I worked there as an apprentice welder in the early 70's. Conditions terrible but the blokes were the salt of the earth. My dad [who worked on the railways] used to say "Another cussy shift son" I thought you haven't a clue.......
jbsandown, you have probably tried them already, but i was going to say, see if Tata Steel Shotton Records Centre has it. They Do keep historical records and are happy to help. The phone no. is 01244 892533/4/5/6/7 I hope you find it anyway, and I really do hope you find some old gents to interview.
In the 1960s I worked with Roy Thomas/Bill Griffiths (works photographer) on a colour movie film of the works at that time. The project included footage of the coking process. The finished film was used to "showcase" John Summers works to university students prior to them leaving their studies. Does anyone know the whereabouts of this film today? Please contact me if you know of any veterans who I might interview to camera as they recount the part they played in the John Summers story,
thanks for posting. i worked on these ovens betweem 79 and 81 when i left to go to south africa, i was a junior engineer and my dad (tony sullivan) was shift foreman on the by products plant. a great place to work and i leaned a lot there.
@seaeagle47 the charger is the easiest job we have in our coke ovens, you want to be on the guide in the summer! Been working in Port Talbot morfa coke ovens now for 5 years. Providing Tata look after us I expect I'll be there for another 33 years! Bliss! Lol
I worked 30 years 75-05 in Dofasco coke plants. In 75 it was very smoky and dirty, they would say " Well we don't make ice cream here." then they took the environment seriously. when i retired, in '05 very rarely would you see any smoke.
I work for Tata Steel uk @ Appleby coke ovens Scunthorpe,was a charger driver for 10 years.Not as bad as comments left here make out, worked in temps of 50 c plus with full PPE on sorts the men from the boys
i worked as a junior operative at the fell coke works consett before its closure , these pics bring back many happy memories , i cant thank you enough for posting them
i worked in 1978 at port kembla steelworks, nsw australia on the no.3 battery coke ovens. these images sure brought back memories. i was a mere trainee metallurgist, 17 years old and the oventop foreman!
Excellent video. I worked on the ovens at Appleby Frodingham in Scuthorpe in the late 60's and early 70's. It was an experience I'll never forget and I could almost smell the place watchig your pictures!
Excellent video. I worked on the ovens at Appleby Frodingham in Scuthorpe in the late 60's and early 70's. It was an experience I'll never forget and I could almost smell the place watchig your pictures!
i worked in the coke ovens ravenscraig, this bring,s back memories,i would still be there if that bastard thatcher and her arseholes never closed the plant ,,all theese years on i still miss the place
She did huge harm, just for the hell of it.... Now we import material that is produced more dangerously, eg foreign coal from China's man-killing mining system. I often reflect on how many lives it is costing to keep the lights on.... As for imported steel.....
My ex-gilfriends father twice emigrated to Warilla, Wollongong, NSW in the 70's then ealy 80's from Aston near Shotton to work in the mill out there......The girl was called Cheryl Davies.
that was in the days when England was a great place now its fucked up forever and what do our kids have to look forward to bugger all thats what thanks to the rubbish governments we have had.
still have... and Obama wants us to join you evidently... it's so totally fucked up that TWO countries are so blind that they can't see that their own existance depends on steel. Korea and China already understand this.
I remember 9Fs shifting mineral trains at Shotton as a kid. I loved the look of it all.... more interesting that 'chocolate box' landscapes. Gimme big manufacturing industry everytime.
I was a junior op at Shotton, I spent one week at the coke ovens before going to the cold strip mill. My overriding memory is of the coke is the smell of sulphur and the difficulty breathing. For a 16 year old boy is was like hell.
Thanks, brings back a lot of good and bad times. I work at US Steel Clairton. Not on the bateries anymore. To hot and to dirty. Was a lidman on 7-9 battery. Now on the river, much better job.
