From producing coal to making memories: Meet the men keeping industry alive at the National Coal Mining Museum

Alan Chalkley is rather poetic in how he sums up how life has changed for him and his coal mining comrades. “Although we don’t produce coal (anymore), we do now produce memories - and happy memories at that,” he says.

Alan is part of a team at the National Coal Mining Museum for England who between them have decades of experience working in the coal industry. Nine years have now passed since the closure of the country’s last deep coal mine - North Yorkshire’s Kellingley Colliery, or ‘Big K’ as it was affectionately called. But on the site of Caphouse Colliery, at the edge of the Yorkshire coalfield, the museum offers a living history, going deep into the heart of generations of coal mining and exploring what the industry has meant for the nation.

At the core are mine workers like Alan, with real experiences and expertise, and a whole lot of passion. “I like to think we were Britain one day and then when we discovered coal, we were Great Britain,” the 67-year-old engineer reflects. “It created an empire did coal. We wouldn’t have had steam without coal. And without steam, we wouldn’t have the mechanisation that came afterwards.”

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“It powered this country did coal,” adds mine guide Russ Jones. “And alright we’ve got to change, coal were dirty. But it’s history and you can’t change history.”

Alan Chalkley and Rob Harper at the National Coal Mining Museum. Photo: Simon HulmeAlan Chalkley and Rob Harper at the National Coal Mining Museum. Photo: Simon Hulme
Alan Chalkley and Rob Harper at the National Coal Mining Museum. Photo: Simon Hulme

A big part of the work Russ and his colleagues do is bringing to life that history. That involves taking varying visitor groups on a 140m journey underground, sharing their own working lives and experiences on the way. They hone in on all aspects of mining life, creating a picture of work and camaraderie at the pit.

“We get to pass on our knowledge and experience,” explains fellow mine guide Rob Harper. Like Russ, he was working at Kellingley when the pit closed back in 2015. “When we finished, when the last pit shut, we were still at the top of our game I would say. It’s still within us. Fortunately, this feels like a continuation, and we get to pass everything on, change people’s misconceptions, tell them a bit about the history of mining. I thought I knew about mining but I didn’t ‘til I got here. Everyday we learn something new and it’s a pleasure to pass that on to the next generation because they don’t (necessarily) know the significance or the history.”

Visitor interaction is part of their everyday, but not the only string that the mine workers have to their bow. With years of experience in mining, they’re responsible for repairs and maintenance underground and ensuring the pit adheres to mining regulations. At surface level, they have turned their hand to everything from fixing fences to developing new areas of the museum and, in Alan’s case, creating an adventure playground. “You name it, we’ve done it,” says 58-year-old Rob, from Hemsworth. “We’ve become adaptable.”

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They’ve had to be - and for a long time. Before they took up their posts at the mining museum, they turned their skills to other fields, some left with no choice as the coal industry came to a close. For many miners, the industry was in their blood, a family affair for a generation, the only career they’d known – more than a job, a way of life.

Alan Chalkley, Russ Jones and Rob Harper are among those working to keep industry alive at the National Coal Mining Museum. Picture: Simon HulmeAlan Chalkley, Russ Jones and Rob Harper are among those working to keep industry alive at the National Coal Mining Museum. Picture: Simon Hulme
Alan Chalkley, Russ Jones and Rob Harper are among those working to keep industry alive at the National Coal Mining Museum. Picture: Simon Hulme

Rob and Russ both started their mining careers in 1982. Rob began at South Kirkby Colliery and then spent 27 years at Kellingley, finishing as a supervisor on the coal face. Then it was on to work at Nestle before he became a mine guide at the museum in February 2022.

For 58-year-old Russ, originally from Barnsley, mining life began at Woolley Colliery before he transferred to Riccall Mine in the Selby Coalfield in 1986. After that closed, it was on to Kellingley and then he did stints at Mercedes Benz and with the AngloAmerican Woodsmith Project - the development of a polyhalite fertiliser mine near to Whitby. He joined the mining museum team three-and-a-half-years-ago.

