1900 - 1994

Silverwood Mine

Hollings Lane

Thrybergh

Facts, Stories and Features

DEAN CLEMENT

Silverwood Deputy

Dean Clement arrived at Silverwood in 1989 as a Deputy and has a very knowledgeable insight into those final years of the Mine. He has also quite a remarkable personal history regarding the number of mines he worked at in his mining career.

 Dean originated in the nearby Barnsley area  and upon seeing the name Tony Lawson on this site recalls

My dad knocked around with Tony when they were kids, they both started their careers at Cortonwood. Tony left to do his face training at Wombwell main because there was a waiting list to do it at Cortonwood.

Gilbert Wilson was the manager when I was there and Marsh Turton was the deputy manager, Gilbert Wilson had previously been the manager at Bently colliery (a Doncaster pit). this was the pit where I did my deputies practical exam. This was where you spent a week at another pit at the end of which you had a verbal exam with the pits manager where he could asses that you were competent to be a deputy . Gilbert had tremendous respect at this pit mainly because he spoke out against the pit closure program-unlike most other pit managers .

However the entire plan was scrapped even tho we were halfway thru the development, the last two faces were then worked to the very ends of their boundaries-(to be honest this was typical of the coal board and the government ie, loads of investment followed by the closure of the pit-not even given the chance to produce coal) while the pit was being run down and the last two faces being worked the pit was making thousands of pounds every week and was above a million pound in the black!

The last two production faces were s21&s54,both faces were equipped with gullick 4 legged heavy duty shield supports and used bjd ace shearers to cut the coal, the manpower on each face was 8 faceworkers, 2deputies, 1fitter&1electrician. If you can imagine being stood in front of the shafts, looking in the direction of Conisborough, this is the area we were working In. The s21 face started production near the cemetery at the top of Conisborough and retreated back about 1000m towards the pit. When it reached the end of its life the face was still about 3000m from the pit bottom, we were mining at a depth of approx 8-900meters,in the swallow wood seam.s54s face was approx 1000m nearer the pit bottom,  this went off the main roadways at a right angle towards Kilnhurst. The equipment on 21s face was salvaged to be used at another pit, the equipment on 54s face was left in the pit!.

I can gas on about the pit all day! those were the best days of my working life...these days I own a costcutter store in a village called Shafton which is in Barnsley.

Dean Clement.

Many thanks Dean for your contribution to this site