Well i work a BHP Port Kembla , Australia and i did some work in the gallery under the 4,5,6 battery and it gets hot the best part i like is when the Ram is Charging up top. but GREAT PHOTOS
I work for U.S. Steel's Clairton coke works in Clairton PA as an electrician and i can tell working on top of those ovens in summer is hell on earth n'at
I was placed at Monckton Coke just outside barnsley when I was a student. I had those clogs. I could have sold them a hundred times over to the zany students on campus as a fashion accessory. Should have made the bastards wear them for real. Great vid by the way. I was lucky I only worked in the winter months. Worked in the BOS plant at Lackenby as well which strangely enough is also labelled hell on earth by the workforce. I take it Shottons gone now? We still have two batteries in Boro!
for two years also ran the larrycar. you get used to the heat some. but take a week vacation and you are all of a sudden like back to square one as far as tolerance goes. but i fucking loved lidding. if they never made or conviced me to run a machine i would still be there lidding my ass off.
i don't know how you did it lidding its too hot for me but its a good way to stay in shape i guess, but either way i wouldn't want to run #4 larry car not only not only does the heat get ya but its a peice of shit machine
@Johnsnyder666 im 3 years into a 30 sentence on a and b batteries in granite city ussteel....topside temps 175 degrees in summer....hell on earth for sure...i roll the larry car and the eqc car now....but that first year i wanted to die
i used to work at armco stateside in matainence, working around the coke ovens was always hell on earth, that was just rolling steel, couldnt imagine making the shit
I worked for uk coal at maltby pit for a few years as a plant oporator and was sent sometimes to drive a loading shovel to monkton cokeing plant at barnsley,and your right it is like hell on earth.
PS.. Still Live Shotton (Mark Caddick ) Worked with the Day Gang and on Benzole Plant. Some real characters worked there...Happy Days ! But filthy conditions..Kids today wouldn't do it
I work for Royal Mail these days. Most people there haven't got a clue about the conditions we worked under. You're right...most kids (and men) wouldn't work there!
Your right most people would run a mile. They were dirty, hot, environmently unfriendly places and did nothing for your health.Thats why most of them are history now, but I loved the job, the lads and the crack.
Great Photos, will not mean much to the average Guy on the street. You have to understand the process ,and work in "the coke" to really know what a dangerous place it was. Standing on the oven top when they pushed one to early !! now that was a sight.
Health and Safety were not bywords in common use them days. Thanks a lot mate. I will show my kids what real jobs were like ! .
I worked there as an apprentice welder in the early 70's. Conditions terrible but the blokes were the salt of the earth. My dad [who worked on the railways] used to say "Another cussy shift son" I thought you haven't a clue.......
garethwm 3 months ago
jbsandown, you have probably tried them already, but i was going to say, see if Tata Steel Shotton Records Centre has it. They Do keep historical records and are happy to help. The phone no. is 01244 892533/4/5/6/7 I hope you find it anyway, and I really do hope you find some old gents to interview.
seralou73 3 months ago
In the 1960s I worked with Roy Thomas/Bill Griffiths (works photographer) on a colour movie film of the works at that time. The project included footage of the coking process. The finished film was used to "showcase" John Summers works to university students prior to them leaving their studies. Does anyone know the whereabouts of this film today? Please contact me if you know of any veterans who I might interview to camera as they recount the part they played in the John Summers story,
jbsandown 9 months ago
i work at USS Gary Works coke plant as a door cleaner and my first time on top of the battery my feet got some nice blisters threw my work boots
2manymuthauckas 11 months ago
hi nightsampler
thanks for posting. i worked on these ovens betweem 79 and 81 when i left to go to south africa, i was a junior engineer and my dad (tony sullivan) was shift foreman on the by products plant. a great place to work and i leaned a lot there.
cheers neil sullivan
donsullivano 1 year ago
working on the battries seperates the men from the boys....i work in granite city ussteel a and b batteries....pure hell
stantheman01 1 year ago
@seaeagle47 the charger is the easiest job we have in our coke ovens, you want to be on the guide in the summer! Been working in Port Talbot morfa coke ovens now for 5 years. Providing Tata look after us I expect I'll be there for another 33 years! Bliss! Lol
mainvainjon 1 year ago
I worked 30 years 75-05 in Dofasco coke plants. In 75 it was very smoky and dirty, they would say " Well we don't make ice cream here." then they took the environment seriously. when i retired, in '05 very rarely would you see any smoke.
ckohne 1 year ago
@ckohne
I remember the smell coming off the coke batteries at Algoma.
