Riccall Mine – Page 2 – Selby Superpit

My Mines Rescue Memories.

This is a little bit of my history and memories working as a Part time Mines Rescue Brigadesman at the Selby Coalfield.

I was a miner from 1979 when I started as an apprentice electrician at South Kirkby Colliery and I worked at 4 pits during my time as a miner. I have worked on the coal face and in headings (tunnelling) since 1980 aged 17.
I always knew about what a Rescue Man did after talking with my Grandad Sep, who was a Rescue Man at Monckton Colliery at Royston and worked for the Rescue Corp retrieving casualties from collapsed buildings in the WW2.
I also remember the Lofthouse Colliery Disaster and the Houghton Main Disaster as a young lad.
One specific incident in 1983 where a good friend of mine was killed at my first pit, South Kirkby, made me want to join the rescue team.
I was unable to become a Rescue Man at my first pit due to availability of spaces but was put on the list for training by my Colliery Overman, when a space came up. Due to the miners’ strike and subsequent colliery closures, this never happened.
When I transferred to Riccall Mine, in the Selby Coalfield, I finally became a Part Time Rescue Man after being put forward by the Colliery Safety Officer, who was also one of the Rescue Team Captains. I did my initial 14 days training in early 1994 at Selby Rescue Station and became a member of the Riccall Mine Rescue Team.

How did you become a Rescue Man and what do you think a Mines Rescue Man did?

After acceptance of application and before initial training you had to pass a very thorough medical including eyesight, hearing, lung function, x-rays for lung dust damage, mobility and fitness test using a treadmill and heart monitoring. This medical happened every year whilst you were a Rescue Man.
This was required due to regulations for wearing breathing apparatus.
An interesting fact, from before my time as a rescue man, was you had to have teeth in good condition due to having to bite on a mouthpiece rather than using a facemask.

You had to pass a Mining First Aid Training course including administering Pethidine (Morphine) pain relief injections.
You had to pass a Flame Safety Lamp gas testing course.
You must learn how to feed canaries (only joking)

Initial Training.
Initial training consisted of a rigorous 14-day course.
During the course you had to prove competence wearing Breathing Apparatus in all types of mining, confined space and rescue scenarios.

S.E.F.A (image courtesy of Anthony Appleyard, at English Wikipedia)

The breathing apparatus used was called a S.E.F.A. which was an oxygen closed circuit (rebreather) type, designed to last 2 hours (+20%) in good conditions.
In tougher conditions the Breathing Apparatus could be set to give higher Oxygen flow but only lasted 1 hour.
It basically looks like a stainless-steel box with 2 vacuum cleaner pipes and a face mask.
You had to learn how to use, charge, strip, clean and rebuild the set. You learned how to examine, test and maintain the set but mainly trust it with your life. This was done twice a day, every day, during your training.
Wearing this equipment gave you terrible headaches for a few days before your body became accustomed to breathing 100% Oxygen.
Included in the course was a wearing inside a hot and humid chamber where the trainees were tested to the limits of the breathing apparatus in extreme heat and humidity whilst carrying water barrels, cycling, shovelling hardcore, lifting weights and other high intensity exercises. The team captain monitored every team member with environmental conditions and oxygen gauges being checked and recorded. The heat and humidity were monitored using a piece of kit called a Whirling Hygrometer, which consisted of 2 thermometers on a frame. One had a wet sleeve over the thermometer bulb with the other one being dry. This equipment gave temperature and humidity recordings to decide the duration of working time. The time inside the chamber lasted 19 minutes, the maximum in these conditions. This was carried out as part of another training session, so we never had a steady day.