Alan came out of mining much earlier, claiming he saw “the writing on the wall”. He worked in mining engineering from 1972 until 1987, predominantly at Nostell Colliery in Wakefield. In the three decades that followed, he stayed in engineering, in a foundry and then in the food industry, before becoming a mechanical engineer at the museum in 2015.

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Their colleague Neil Williams is one of the museum’s newest recruits. The 60-year-old, originally from Doncaster began his mine career at Askern Colliery, becoming an electrician and working on the coal face to maintain electrical equipment. From 1991, he then worked with the mine rescue brigade, responding to disasters and emergencies in local pits. “I’ve been to numerous incidents, accidents, fires, explosions,” he says. “The rescue service was like the emergency service for the coal mines. When we got to the pit, we’d get respect off everybody. Because in the heat of the battle, when the proverbial hits the fan, who do they call?”

A miner walks to the showers after his last shift as deep coal mining comes to an end in the UK at Kellingley Colliery.   18 December 2015.  Picture Bruce RollinsonA miner walks to the showers after his last shift as deep coal mining comes to an end in the UK at Kellingley Colliery.   18 December 2015.  Picture Bruce Rollinson
A miner walks to the showers after his last shift as deep coal mining comes to an end in the UK at Kellingley Colliery. 18 December 2015. Picture Bruce Rollinson

After Kellingley closed, Neil worked at several power stations as a safety adviser and like Russ, also worked on the Woodsmith Project. He joined the mining museum as a safety manager just two months ago. “I’m back to where I belong,” he says. “I’m back in mining, I’m back in safety and I’m doing what I love.” That pride and passion echoes through all of the men. “It was a hard industry but I can’t complain,” reflects Russ. “It gave me a good living all my life. And if Kellingley were still open, I would still be there today.”

All of the men speak of joining the 1984-85 miners’ strike, major industrial action that took place in an attempt to prevent the closures of pits. “It was the turning point in the industry,” Rob says. “For the next 31 years, you’ve got the axe over your head. Imagine working with that, knowing it’s coming all your working life. The industry was shrinking. It’s hard to plan a future when you know eventually it’s going to come to an end.”

For Neil, returning to work after the strike remains one of the proudest moments of his life. “We all went to the welfare (club), we had the brass band with us, we had our pit banner and we walked through the village. Every house gave us all a clap, clapping the miners as they went back to work. I stood tall and proud.”

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Memorable for him was also the Christmas period. Even though they were underground, miners still celebrated, he says. “It was special. We used to trim up the roadways with decorations. And the last shift before Christmas...everybody on that coal face brought stuff to eat so at snap time, paper bags would be laid out on the conveyor belt and we’d have a full feast. It was fantastic.”

Mine guides take visitors underground. Photo: John Garon/NCMMMine guides take visitors underground. Photo: John Garon/NCMM
Mine guides take visitors underground. Photo: John Garon/NCMM

Today, part of the men’s work is making Christmas special for the museum’s visitors. Its Santa Underground experience gives families the opportunity to descend to the depths of the pit to visit Father Christmas in a unique grotto. “We’ve got generations who’ve been with their parents and are now fetching their kids and some of them, grandkids,” Rob says. “You see their eyes light up. It’s marvellous.”

The practicalities of the pit transformation take some careful planning - and the best part of a month. Everything that’s underground for the grotto has to be taken underground - from a sleigh, to Santa’s chimney, baubles and white sheeting. Then, straight after Christmas, it’s time to get it all back out.

All this is part of the day job for the versatile team. And though their role today can be rather different to life inside a working mine, they’re thrilled to still be part of the coal story, keeping the industry alive for generations to come. “It’s better than money really,” says Alan. “We were chasing money and production back in the day and now we’re chasing smiles on the faces of visitors.”

Santa Underground runs at the National Coal Mining Museum for England, until December 24.

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