I don't have a lot to add on the details of coal mining but wanted to say, my grandfather Leonard SHERRATT worked in the mines at a very young age in Talke Pitts area. His father, grandfather, brothers and all male relatives going back many, many years were coal miners in Talke area and over to Norton in the Moors, particularly, Brown Edge. Leonard came over to Canada on several trips but his last in 1927 kept him here. He worked the coal mines (along with relatives) of Alberta, Canada. Particularly the Crowsnest past area which has it's own history of horrific coal mining accidents. When he was done in the coal mines he came to Northern Ontario, Canada to mine gold. My father continued the tradition in his youth but went on to become a civil engineer and finally break the mining cycle in our family and stayed above ground. My grandfather Leonard eventually died of silicosis - directly related to his years in the mines. On my grandmother's side her father John MANSELL - started work in the mines around Norton Canes, Staffordshire. He too came to Canada and in 1914 was off shift when the Hillcrest Mine disaster in HIllcrest, Alberta took 189 lives. He did however die in the coal mines in 1937. Several men from Staffordshire lost their lives in the Hillcrest disaster including Charles IRONMONGER (18) and his brother Samuel IRONMONGER (24). I still live in the gold mining town my grandfather worked back in the 30s. With the price of gold as high as it is, our mines are busier than they have been in decades. There is a shortage of skilled labour and while conditions are much, much better than they were 50 years ago we continue to lose lives in the mines every year. So far, in 2012 four men have lost their lives. Wendy SHERRATT Hogan Kirkland Lake on the Mile of Gold Ontario, Canada