recognised until 1995, 50 years after ], when ] mentioned them in a speech.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/bevins-boys-kept-in-the-dark-for-60-years.html |title=Bevin's Boys – British Conscripts Forced To Mine Coal – Kept in the Dark for Over 70 Years |date=29 January 2016 |access-date=31 August 2019 |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831100941/https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/bevins-boys-kept-in-the-dark-for-60-years.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 20 June 2007, then-prime minister ] informed the ] that thousands of conscripts who worked in mines during WWII would be awarded a veterans badge similar to the HM armed forces badge awarded by the ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1555056/Bevin-Boys-war-effort-honoured-with-badge.html|title=Bevin Boys' war effort honoured with badge|work=]|access-date=31 August 2019|archive-date=31 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831095514/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1555056/Bevin-Boys-war-effort-honoured-with-badge.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The first badges were awarded on 25 March 2008 by the then-prime minister, ], at a reception in 10 Downing Street, marking the 60th anniversary of discharge of the last Bevin Boys.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Bevin Boys honoured |date= 26 March 2008 |page= 4 |issue= 69281}}</ref> In 2010, Tom Hickman's '']'' was published, containing accounts of around 70 of the boys sent to the coal mines.<ref name=Appell2008>{{cite journal |last1=Appell |first1=James |title=Forgotten conscripts no longer |journal=The Oxonian Review of Books |date=2008 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=8–9 |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/25097340/of-books-the-oxonian-review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722082035/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/25097340/of-books-the-oxonian-review|archive-date=22 July 2022|access-date=22 July 2022 |language=en|issn=1756-3909}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| width =
| direction = vertical
| header = Front and side views of the ''Memorial to the Bevin Boys''. ], Alrewas.
| image1 =
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Inscription reads: "Bevin Boys - we also served 1943–1948".
| image2 = Bevin Boys Memorial 2.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Inscription reads: "The Bevin Boys were National Service conscripts, directed to work underground in British coal mines, providing unskilled labour to safeguard vital coal production to power the British war effort and produce coal for the nation."
}}
On Tuesday 7 May 2013, a memorial to the Bevin Boys, based on the Bevin Boys Badge, was unveiled by the ] at the ] at ], Staffordshire.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Court Circular |date= 8 May 2013 |page= 51 |issue= 70879}}</ref><ref name=memorial>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/royalfamilyvideo/10041949/Bevin-Boys-memorial-unveiled-by-Countess-of-Wessex.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027231241/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/royalfamilyvideo/10041949/Bevin-Boys-memorial-unveiled-by-Countess-of-Wessex.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 October 2013|title=Bevin Boys memorial unveiled by Countess of Wessex|work=]|access-date=12 May 2013}}</ref> The memorial was designed by former Bevin Boy Harry Parkes; it is made of four stone plinths carved from grey ] from Ireland. The stone should turn black over time, to resemble the coal that the miners extracted.<ref name=memorial/>

