Radcliffe drift.
I was born at my grannies house at 15 Centre Row and although we lived in Amble my mother took me up to Radcliffe every day until I started school. As a 4-5 year old I used to go along to the drift and as the cabin men there knew me through my father, they would give me sweets etc. I also was shown down the drift which didn't seem to be very deep but the air was "return" air. The entrance, to one side, where the ponies went in had a barred section and I can remember trying to look in and getting my head stuck and the cabin man having to release me. Two of the men who were at the cabin were a man called Davison who lived at the end house in Edwin street, corner of Bede street and Torr Anderson who lived in Middleton street in Amble. These men were responsible for checking the miners in and out of the pit and issuing them with explosives from the powder magazine next door.
|