Casella Whirling Hygrometer. Photograph courtesy of the Science Museum

Let me tell you what a Rescue Team Captain did!
Rescue Team Captain’s needed to be logical, quick thinking problem solvers. They were expected to have a good local knowledge, be highly trained and experienced. Being pragmatic, practical and courageous was also a great quality.
One of the captain’s jobs before going down the pit was to check the lamproom barometer and log the reading. Low surface atmospheric pressure causes methane to migrate from the coal and the workings underground. This can elevate methane levels which is very dangerous.
His job was to ensure the safety of his team so theoretically he would not carry out any practical work.
He had to ensure the team had all the equipment needed before they went underground and that it had all been checked and ready to go.
He had to check his team’s B.A.s before leaving the fresh air base and monitor the teams oxygen use by doing gauge checks every 15 minutes.
He had to keep an eye on the team members to ensure they weren’t suffering ill effects.
He had to log the teams progress into the mine, using his mine plan, marking the way in and out so that they could get back out without running out of oxygen.
He made a written a log of everything they did and marked anything relevant on the mine plan.
He was the one who lead the team so he gave the signals, by whistle, to control the team movements.
He ensured environmental readings were taken to ensure safety of his team and this information was passed on to the next team at the fresh air base.
He listened to his teams brief at the fresh air base very carefully and annotated it in his logbook with the task they needed to do.

Due to the Lofthouse Colliery Inrush Disaster in 1973, new training was needed involving using breathing apparatus in mine slurry and water. This involved working as a team in a swimming pool carrying weights to ensure you weren’t buoyant, whilst having a black out bag over your head and facemask. We had to walk around the pool in loops to feel what it was like trying to breath in your B.A. sets in the 10-foot-deep end of the pool.
This was quite a difficult test due to the water pressure and It felt like trying to breathe with a wide, tight belt around your chest.
Another training exercise involved using your Breathing Apparatus in a scenario where you were entrapped. We visited Kellingley Colliery for this training using some of the old mine workings to do it. The team captain, using a mine plan, had to find a specific point in the mine. Then we were told the roadway had collapsed behind us and the team was trapped. Your aim was to minimise your oxygen use to ensure it lasted as long as physically possible. This is achieved by turning the valve on and off and feeling for the carbon dioxide building up then restoring the oxygen flow. The team captain monitored everyone, with only one lamp being used, to ensure no one got into difficulty. Quite a responsibility you could say. We all survived thankfully.
During the training we worked together as teams of 5, one of us carrying out the duties of Captain for that day.
We used most of the equipment available for use in rescue work during the two weeks until it became second nature.
First Aid was a major part of our training. It involved uses of 3 different types of stretchers and carrying sheets, including drag stretchers, full body splints for back and femur injuries, Entonox and Morphine pain relief drugs , oxygen resuscitator / revivers, bandaging and burn relief. This was carried out either underground or in one of the four simulated underground galleries at the Rescue Station.
This was the reason rescue men tie multiple broad fold triangle bandages around the neck for quick deployment.
Casualty handling was a big part of rescue and learning how to get large, often injured men, through small spaces and around tight corners without breaking them was quite important.
Carrying heavy stretchers long distances was practiced. The trick is to change position regularly but always move 2 positions, clockwise at each change to opposite corners of the stretcher.
When reading mine plans the trick was to always orientate the plan to the direction of travel. Always mark each change of direction and every roadway junction with a chalk arrow on metalwork, props or girders to ensure you could retrace your steps and in the case of further rescue teams having to find or rescue you they would follow your steps inbye to your last point. On your way back out you always marked the arrow with a second point to show where you had been. Marking of position of injured men or bodies had to be annotated on the mine plan and in your log also.
Monitoring of gases during time underground was very important to ensure safety and for record keeping. The Rescue Team Captain ensured testing was carried out and all results noted on the mine plan and in his logbook. An electronic multi gas tester was carried called a Status Mentor continuously checking for carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen sulphide and oxygen levels.
Carbon Monoxide 200ppm highly dangerous, Hydrogen Sulphide 100ppm fatal. Methane 5 to 15 % explosive and oxygen less than 17%
A piece of equipment called a Drager Tube Sampler was also available for extremely accurate measurement of mine gases including hydrogen cyanide.
On the last day of training when all practical exercises and written examinations were passed a certificate of training is presented which I still have. This was the day you become a Rescue Man and the Mines Rescue green holdall with your rescue helmet and equipment is allowed to be used in anger. A very proud day.
Once you are trained you were entered onto the register of men available for deployment to incidents.
You carried out 6 training session per year, usually with your pit team, of which you are a member. If you miss one you must catch it up, often with a team from another pit.
You attended a medical and fitness test every year which must be passed, or you are withdrawn from the list of available men.
Every three years you attended a methane gas testing course and first aid course to maintain competency.
The aim of practices was to familiarise yourself with all the mines in your area. This predated sat navs and mobiles, therefore knowing where each pit was situated is essential. Once visited they are logged in your mind, especially the more difficult ones to access such as Hayroyds Colliery which was on a small lane off road in Clayton West and Hatfield Main Colliery which was not in Hatfield but at Stainforth in the Doncaster area.
Keeping a record of availability of all the Selby Rescue Men was very important so all shift patterns, holidays, injuries or sickness, changes of address and telephone numbers were always reported to the main rescue station at Selby immediately. Every Saturday morning an alerter/pager test was carried out. If the alerter didn’t work at 0900 you had to call the station to report it. You always carried your alerter with you when not underground.