The Bevin Boys Association is trying to trace all 48,000 Bevin Boy conscripts, optants or volunteers who served in Britain's coal mines during and after the war, from 1943 to 1948.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/am28467 |title=Bevin Boys Association entry on Culture24 |access-date=16 December 2009 |archive-date=20 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720073850/http://www.culture24.org.uk/am28467 |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Notable Bevin Boys== ==Notable Bevin Boys==
*], lawyer and Labour Party politician<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Lord Archer of Sandwell |date= 21 June 2012 |page= 51 |issue= 70605}}</ref>
*], Police officer
*], senior police officer<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Sir Stanley Bailey |date= 19 August 2008 |page= 53 |issue= 69406}}</ref>
*], Trade union leader
*], actor and impressionist<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/14962652.glasgow-born-comedy-star-stanley-baxter-shows-no-sign-of-ending-his-love-with-radio/|title=Glasgow-born comedy star Stanley Baxter shows no sign of ending his love with radio|website=Glasgow Times|date=13 December 2016 |language=en|access-date=2020-01-23|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123002923/https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/14962652.glasgow-born-comedy-star-stanley-baxter-shows-no-sign-of-ending-his-love-with-radio/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*(Lord) ],<ref name="MosseCarlebach">{{cite book|last1=Mosse|first1=Werner Eugen|last2=Carlebach|first2=Julius|title=Second chance: two centuries of German-speaking Jews in the United Kingdom|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=a-6WlsDsuo8C&pg=PA376|accessdate=10 May 2013|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=9783161457418|pages=376–}}</ref> Founder of the Hamlyn group of publishers and ]
*], actor<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://afternoontea.mpt.org/tea-time-tidbits/060914/ |title=Last of the Summer Wine's John Comer &#124; Tea Time Tidbits &#124; MPT Afternoon Tea |access-date=5 August 2016 |archive-date=17 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917150443/http://afternoontea.mpt.org/tea-time-tidbits/060914/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*], Footballer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/news/pages/BoltonsBevinBoysremembered.aspx|title=Bolton Council - Bolton's Bevin Boys remembered|accessdate=18 December 2012}}</ref>
*], Conservative politician<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Lord Finsberg |date= 10 October 1996 |page= 23 |issue= 65705}}</ref>
*], Former ]<ref>Briefly ] Obituary in ] Issue 47,544 (dated 14 April 2008</ref>
*], trade union leader<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Roy Grantham |date= 15 November 2013 |page= 70 |issue= 71043}}</ref>
*],<ref name="Cooke2007"/> Comedian
*],<ref name="EDS">{{cite book|title=English Dance & Song|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=CFNLAAAAYAAJ|volume=41-44|year=1979|publisher=English Folk Dance and Song Society|page=18}}</ref> Folk singer/poet *], founder of the Hamlyn group of publishers and Music for Pleasure record label<ref name="MosseCarlebach">{{cite book|last1=Mosse|first1=Werner Eugen|last2=Carlebach|first2=Julius|title=Second chance: two centuries of German-speaking Jews in the United Kingdom|year=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-6WlsDsuo8C&pg=PA376|access-date=10 May 2013|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=9783161457418|page=376}}</ref>
*], rugby union player
*], Numismatic Author
*], footballer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/news/pages/BoltonsBevinBoysremembered.aspx|title=Bolton Council-Bolton's Bevin Boys remembered|access-date=18 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927094601/http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/news/pages/BoltonsBevinBoysremembered.aspx|archive-date=27 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*],<ref name="Cooke2007">{{cite book|last=Cooke|first=Ken|title=History of the Percy Jackson Grammar School: Adwick-le-street, Doncaster, Yorkshire, 1939 - 1968 : Recollections of Schooldays of the 1940s, 1950s & 1960s|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cjUfFlKGXGMC&pg=PA6|accessdate=7 May 2013|year=2007|publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd|isbn=9781905886784|pages=6–}}</ref> Actor/manager, and president of ]
*], Labour politician<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Dr Dickson Mabon |date= 15 April 2008 |page= 54 |issue= 69298}}</ref>
*], Broadcaster<ref name="Cooke2007"/><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/arts/television/jimmy-savile-tv-personality-dies-at-84.html |title=Jimmy Savile, TV Personality, Dies at 84 |work=The New York Times| accessdate=13 November 2011 |last=Fox |first=Margalit |date=2 November 2011}}</ref>
*], artist
*],<ref name="Morton2011">{{cite book|last=Morton|first=Ray|title=Amadeus: Music on Film Series|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=E1uL6eryT1gC&pg=PT21|accessdate=7 May 2013|date=2011-02-01|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780879104177|pages=21–}}</ref> Dramatist
*], artist<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Lives in brief |date= 2 March 2006 |page= 70 |issue= 68637}}</ref>
*], Footballer
*], comedian<ref name="Cooke2007"/>
*], Cricketer
*], screenwriter<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Alun Owen |date= 8 December 1994 |page= 23 |issue= 65132}}</ref>
*], interior designer<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12062744/Kenneth-Partridge-interior-designer-obituary.html|title=Kenneth Partridge, interior designer – obituary|date=21 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=30 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230073417/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12062744/Kenneth-Partridge-interior-designer-obituary.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*], folk singer/poet <ref name="EDS">{{cite book|title=English Dance & Song|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFNLAAAAYAAJ|volume=41–44|year=1979|publisher=English Folk Dance and Song Society|page=18}}</ref>
*], numismatic author
*], actor/manager, and President of ]<ref name="Cooke2007">{{cite book|last=Cooke|first=Ken|title=History of the Percy Jackson Grammar School: Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, Yorkshire, 1939–1968 : Recollections of Schooldays of the 1940s, 1950s & 1960s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjUfFlKGXGMC&pg=PA6|year=2007|publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd|isbn=9781905886784|page=6}}</ref>
*], disgraced radio/television personality<ref>{{Cite news |last=Savile |first=Jimmy |date=23 December 1989 |title=I was forged in the crucible of want and I consider myself far more privileged |work=The Times |location=London}}</ref>
*], dramatist<ref name="Morton2011">{{cite book|last=Morton|first=Ray|title=Amadeus: Music on Film Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1uL6eryT1gC&pg=PT21|year=2011|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780879104177|page=21}}</ref>
*], footballer
*], cricketer