I was not in Coke making ( plate and strip #2 ), but the smell meant money,
I must be nuts, because I read the posts and feel the same as all of you.
I miss the steel works, it was some of the best times of my life.
northerbrewer 1 week ago
I work for Tata Steel uk @ Appleby coke ovens Scunthorpe,was a charger driver for 10 years.Not as bad as comments left here make out, worked in temps of 50 c plus with full PPE on sorts the men from the boys
seaeagle47 1 year ago
i worked as a junior operative at the fell coke works consett before its closure , these pics bring back many happy memories , i cant thank you enough for posting them
delveslad 1 year ago
i worked in 1978 at port kembla steelworks, nsw australia on the no.3 battery coke ovens. these images sure brought back memories. i was a mere trainee metallurgist, 17 years old and the oventop foreman!
maseooooo 1 year ago
My Grandad worked in Shotton steel, he came from Shelton bar, Jack Hawley. Know him?
PistolPete483 1 year ago
I used to work there in 78
chibluth 1 year ago
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Excellent video. I worked on the ovens at Appleby Frodingham in Scuthorpe in the late 60's and early 70's. It was an experience I'll never forget and I could almost smell the place watchig your pictures!
jugjug 1 year ago
Excellent video. I worked on the ovens at Appleby Frodingham in Scuthorpe in the late 60's and early 70's. It was an experience I'll never forget and I could almost smell the place watchig your pictures!
jugjug 1 year ago
Worked in the Coke Ovens in 1974 for a short period....hardest place I ve ever worked...
cayenneturbot 2 years ago
The fuckin U.S. Man we got rid of all of our really great industry. We sold out to the fuckin man in another country. Fuck!
lakewood85 2 years ago
i worked in the coke ovens ravenscraig, this bring,s back memories,i would still be there if that bastard thatcher and her arseholes never closed the plant ,,all theese years on i still miss the place
higgykicks 2 years ago 2
She did huge harm, just for the hell of it.... Now we import material that is produced more dangerously, eg foreign coal from China's man-killing mining system. I often reflect on how many lives it is costing to keep the lights on.... As for imported steel.....
SteffanLlwyd 2 years ago 2
Cracking images Gwyn - I can almost smell the sulphur.....it was a dirty, black, smelly place to work with everything covered in a film of black dust.
The UPM paper mill now stands in it's location but some of the old rail tracks still exist to this day!
7in7in7in 2 years ago
hell that bring back memories...I worked on the ovens in wollongong in the early 80s as a kid
globalman100 2 years ago
My ex-gilfriends father twice emigrated to Warilla, Wollongong, NSW in the 70's then ealy 80's from Aston near Shotton to work in the mill out there......The girl was called Cheryl Davies.
7in7in7in 2 years ago
@7in7in7in Hi I too used to live in Shotton and used to cycle to Hawarden Grammar school every day through Aston,, Long time ago Hayden Ellsum
caebryn2000 1 year ago
@7in7in7in
caebryn2000 1 year ago
that was in the days when England was a great place now its fucked up forever and what do our kids have to look forward to bugger all thats what thanks to the rubbish governments we have had.
Andy
1127r 2 years ago
still have... and Obama wants us to join you evidently... it's so totally fucked up that TWO countries are so blind that they can't see that their own existance depends on steel. Korea and China already understand this.
ProfessorIgor 2 years ago
Awesome.... and interesting comments too.
I remember 9Fs shifting mineral trains at Shotton as a kid. I loved the look of it all.... more interesting that 'chocolate box' landscapes. Gimme big manufacturing industry everytime.
SteffanLlwyd 2 years ago
I was a junior op at Shotton, I spent one week at the coke ovens before going to the cold strip mill. My overriding memory is of the coke is the smell of sulphur and the difficulty breathing. For a 16 year old boy is was like hell.
