1900 - 1994

Silverwood Mine

Hollings Lane

Thrybergh

Facts, Stories and Features

KEITH B. SCHOLEY

Presented by Lee Scholey

My dad Keith B. Scholey was born in 1945 upon reaching school age he attended South Grove School at Rotherham later moving to Spurley Hey secondary school on Cranworth Road Rotherham. This was a split boys and girls school and also the same school as my mum went to, although they never met until they left school. Mums name  is Janet and they married in 1967.

THE MINING YEARS

 Dad left school in 1960 and started work at a local colliery, from there he started his training course on the 3rd of October that year at the mining training centre section of Rotherham Technical College.  The course ended on the 24 of February 1962 and dad was awarded the certificate above which qualified him to work below ground in a coal mine.

Like many miners he changed his place of work a few times in an area surrounded by coal mines and he was employed at Cadeby, Manvers Main and Aldwarke.

Moving to Silverwood in 1970 he was employed as a face worker and unfortunately was involved in a couple of accidents. His first accident was a face cave in which happened around 1969/70. My mother remembers a 'Mr Orton' died in the same accident. My dad was rescued suffering the effects of breathing coal dust and my mother recalls how he had a patch on his shoulder that was caused by the 'dust' getting under his skin?

The second accident was around 1979/80 and involved a pit prop falling on his back, breaking his battery pack in the process. After this he was told that he wasn't of any use to the coal board! , probably because he never regained full fitness, and so it was that in 1981 he was retired on doctors orders due to the serious injuries received. 

Sadly we lost dad in April 2006

©Lee Scholey

Many thanks to Lee for contributing his Dad's story here.