==Bevin Boys Association==
The Bevin Boys Association was formed in 1989 with 32 members in the Midlands area. By 2009 the membership had grown to over 1,800 from all over the UK and overseas. The association continues to hold meetings and reunions as well as attending commemoration services.


==In popular culture== ==In popular culture==
Douglas Livingstone's radio play, ''Road to Durham'', is a fictional account of two former Bevin Boys, now in their eighties, as they visit the ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Giddings|first=Robert|title=RADIO: Seamless drama goes underground to dig deep for victory|url=http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/04/radio-seamless-drama-goes-underground-to-dig-deep-for-victory/|access-date=25 August 2011|newspaper=]|date=30 April 2009|archive-date=30 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930142442/http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/04/radio-seamless-drama-goes-underground-to-dig-deep-for-victory/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

British musician ] wrote the song "The Sea and the Deep Blue Devil" from the perspective of a Bevin Boy who loses his girlfriend to a Royal Navy recruit.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/1389677.jez-lowe-jack-commons-theme-tantobie-records/ |title= Jez Lowe, Jack Common's Theme (Tantobie Records) |last= Foster |first= Richard |date= 10 May 2007 |publisher= The Press |access-date= 4 May 2020 |archive-date= 23 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210123003020/https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/1389677.jez-lowe-jack-commons-theme-tantobie-records/ |url-status= live }}</ref>


English singer-songwriter ] wrote a song called "The Bevin Boys (Bill Pettinger's Lament)". The song was commissioned by Martin Pettinger as a tribute to his Bevin Boy father, Bill.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.theprsd.co.uk/2021/05/17/reg-meuross-the-bevin-boys-bill-pettingers-lament/ |title= Reg Meuross {{Pipe}} The Bevin Boys (Bill Pettinger's Lament) - the PRSD |date= 17 May 2007 |publisher= PRSD |access-date= 25 May 2020 |archive-date= 17 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210517090554/https://www.theprsd.co.uk/2021/05/17/reg-meuross-the-bevin-boys-bill-pettingers-lament/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
Douglas Livingstone's radio play, ''Road to Durham'', is a fictional account of two former Bevin Boys, now in their eighties, as they visit the ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Giddings|first=Robert|title=RADIO: Seamless drama goes underground to dig deep for victory|url=http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/04/radio-seamless-drama-goes-underground-to-dig-deep-for-victory/|accessdate=25 August 2011|newspaper=]|date=30 April 2009}}</ref>


==See also==
Bevin Boys are used in Alan Franks' 2013 novel "The Notes of Doctor Newgate" (ISBN: 9700957213647) at several points including page 123 onwards. The father of the novels namesake is a Bevin Boy and appears in a group photograph of the "1989 Chatterly Whitfield Mining Museum reuion" which attracts the attention of Sir Steven Spielberg when he is dinning in the local "Pitmans Arms" gastropub. Spielberg is later said to be interested in making a film about Bevin Boys called "Underground Warriors", (page 137).
*] – a related, although different concept; labour in time of war or national emergency is specifically exempted from the category of 'unfree labour', as is work related to fulfilling a civic obligation.


