Hauxley Colliery
 

It is 50 years today since Hauxley Colliery ceased coal production, 26th November 1966. Salvage work continued until February 1967 when the remaining men either went into retirement or transferred to Shilbottle and Whittle.

A sad day.

It changed the district's way of life for ever and led to the destruction of Radcliffe, the village where I lived as a child.

Here's Janwhin's list of those killed at Hauxley Colliery over its lifespan. I never got the link for this page live until today.

I see in there we have a 1924 injured man, Thomas Hedley, dying over a year later in 1925. No more information.
Is this not a pre Hauxley date? Opened 1926? Is he working in the new shaft or the Newburgh shaft bottom to Hauxley shaft bottom underground roadway perhaps?

Probably possible now to fill in some of the gaps.

For example John Edward Shell from Byron Street Amble was electrocuted according to the Sunderland Echo.

......
and my birthplace Newburgh !
NewburghLad

Newburgh
 

......and my birthplace Newburgh !
NewburghLad.

John William Johnson was killed during my time at Hauxley, he was a drawer on a face on the East side of the Brockwell and was killed by a fall of stone.

The Hauxley list I sourced straight from the Durham Mining Memorial but I'll revisit the newspapers and see what I can add.
I can remember being at school when the closure of Hauxley was raised with the miners. My dad was talking about moving to the Rotherham area, so that must have been on offer. Thank goodness he went to Shilbottle instead. Phew.

I have the WW1 medal set for Robert Henry Wake, (7th NF) his brother (John Cuthbertson) is in the Hauxley Colliery fatality list. They lived at one time in the 'N.E.R. Railway Cottages' at Amble. Previously Brewery Lane, Warkworth. Their father John was a plate layer on the railways. Robert was one of the lucky ones that got out of the war early in 1916, 'time expired'. They did want him to stay....but.. nah.


Edit: It looks like John Cuthbertson Wake also served in the Northumberland Fusiliers in WW1. Survived the war but not Hauxley pit unfortunately.