This is a great video. Thank you.
vernonstips 3 years ago 2
Thanks, brings back a lot of good and bad times. I work at US Steel Clairton. Not on the bateries anymore. To hot and to dirty. Was a lidman on 7-9 battery. Now on the river, much better job.
bargemanwilly 3 years ago
Well i work a BHP Port Kembla , Australia and i did some work in the gallery under the 4,5,6 battery and it gets hot the best part i like is when the Ram is Charging up top. but GREAT PHOTOS
atakmuz1 3 years ago
Nice photo! I took photo & movies in old factory in UE [in Poland]...
fredmentor 3 years ago
I work for U.S. Steel's Clairton coke works in Clairton PA as an electrician and i can tell working on top of those ovens in summer is hell on earth n'at
Johnsnyder666 4 years ago
We All Used To Wear Wooden Clogs On The Oven Top, And To See Your Shoes Smoking...Scary.
Sometimes The Coal Got Jammed In The Charge Hole, And We Had To Unblock It By Hand (With A Scaffold Pole) Yellow Gas Everywhere...Hell On Earth!
nightsampler 4 years ago
I was placed at Monckton Coke just outside barnsley when I was a student. I had those clogs. I could have sold them a hundred times over to the zany students on campus as a fashion accessory. Should have made the bastards wear them for real. Great vid by the way. I was lucky I only worked in the winter months. Worked in the BOS plant at Lackenby as well which strangely enough is also labelled hell on earth by the workforce. I take it Shottons gone now? We still have two batteries in Boro!
jigwagigiggs 4 years ago
@nightsampler Great job. A video would have made this awesome!
misbahkhakha 1 year ago
you aint kidding i was a lidman there on 7to9
for two years also ran the larrycar. you get used to the heat some. but take a week vacation and you are all of a sudden like back to square one as far as tolerance goes. but i fucking loved lidding. if they never made or conviced me to run a machine i would still be there lidding my ass off.
jimvpa 4 years ago
i don't know how you did it lidding its too hot for me but its a good way to stay in shape i guess, but either way i wouldn't want to run #4 larry car not only not only does the heat get ya but its a peice of shit machine
Johnsnyder666 4 years ago
i work in clairton at uss for furnco...19-20 battery
kurt15324 3 years ago
@Johnsnyder666 im 3 years into a 30 sentence on a and b batteries in granite city ussteel....topside temps 175 degrees in summer....hell on earth for sure...i roll the larry car and the eqc car now....but that first year i wanted to die
stantheman01 1 year ago
i used to work at armco stateside in matainence, working around the coke ovens was always hell on earth, that was just rolling steel, couldnt imagine making the shit
what song is that, very appropriate
vavom 4 years ago
The Music Is By Holst...Mars, The God Of War.
From The Planets Suite.
nightsampler 4 years ago
ps,its still operational to this day.
woolyram666 4 years ago
I worked for uk coal at maltby pit for a few years as a plant oporator and was sent sometimes to drive a loading shovel to monkton cokeing plant at barnsley,and your right it is like hell on earth.
woolyram666 4 years ago
Good work - a real bit of social history I was there for a week and it was like Dante's Inferno
jegthepeg 4 years ago
PS.. Still Live Shotton (Mark Caddick ) Worked with the Day Gang and on Benzole Plant. Some real characters worked there...Happy Days ! But filthy conditions..Kids today wouldn't do it
mcpackard 4 years ago
I work for Royal Mail these days. Most people there haven't got a clue about the conditions we worked under. You're right...most kids (and men) wouldn't work there!
nightsampler 4 years ago
Your right most people would run a mile. They were dirty, hot, environmently unfriendly places and did nothing for your health.Thats why most of them are history now, but I loved the job, the lads and the crack.
COALMONK5 3 years ago
Great Photos, will not mean much to the average Guy on the street. You have to understand the process ,and work in "the coke" to really know what a dangerous place it was. Standing on the oven top when they pushed one to early !! now that was a sight.
Health and Safety were not bywords in common use them days. Thanks a lot mate. I will show my kids what real jobs were like ! .
I worked in the coke ovens until 1977.
mcpackard 4 years ago