Mr Jordan

Father had been a soldier in India, mother sewed all their clothes, remembers wearing a dress as a small child. Walking to school, meals, loved the countryside. School mistress. Celebrations for the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. House, six of them in upstairs bedroom. Playing football. From 10, he delivered newspapers. From twelve, his father, a deputy overman, took him on trips into the pit - said that his father took him in seven for company. First impressions of the pit. Wanted to stay with newsagent but mine paid better, so went down at 14, as a traffic boy. Compares ugly mine to beautiful countryside, swimming naked in the river. Working with pit ponies. 1910 shorter working day, more music playing and cricket, and theatre visits. 1911 began drilling with the territorial army, wanted to join up but mother persuaded him not to. 1912 miners strike, happy pit ponies, more drilling. Hard going back into the pit, decided to sign up. Libraries and the workers education association. Married a teacher - courtship during the war, was quite a catch, probably because he was a soldier and had advanced himself though meeting others, did writing for people etc. Father only went to school for one day, worked in mine till 72. Mother couldn’t get a pension as under 70 and still had some savings. Boys running naked in the fields, and to clean river. Girls didn't intermix, families happy to marry off daughters young. Girls who "got into trouble" out of wedlock, treated badly by the rest. Mother helped deliver babies, father helped with funerals. Didn't know about much beyond village. When joined army, big contrast with mining village as everything clean and scrubbed, where in village everything mucky. Met some important people while working as medical orderly in army. How other soldiers viewed the northern pitman and his strikes. Was supposed to stop work because of state of his lungs but refused. Went back into army till invalided out, refused a pension. Believes got better with aid of Christian Science. Father always prayed before going down the mine, and said never lost a man.

Location: Washington, Usworth
County: Durham
AUD1983-215

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Transcript of audio:
Well - you see, I was in the army and I came on leave just before the first war started - and I met this bonny young woman, and I was in a smart soldier uniform and she must have had more romance in her than brains - and I was a smart young fella as you can imagine and - I must have attracted that romance that was there instead of having more sense. She'd seen the smart young fella coming to the - the wedding. I went to the wedding - it was an aunt of mine being married - and she was attracted to me and well, we just started to write - write to one another - which was a good thing because - although she was a girl who belonged to a mining family she was a cut above the average in those days. In those days you see there wasn't very many people that had anything about them at all.

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