Neil first took up coal mining in 1976 as a young, and perhaps not so innocent, 16 year-old at Darfield Main Colliery. After gaining his mechanical fitter’s ticket he took a break from the industry – but the call of pit (and the money!) was too much and he retuned to Houghton Main Colliery for 7 years, including a one-year strike. During his time at Houghton an Electra shearer was introduced, which he adopted as his own and was working for Anderson Strathclyde 18 months later. The next decade was spent in trouble, or trouble shooting any mine in the UK that was still open, or abroad in countries like India, France, Poland, and of course, Australia. It was in Australia Neil declared that he would be back and three companies, three years and three relationships later he is now sure he has got it right. He is currently senior service engineer with Joy.

Out of work Neil declared he used to be known for enjoying a dance or two, but now centres his attentions on fishing, swimming, biking, scuba diving and beachcombing on 20 kilometres of beach on his quad bike – “If I get time I go to work”

ILN:What is your earliest mining memory?

NW: Going to the mine with my Dad to pick up his pay and being treated to a Kit Kat and a pot of milk in the canteen.

ILN: What made you choose mining as a career?

NW: I had left school for two weeks and in my mind I was still undecided what to do, so my Dad made my mind up for me. He gave me two choices, the pit or the Army. He noted that I had an issue with authority so suggested the pit as a softer option, as there was less chance of someone shooting me.

ILN: When was your first underground visit?

NW: In 1976 I was taken to the Darfield main colliery upcast shaft pit bottom to see the “run round”. This was a merry-go-round of full and empty ten-ton tubs. I can still smell the hot fast dusty air, heavy with oil, and sweat.

ILN: What was your favourite job in a coal mine?

NW: Chopping off rusty nuts with a hand hammer and chisel. I hardly ever missed that chisel, it’s funny how pain focuses the hand to eye co-ordination.

ILN: What was your least favourite job?

NW: Hanging pipes in the North-East plane in the middle of winter. No gloves - I swear it was so cold you could have snapped my ears off.

ILN: What made you decide to join the longwall industry in Australia?

NW: Memories of my previous answer.

ILN: Did you have to make any large cultural adjustments from living in England to living in Australia?

NW: Not really, I drank too much there as well (just kidding). The biggest cultural change was being able to “go on holiday” every weekend. By that I mean living by the beach - it’s a love affair I hope will continue well into old age.

ILN: Who, or what, has most influenced your mining career?

NW: Being apprenticed at a mine that had no tools, no spares, no money. It teaches you to think outside the box when faced with seemingly impossible breakdown situations.

ILN: What do you see as being the greatest mining development during your career?

NW: Automation - minimising time spent working in the worst of the conditions underground.

ILN: Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?

NW: Yes, I want to go fishing for Marlin (Not Nemos Dad).

ILN: You have spent time in mines around the world, have you ever had any difficulties with language while abroad?

NW: I have usually managed to speak enough of the language to get by - like “Ill have another beer”, “do you want to dance”, “mine’s a double”, “where can I throw up”. But you can look stupid sometimes. I was at a coal mine in India with another colleague playing trivial pursuit, when we were joined by a young Indian engineer from the mine. He asked if he could join us as it would help improve his knowledge of English. We had been playing for sometime and we were being pro-active correcting his pronunciation and diction as the game went on. Generally, Indians tend to trip over themselves with enthusiasm and become intelligible. My colleague had more patience than I and at the third request of asking him to repeat the question he was trying to ask me, which went something like: “In the 1960’s who had a hit with ??????” - Absolute Gibberish! I snatched the card from him and threw it in the air reminding him that he must speak slowly and clearly to be understood. My colleague retrieved the card and collapsed with laughter as the card read: “In the 1960s who had a hit with “do wah diddy diddy dum diddy doo?” I was very apologetic and I have never commented on people’s accents since.

ILN: What was your most embarrassing moment in a coal mine?

NW: It was at South Bulga when I was taking a close look at the shearer, the pumps tripped, trapping me by both my toecaps under a relay bar. No pain, apart from acute embarrassment.

ILN: What was your scariest time in a coal mine?

NW: Being lowered into the mine in a cage not knowing that the pit bottom had flooded. Fortunately the winding engine was stopped due to the balance rope limit trips and we were wound back up. We then learned how close we were to being lowered into the flooded shaft.

ILN: What is your worst memory of coal mining?

NW: Watching all the local coal mines in the UK being bulldozed down the shafts while good men watched on, wondering if they would ever know working life again.

ILN: Do you think that the day of the fully automated remotely operated face is near?

NW: Yes, somewhere in the world it will be done. The closer we move towards it, it will reduce the exposure of miners to the harsher side of the conditions, which has to be a good thing.

ILN: What major improvements would you like to see on longwall operations?

NW: I would like to see technology being used to ensure greater recovery of the coal being left behind in current longwall operations. This coal is nature’s gift to mankind and should not be wasted. We have to answer to future generations that will question our slash and burn tactics of resource management. The country’s coal is a national asset and should be treated as such. But don’t get me on that horse or I won’t get off!