My green rescue holdall contained all the things needed to attend an incident as Rescue Team Captain.
Green rescue helmet with head straps and ear protection fitted.
Overalls and shorts,
Multiple undies, t-shirts and pairs of socks,
Boots,
Shin guards,
Gloves,
Finger tape,
Kneepads,
Belt with a spanner and knife,
Swipe card and leather case. These were issued at each pit when attending incidents and practices for recording entry and exit from the mine. A sort of modern pit check system.
Barrier cream for skin protection in acid/alkali conditions,
6 ironed and folded triangle bandages,
A pack of chalk for marking up underground,
A box of short pencils (so they don’t break in your pocket),
Captains Record Book with Breathing Apparatus duration tables,
Rescue Training / Incident Logbook with pens,
Two mechanical wind-up watches, one for wearing and the other kept in your pocket as a spare (No battery watches allowed). These were used to time all checks and logs whilst underground so having a spare was important. Watches were always set and checked with the Rescue Officer at the Fresh Air Base before entering an unsafe area.
A packet of BIC razors for having a dry shave to ensure a facemask seal. This was a must have when you have been working and you get a call without having had a shave for a week.
Lucky charm and photo of wife and kids (joking)
Doing well in Rescue competitions gave the Riccall Mine manager a great sense of pride. It was usually very closely fought between the Selby Coalfield Mines, Prince of Wales and Hatfield Main.

Riccall No1 Team
Selby Group Rescue Competition 1995

Riccall No1 team came a very good second place in the very last National Rescue Competition at Doncaster Racecourse Exhibition Centre in 1997 with Longannet No1 team winning the competition.

Riccall Mine No 1 Rescue Team

Shaun Hager, Derek Stott, Chris Schofield, Paul Nicholson, Mick Hodgkinson and Mick Armitage.

We had a good drink afterwards to rehydrate of course.
During my time I visited all the pits in my area and was Rescue Team Captain at Riccall Mine at an incident involving an underground spontaneous combustion fire, working to seal off H439s coalface and was on standby for Prince of Wales Colliery Explosion. I was a rescue man at three pits, Riccall Mine, Hayroyds Colliery and Hatfield Main Colliery before leaving to be a Wholetime Firefighter at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