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2}} {{Reflist|30em}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commonscat|Bevin Boys}} {{Commons category|Bevin Boys}}
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Latest revision as of 19:46, 21 October 2024

British men conscripted to work as coal miners in WW2

For the Indian technical workers sent to the UK in the 1940s, see Bevin trainees.
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Bevin Boys receiving training from an experienced miner at Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, February 1945

Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in coal mines between December 1943 and March 1948, to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of World War II. The programme was named after Ernest Bevin, the Labour Party politician who was Minister of Labour and National Service in the wartime coalition government.

Chosen by lot as 10% of all male conscripts aged 18–25 (plus some volunteering as an alternative to military conscription) nearly 48,000 Bevin Boys performed vital and dangerous civil conscription service in coal mines. Although the last ballot took place in May 1945 (shortly before VE Day), the final conscripts were not released from service until March 1948. Few chose to remain working in the mining industry after demobilisation; most left for further education or for employment in other sectors.

Bevin Boys were targets of abuse from the general public, who mistakenly believed them to be draft dodgers or cowards. They were frequently stopped by the police as possible deserters. Unlike those who had served in the military, Bevin Boys were not awarded medals for their contribution to the war effort and official recognition by the British government was only conferred in 1995.

Creation of programme

Shortfall in UK coal output

UK coal output for the years 1913 to 1950. The periods of the two World Wars are highlighted in grey.

At the start of WWII, the UK was highly dependent on coal to power ships and trains, and as the main source of energy for electricity generation. Although output from mines had increased as the world economy recovered from the Great Depression, it was in decline again by the time war broke out in September 1939.

At the beginning of the war the Government, underestimating the value of strong younger coal miners, conscripted them into the armed forces. By mid-1943, the coal mines had lost 36,000 workers, and they were generally not replaced, because other likely young men were also being conscripted to the armed forces.

Industrial relations were also poor: In the first half of 1942, there were several local strikes over wages across the country, which also reduced output. In response, the government increased the minimum weekly pay to 83 shillings (for those over the age of 21 working underground) and established a new Ministry of Fuel, Light and Power, under the leadership of Gwilym Lloyd George to oversee the reorganisation of coal production for the war effort. In late summer, a bonus scheme was proposed to reward workers in mines that exceeded their output targets. These measures resulted in an increase in production in the second half of 1942, although volumes were still short of the tonnage required.

Absenteeism (miners taking time off work as a result of e.g. sickness) also rose through the war from 9.65% in December 1941 to 10.79% and 14.40% in the Decembers of 1942 and 1943 respectively.

By October 1943, Britain was becoming desperate for a continued supply of coal, both for the industrial war effort and for domestic heating throughout the winter.

Appeals for volunteers

Ernest Bevin (photographed in 1942)

On 23 June 1941, Bevin made a broadcast appeal to former miners, asking them to volunteer to return to the pits, with an aim of increasing numbers of mineworkers by 50,000. He also issued a 'standstill' order, to prevent more miners being called up to serve in the armed forces.

On 12 November 1943, Bevin made a radio broadcast aimed at sixth-form boys, to encourage them to volunteer to work in the mines when they registered for National Service. He promised the students that, like those serving in the armed forces, they would be eligible for the government's further education scheme.

We need 720,000 men continuously employed in this industry  This is where you boys come in. Each one of you, I am sure, is full of enthusiasm to win this war. You are looking forward to the day when you can play your part with your friends and brothers who are in the Navy, the Army, the Air Force ... But believe me, our fighting men will not be able to achieve their purpose unless we get an adequate supply of coal ... So when you go to register and the question is put to you "Will you go into the mines?" let your answer be, "Yes, I will go anywhere to help win this war".

— Ernest Bevin, 12 November 1943

The term 'Bevin Boys' is thought to originate from this broadcast.

