A Reluctant Conscript 1944-1948 - A Bevin Boy's Memoirs

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-1948 Part 1 & 2

What was not expected were the orders to report to The Prince of Wales Colliery, Pontefract for training as...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-1948 Part 3

As our period of training was coming to the end and the time came for me to be allotted to colliery in...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-1948 Part 4

Helmeted and booted I made my way to the lamp room and exchanged one of my two brass tokens with my works...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 5

Following the queue, I found myself at the time keepers office with it's chin high hatch in the...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 6

Every day air activity was evident, sights of troop carrying gliders being towed by Dakotas and other large...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 7

I had never seen the stables before and was surprised to see a long white-washed, brightly lit area with...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 8

It was when Dandy and I were walking to work along the dark, lonely ventilation roadway that I made some...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 9

Monckton Colliery and it's flaming coke and chemical plant sat on a hill a overlooking Royston, a...

A Reluctant Conscript. 1944-48 Part 10

It was about this time that the Yorkshire lads began to ask me if I had ridden Dandy yet, my answer was...