Starting at Riccall Mine

Riccall Mine

I remember my transfer to Riccall Mine like it was yesterday. I was working as a heading / coalface electrician at South Kirkby Colliery from 1979 to 1986. The pit seemed to be doing quite well with two new seams, the Fenton and the Highfield or Top Newhill having successful faces running. Suddenly the pit was planned to merge with Ferrymoor/Riddings Drift Mine. The writing was on the wall, as we all knew in the coal industry, merge a pit with another and then close two for the price of one. I knew I had to make my own way to the Selby Coalfield if I had a chance of staying in the industry as transfer options were still very difficult due to planned staffing at Selby taking place from closing collieries in the old North Yorkshire Area mentioned in previous posts. After a few phone calls and an interview with Bill Hagan at North Yorkshire Area manpower to explain the transferring, travelling and moving house allowances I transferred to Riccall Mine. It proved to be the best move I made. I signed on at Riccall Mine in September 1986 with a lot of lads from Kingsley Drift Mine, signing on the same day due to closure of their pit. It was on a thursday so my last day was to be Friday at South Kirkby Colliery. I said my good byes on the Friday dayshift and had the weekend off before starting Monday, on the day shift at Riccall Mine. The first day consisted of getting my new two piece overalls, something I had never seen before, tools, pit head bath keys, electrical locks and PPE for the new pit and introductions to some of my new shift. Quite a few of the people who signed on the same day as me ended up on the same shift including one of my new Shift Charge Engineer who I worked with until my last day at Riccall Mine.
As I walked around the surface buildings I was very impressed by the brand new pit and how clean, tidy, modern and well designed it was. When I went into the pit yard for a look around the surface the first thing I noticed was the mine car handling plant at the No1 shaft.

Qualter Hall were the contractors for the Mine Car Handling Plants in the Selby Coalfield.
Coal is unloaded from the cages in mine cars through a tippler, which emptied the coal, and returning back onto the cage to go underground using a LOFCO chain driven system. The coal was then sent by road for processing elsewhere. This system was used at all the Selby Mines, for the heading drivages, before the mines were connected to Gascoigne Wood Drift in December 1987. This was not the equipment I expected to see at Selby but it served it’s purpose well.

Riccall No 1 Pit Bottom with mine car coal clearance in 1987

The mine car handling plant was later removed when the Gascoigne Wood coal clearance was fully operational. During the time the mine car handling plant was used for coal clearance, the underground supply system was a double bogie GMT (Gyro Mining Transport ) mine car system using the No2 shaft, something I had never seen before.
The surface was 64 acres, very small compared with my old pit, and was built on a disused WW2 airfield, virtually invisible from the road. It has a huge soil banking which was landscaped around the visible edges of the mine surface using trees to hide the mine from view as agreed in the public enquiry in 1975. The plan, after closure of the mine, was to restore the mine surface back to farm land using the soil in the banking as infill but this was never used as the mine is used as a business park nowadays.

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Riccall Mine Surface Buildings

No1 Shaft was a downcast with a ground mounted double parallel winder with two eight tonnes or 72 manriding capacity cages . No2 Shaft was an upcast with a tower mounted multi rope friction winder with a single cage and counterweight. The cage capacity was 16 tonnes or 149 manriding capacity on 2 decks. It also had a system of a tilting deck cage so larger or longer pieces of equipment could be lowered underground inside the cage without using slinging under the cage. The tilting deck cage was used for the huge amount of compound girders used in development drivages and bunker / drivehouse roadways at the North of the mine where the coal was loaded into Gascoigne Wood.
The shift I was put on had two Shift Charge Engineers, one from Royston Drift Mine and one from Kinsley Drift Mine who started on the same day as me. The lads on the shift were mainly from Newmarket Colliery with a couple of Woolley lads, one Fryston and myself from South Kirkby Colliery. The chargehand was from Woolley Colliery who I knew from my apprenticeship times at Monk Bretton Training Centre.
My first day underground was to give me an idea how the pit was set up and how things worked. I rode underground in the No2 shaft and was suprised how large the cage was. It would carry 149 men on two decks. When I got off the cage the temperature was quite warm and I realised why we were given 2 piece overalls.
The mine was set up to use No2 shaft as the mine supply shaft. The pit bottom was very modern with a Qualter Hall hinged platform and chain ram system used to push full articulated G.M.T. Mine cars off the cage using the empty G.M.T.’s. The full cars were kept in the pit bottom passbye system for later transportation to districts. Headings were supplied with arch packs, a pre packed system with all the materials needed for setting a pre determined amount of girders. If the girders were 16 x 12 ft they were packed in 5 settings with 19 x 13ft being packed in 4 settings. The materials were transported by flameproof Clayton BoBo or Clayton Pony rubber tyred battery Locomotives.