Conscription

On 12 October 1943, Gwilym Lloyd George, Minister of Fuel and Power, announced in the House of Commons that some conscripts would be directed to the mines. On 2 December, Ernest Bevin explained the scheme in more detail in parliament, announcing his intention to draft 30,000 men aged 18 to 25 by 30 April 1944.

From 1943 to 1945, one out of every ten young men called up was sent to work in the mines. This caused a great deal of upset, as many young men wanted to join the fighting forces and felt that as miners, their contributions would not be valued. The first Bevin Boys began work, having completed their training, on 14 February 1944.

Programme

Selection of conscripts

To make the process random, one of Bevin's secretaries each week, from 14 December 1943, pulled a digit from a hat containing all ten digits, 0–9, and all men liable for call-up that week whose National Service registration number ended in that digit were directed to work in the mines, with the exception of any selected for highly skilled war work such as flying planes and in submarines, and men found physically unfit for mining. Conscripted miners came from many different trades and professions, from desk work to heavy manual labour, and included some who might otherwise have become commissioned officers.

An appeals process was set up, to allow conscripts the opportunity to challenge the decision to send them to the pits, although decisions were rarely overturned. Those who refused to serve in the mines were imprisoned. By 31 May 1944, 285 conscripts had refused to serve as miners, of whom 135 had been prosecuted and 32 had been given a prison sentence. By the end of November 1944, out of a total of 16,000 conscripts, 143 had refused to serve in the mines and had been sent to prison, some with the imposition of hard labour.

Training

A classroom lecture where Bevin Boys are learning about the Davy lamp at Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, in February 1945

Boys when they were nearly 18 years old received an official postcard instructing them in five days time to report to a training centre such as at Cresswell Colliery, Derbyshire.

Bevin Boys with no previous experience of mining, were given six weeks' training (four in a classroom-type setting and two at their assigned colliery). For their first four weeks of underground work, they were supervised by an experienced miner. With the exception of those working in the south Wales coalfields, the conscripts could not work at the coalface until they had accrued four months' experience underground.

For the most part, the Bevin Boys were not directly involved in cutting coal from the mine face, but acted instead as colliers assistants, responsible for filling tubs or wagons and hauling them back to the shaft for transport to the surface. Conscripts were supplied with helmets and steel-capped safety boots.

Pay and working conditions

Almost as soon as the first Bevin Boys had reported for training, there were complaints that their remuneration (44 shillings per week for an 18-year-old) were barely sufficient to cover living costs. Some 140 went on strike in Doncaster for two days before their training had finished. There were also complaints from experienced miners, who resented the fact that a 21-year-old recruit received the same minimum wage as they did.

Bevin Boys did not wear uniforms or badges, but the oldest clothes they could find. Being of military age and without uniform caused many to be stopped by police and questioned about avoiding call-up.

Contemporary attitudes to Bevin Boys

Many Bevin Boys suffered taunts as they wore no uniform, and there were accusations by some people that they were deliberately avoiding military conscription. Since a number of conscientious objectors were sent to work down the mines as an alternative to military service (under a system wholly separate from the Bevin Boy programme), there was sometimes an assumption that Bevin Boys were "Conchies". The right to conscientiously object to military service for philosophical or religious reasons was recognised in conscription legislation, as it had been in WWI. Old attitudes prevailed amongst some members of the general public, with resentment by association towards Bevin Boys. In 1943 Ernest Bevin said in Parliament:

There are thousands of cases in which conscientious objectors, although they have refused to take up arms, have shown as much courage as anyone else in Civil Defence and in other walks of life.

— Ernest Bevin, 9 December 1943

End of programme

The final conscription ballot took place in May 1945 (shortly before VE Day); however, the final conscripts were not released from service until March 1948.

Recognition of contribution to the war effort

Within a few months of the first Bevin Boys starting work, there were calls for a badge to be awarded in recognition of the importance of their national service.

After the war, Bevin Boys received neither medals nor the right to return to the jobs they had previously held, although like forces veterans, they were entitled to participate in the government's Further Education and Training Scheme, which paid university fees and an annual means-tested grant of up to £426 to cover living expenses whilst studying.

