About Us

About The Ex Miner

How the Association was Formed

In 2007 the Nott’s NUM organised 20th anniversary celebrations to commemorate the 1984/85 strike, a display of paintings by G Robson a well-known artist from the North-East was exhibited in Mansfield museum there was also artefacts from the strike also exhibited. A play “Close the Coalhouse Door” was performed at the old museum for a week with standing room only at nearly all the performances. The grand finally was a tremendous night of entertainment in the now defunct Mansfield Leisure Centre over a thousand people enjoyed a night of entertainment and speeches, all in all a very successful 20th anniversary celebrations, Ian Lavery the National Chairman said it was the best anniversary celebrations he had attended all year.

At this night of entertainment were three ex-miners who approached the General Secretary of the Nott’s NUM Keith Stanley and asked why it had taken twenty years to have such marvellous celebrations as miners now only meet at funerals, this got Keith and I thinking, we decided to ask the committee who we had in place for the 20th celebrations what they thought of setting up a retired miners association, the rest as they say is history, to a man they thought it was a great idea, so we set about arranging for this to happen. A committee was set up and a constitution was written, a name was chosen we would call ourselves “The Nottinghamshire NUM Ex and Retired Miners Association”. At the invitation of the Durham Area a few of us went there to see how they ran their Association and we learnt a lot from them.

Our first thought was that we wanted to help members and that is just what our first actions were about, we had discussions with OH Parsons the solicitors to the Nott’s NUM, they have provided a package to all members which includes cover for <strong>Personal Injury, Industrial Disease, Road Traffic Accidents, Accidents outside of Work and a 24 Hour Crime Advice Line for an Immediate response from a Solicitor, Free Wills service,</strong> (this would cost about £200 from any other solicitor)<strong> Probate Advice, Cheap Conveyancing and Housing Law for anyone in rented Property.</strong> The Association have also negotiated a deal from a leading Opticians<strong> D.I.Blow this would include 20% off completed spectacles for members and 20% off frames for all members families,</strong> all in all a very good package indeed.

That’s not all the Association wanted to do, it was always our intention to provide a social arm, to this end we have organised a golf tournament, social nights with entertainment, fishing days, days out to various venues’, road-shows, these include a display board full of photographs of the pit we are visiting we also display artefacts that the Association has accumulated, the Association also has a market stall which is taken round to various venue’s with items that are sold to help the finances.

We also produce a quarterly journal entitled “The Ex Miner” which carries articles and information about the Association and also what is happening in the mining industry and with disease claims. Another of our aims is to visit pit villages to recruit new members and offer any help on any topic we are able, I always say if we can’t sort your problem then we will find someone who can.

We also want to recreate that camaraderie that we had in the pits, I am reminded of the golf tournament when we had men playing golf who hadn’t seen each other for ten twenty years and they were swapping phone numbers so they didn’t lose touch again, it was very memorable.

OH Parsons Partners Solicitors kindly provide office space for the Association but we still need finances for things like paper, postage, pens and all manner of things to run the Association, I must say hear that all the committee are volunteers and do not receive a penny piece for all the work they do and they do work very hard, so this is why we have had to put a charge on membership it was decided from the outset the charge would be kept as low as possible and that’s why we only charge 50p per week, you can’t get much these days for 50p but just look at what the Association is offering its members in the members section, join us I’m confident you won’t be disappointed

You can contact us by phone on: 01623 416 895

Or by letter at:

1st Floor

Byron House
Commercial Street
Mansfield
Nott’s
NG18 lEE

Eric Eaton Chairman