Clayton BoBo rubber tyred battery locomotive.

Clayton Pony rubber tyred locomotive hauling a powered face support.

The charging and maintenance station for the loco’s was in the pit bottom with dedicated fitters and electricians looking after the loco’s.
No1 shaft was used as the coal clearance shaft loading 2 tonne mine cars from the strata bunker in the north conveyor road onto the pit bottom coal handling system and then loading onto the double deck cage for disposal on the surface. The system was another Qualter Hall Engineering design and worked well. When I first saw the system I was very surprised at a brand new mine.
The mine was developed with three lateral roadways, two intakes and one return. The North Intake and North Conveyor were the intakes from the No1 shaft with the North Return to the No2 upcast shaft. The North Return had a central rackatrack installed on the sleepers from the pit bottom to 700m mark. This was intended for Rackatrack locos but they were never used as rubber tyred Clayton BoBos and Pony locos were a preferred option.

The North Intake and North Conveyor roadways were the connections to Gascoigne Wood for coal clearance. The North Conveyor and North Return were driven by Mk 2B roadheaders and were both completed when I started in September 1986. The North Intake was still under development using a Dosco Mk 2A revised hydraulic Roadheader with a trial MEDC intrinsically safe pilot circuit unit. The only one I have ever seen.
The South Headings were the South Intake and South Conveyor from the No 1 shaft with the South Return heading to the No 2 upcast shaft. I was to be the electrician in the South Return heading. All the headings were developed with cross slits for the coalface main and tailgates which also kept the temperatures in the lateral headings slightly cooler. The South Conveyor heading was driven with Dosco Mk2B roadheader and was nearly completed to the Whitemoor Mine connection when I started. The South Intake and South Return headings were being driven using Mk2A revised hydraulic roadheaders.
I started the next day in my new job with the heading team. The team was a mixture of men from different pits consisting of two young back up lads, Johnny Baker and Bernard White from Newmarket Colliery, the Deputy was Johnny Dale from Fryston Colliery with the heading team from Rothwell, Peckfield and Newmarket Collieries who were Tony Armstrong, Frankie Parr and Johnny Millar, the fitter, Chris Ward was from Park Hill Colliery.
The South side coalface headings were HO1CR’s (C1’s) main and tailgate. The tailgate was developed using a Joy Continuous Miner (JCM12) with two shuttle cars for coal clearance to the gate conveyor. The maingate was driven by a Mk2A revised hydraulic roadheader.
The North side face headings were HO2DR’s (D2’s) Main and Tailgate. The tailgate was developed using a Lee Norse Continuous Miner (LN800 1TT). This machine was an American specification and could cut out for a setting in 7 minutes. This was the first heading at Riccall Mine to use bolts as a support system. The maingate was driven by a Dosco Mk 2A revised hydraulic roadheader.
I settled in to working at Riccall Mine within days and quickly realised I had made a good move. The mine was developing very quickly and new installations were happening on a weekly basis. The availability of overtime was limitless and the development production bonus was very good due to good mining conditions cutting a 2.6 metre seam and very powerful, high speed continuous miners being used in the face developments.

I worked in the South Return heading, which progressed well, until just before the heading made the connection with Whitemoor Mine, when I became chargehand on my shift. In April 1987 the heading hit a partial washout. In this area of the heading, water started dripping from the roof and sides. The water was incredibly acidic and left awful red marks all over any bare skin, so anyone entering the heading had to cover their skin with a special slimy barrier protection cream. The roadheader turned from a machine white to a very rusty orange within 2 days. This acid water continued for about 150m before it disappeared. The heading thirled in May 1987 as shown on the plan below. The roadheader was so badly damaged by the water that it was left when the heading was completed.

Mine plan showing South Return and South Conveyor roadways at demarcation mark.