Living History: Jim Slaughter

Jim Slaughter worked at Ashington Colliery in the middle years of the twentieth century and was interviewed for Past Perfect in July 2002. Here you can listen to the interview, track by track, and read a transcription. Throughout the Woodhorn site, you will find links to Jim's comments.

Jim worked at Ashington Colliery between 1938 and 1943. He first worked at the surface and on the screens, sorting coal, before being sent to the Colliery school by managers who thought he had the makings of a deputy. In 1938 Jim entered the RAF, but in 1947, after the end of World War II, he returned to the pit. From 1947 to 1969, Jim worked underground, creating drifts, staples and load ends.

Jim worked with his father, who taught him the skills he needed. He worked at the coal face for ten years, advancing the Mothergate every day. In 1969, Jim left the mine to train as a teacher. He still lives in Ashington.

The documents and text within the Woodhorn section of the Past Perfect site are linked to the relevant clips of the interview. However you can always explore all of the clips from the interview in the Table of Contents or learn more about 'pitmatic', the dialect of the mines.