The role played by Bevin Boys in Britain's war effort was not fully recognised until 1995, 50 years after VE Day, when Queen Elizabeth II mentioned them in a speech.

On 20 June 2007, then-prime minister Tony Blair informed the House of Commons that thousands of conscripts who worked in mines during WWII would be awarded a veterans badge similar to the HM armed forces badge awarded by the Ministry of Defence. The first badges were awarded on 25 March 2008 by the then-prime minister, Gordon Brown, at a reception in 10 Downing Street, marking the 60th anniversary of discharge of the last Bevin Boys. In 2010, Tom Hickman's "Called Up Sent Down": The Bevin Boys' War was published, containing accounts of around 70 of the boys sent to the coal mines.

Front and side views of the Memorial to the Bevin Boys. National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas.Inscription reads: "The Bevin Boys were National Service conscripts, directed to work underground in British coal mines, providing unskilled labour to safeguard vital coal production to power the British war effort and produce coal for the nation."

On Tuesday 7 May 2013, a memorial to the Bevin Boys, based on the Bevin Boys Badge, was unveiled by the Countess of Wessex at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire. The memorial was designed by former Bevin Boy Harry Parkes; it is made of four stone plinths carved from grey Kilkenny stone from Ireland. The stone should turn black over time, to resemble the coal that the miners extracted.

The Bevin Boys Association is trying to trace all 48,000 Bevin Boy conscripts, optants or volunteers who served in Britain's coal mines during and after the war, from 1943 to 1948.

Notable Bevin Boys

Bevin Boys Association

The Bevin Boys Association was formed in 1989 with 32 members in the Midlands area. By 2009 the membership had grown to over 1,800 from all over the UK and overseas. The association continues to hold meetings and reunions as well as attending commemoration services.

In popular culture

Douglas Livingstone's radio play, Road to Durham, is a fictional account of two former Bevin Boys, now in their eighties, as they visit the Durham Miners' Gala.

British musician Jez Lowe wrote the song "The Sea and the Deep Blue Devil" from the perspective of a Bevin Boy who loses his girlfriend to a Royal Navy recruit.

English singer-songwriter Reg Meuross wrote a song called "The Bevin Boys (Bill Pettinger's Lament)". The song was commissioned by Martin Pettinger as a tribute to his Bevin Boy father, Bill.

See also

  • Unfree labour – a related, although different concept; labour in time of war or national emergency is specifically exempted from the category of 'unfree labour', as is work related to fulfilling a civic obligation.

