Men of the last shift at Loftus Mine pose with their handiwork. The closing of the mines destabilised a lot of the local communities as people drifted away to find new jobs and eventually moved to be nearer their new place of work.
Back Row: Allan Creswick, Harold Found, Cyril Gibson (blacksmith’s striker), Walter Wilson, Bill Dawson, Don Breckon.
Front Row: Jim Tinkler, Walt Sayers (check weighman), George Adamson, Harold Ralph ‘Lal’ Gibson (blacksmith), Jim Easton (holder of the Daily Herald Award for Industrial Heroism for rescuing Jim Tinkler in an incident which witnessed the death of Jim Trousdale), Allan Readman.
Thanks to Eric Johnson, Joanne Cooper and Cazzi Kerr for names.
It’s isn’t Ian Gibson in the middle, it’s Lal (Harold Ralph) my great grandad, with my great uncle Cyril just behind him.
Cazzi, Lal my GG Uncle and I have the privilege of using one of his axes almost on a daily basis. You can’t beat Cleveland Steel, it helped make Britain great.