The Coke Ovens, Shotton Steelworks

A Personal Documentary.
I Worked In This Place Back In The 70's Early 80's.
Now It's Gone...No Sign It Ever Existed!
Fire, Smoke, Heat! A World Away!, More Than A World Away!
I think the site was used by a paper mill.
Photo's By Gwyn (The Best Coke Car Driver)

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Shotton
• Steelworks
• Coke
• Ovens

[Johnsnyder666]

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

[nightsampler]

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!

[vavom]

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

[nightsampler]

The Music Is By Holst...Mars, The God Of War.

From The Planets Suite.

[mcpackard]

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

[nightsampler]

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!

[northerbrewer]

@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.

[garethwm]

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.......

[seralou73]

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.

[jbsandown]

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,

[2manymuthauckas]

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

[donsullivano]

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

[stantheman01]

working on the battries seperates the men from the boys....i work in granite city ussteel a and b batteries....pure hell

[stantheman01]

@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

[misbahkhakha]

@nightsampler Great job. A video would have made this awesome!

[mainvainjon]

@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