References

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  5. Hannah, Leslie (1979). "War and Post-war Crisis". Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 289–328. ISBN 978-0-333-22086-3.
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  7. "Colliery Taken Over By Mines Department". The Times. No. 49250. London. 1 June 1942. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Miners Accept Wage Award". The Times. No. 49270. London. 24 June 1942. p. 2.
  9. "The Coal Plan". The Times. No. 49253. London. 4 June 1942. p. 5.
  10. "Bonus on coal output". The Times. No. 49328. London. 31 August 1942. p. 2.
  11. "Increased output of coal". The Times. No. 49368. London. 16 October 1942. p. 2.
  12. "Coal output up slightly". The Times. No. 49417. London. 12 November 1942. p. 2.
  13. "Coal output still below standard". The Times. No. 49442. London. 13 January 1943. p. 2.
  14. HC Deb, 29 May 1945 vol 411 c109
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  16. "No more miners for the army". The Times. No. 48961. London. 25 June 1941. p. 5.
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  18. ^ Bevin, Ernest (December 1943) . "A call to youth for the coal mines". British Speeches of the Day. Vol. 10. London: British Information Services. pp. 22–24.
  19. HC Deb, 12 October 1943 vol 392 cc764-766
  20. ^ HC Deb, 2 December 1943 vol 395 cc521-529
  21. "Young men for the mines". The Times. No. 49719. London. 3 December 1943. p. 4.
  22. "First "Bevin Boys" start work". The Times. No. 49779. London. 14 February 1944. p. 2.
  23. "Bevin Boy loses appeal". The Times. No. 49821. London. 3 April 1944. p. 2.
  24. "Bevin Boy changes his mind". The Times. No. 49830. London. 14 April 1944. p. 2.
  25. "Prison for Bevin Boy". The Times. No. 49942. London. 23 August 1944. p. 2.
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  27. HC Deb, 15 June 1944 vol 400 c2105
  28. HC Deb, 14 December 1944 vol 406 c1328
  29. Interview 29 August 2019 with ex-Bevin Boy Kenneth Jones born 1926.
  30. "Grievances of Bevin Boys". The Times. No. 49758. London. 20 January 1944. p. 8.
  31. "Pit recruits go back". The Times. No. 49760. London. 22 January 1944. p. 4.
  32. "Coal strikes continued". The Times. No. 49802. London. 11 March 1944. p. 4.
  33. Called Up Sent Down : The Bevin Boys' War – Tom Hickman Pub. The History Press 2008 ISBN 0-7509-4547-8
  34. HC Deb, 9 December 1943 vol 395 c1108
  35. "Young mine workers". The Times. No. 49870. London. 31 May 1944. p. 8.
  36. Dent, Harold Collett (2007). "Chapter 1". Growth in English education, 1946–1952. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415432160.
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  39. "Bevin Boys honoured". The Times. No. 69281. London. 26 March 2008. p. 4.
  40. Appell, James (2008). "Forgotten conscripts no longer". The Oxonian Review of Books. 7 (3): 8–9. ISSN 1756-3909. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  41. "Court Circular". The Times. No. 70879. London. 8 May 2013. p. 51.
  42. ^ "Bevin Boys memorial unveiled by Countess of Wessex". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  43. "Bevin Boys Association entry on Culture24". Archived from the original on 20 July 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  44. "Lord Archer of Sandwell". The Times. No. 70605. London. 21 June 2012. p. 51.
  45. "Sir Stanley Bailey". The Times. No. 69406. London. 19 August 2008. p. 53.
  46. "Glasgow-born comedy star Stanley Baxter shows no sign of ending his love with radio". Glasgow Times. 13 December 2016. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  47. "Last of the Summer Wine's John Comer | Tea Time Tidbits | MPT Afternoon Tea". Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  48. "Lord Finsberg". The Times. No. 65705. London. 10 October 1996. p. 23.
  49. "Roy Grantham". The Times. No. 71043. London. 15 November 2013. p. 70.
  50. Mosse, Werner Eugen; Carlebach, Julius (1991). Second chance: two centuries of German-speaking Jews in the United Kingdom. Mohr Siebeck. p. 376. ISBN 9783161457418. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  51. "Bolton Council-Bolton's Bevin Boys remembered". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  52. "Dr Dickson Mabon". The Times. No. 69298. London. 15 April 2008. p. 54.
  53. "Lives in brief". The Times. No. 68637. London. 2 March 2006. p. 70.
  54. ^ Cooke, Ken (2007). History of the Percy Jackson Grammar School: Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, Yorkshire, 1939–1968 : Recollections of Schooldays of the 1940s, 1950s & 1960s. Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 6. ISBN 9781905886784.
  55. "Alun Owen". The Times. No. 65132. London. 8 December 1994. p. 23.
  56. "Kenneth Partridge, interior designer – obituary". The Telegraph. 21 December 2015. Archived from the original on 30 December 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  57. English Dance & Song. Vol. 41–44. English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1979. p. 18.
  58. Savile, Jimmy (23 December 1989). "I was forged in the crucible of want and I consider myself far more privileged". The Times. London.
  59. Morton, Ray (2011). Amadeus: Music on Film Series. Hal Leonard. p. 21. ISBN 9780879104177.
  60. Giddings, Robert (30 April 2009). "RADIO: Seamless drama goes underground to dig deep for victory". Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  61. Foster, Richard (10 May 2007). "Jez Lowe, Jack Common's Theme (Tantobie Records)". The Press. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  62. "Reg Meuross | The Bevin Boys (Bill Pettinger's Lament) - the PRSD". PRSD. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

External links

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