While talking to ex clay workers the following memories were gathered.

John Stockley (Last Winchman)
                    He remembered when he had 1/2 mile of of cable out underground from the winch  (Norden Number 7 incline)

Bill Moore (Mechanic)
                    He remembered replacing some of the tubes on "Russell" (now flagship of the Welsh Highland Railway) in the old engine shed at Norden.

John Redfern (Carpenter)
                    He remembered the fun they had using the darkness of the mine to creep up and surprise another worker. They would switch off their own helmet lamp and make their way using the light coming from the other workers lamp and then tap their colleague on the shoulder. 
                    
 Jimmy Samways and Bill Moore (Mechanics)
                    They remembered that at one stage the compressors in compressor house were diesel powered with the exhaust run in trenches to the outside. The trench filled with oil spillages over the years and the compressor house went up in smoke. A new compressor house was built. Which explains why there appears to be another foundation under the existing.                       

Dave Glassocks (Underground worker)
                Dave can remember the day a cow fell down the ventilation shaft at East Holme. The cow refused to move and so she was put on a flat bed truck and wheeled along the tunnel until she saw daylight and then she walked out under her own steam. She had a few bruises but that was all. The ventilation shaft had a series of wooden baffles to reduce the kinetic energy of any object falling down the shaft. However the baffles had not been designed for a cow and they were destroyed in the fall but had slowed the cows fall sufficiently to prevent serious injury. Simon Goldsacks (of Holme for Gardens) confirms this story by telling us that it was his father's cow. His father had noticed it was missing during the weekend, but had thought it had strayed through a hedge onto another part of the farm. It was Monday morning when the miners started work that they got a shock to see a cow deep underground.

If you have memories of the Purbeck clay industry email us Click here