Little did I know at the time of my research that not only would I come from an extremely long line of miners, who mostly all originated from right under my feet (we didn’t move far), but I would also get to work somewhere that’s historic consciousness probably saved many members of my family over the years. Though not directly related to the work here, they were the boots under the ground, making it happen.
My Granda, Jack Pollard, started in the local mine in Pegswood, Northumberland, at 14 years old. Before they knew it, my grandparents had six children to care for, and going down the pit was one of very few options at the time. One of 5 brothers, all big men in stature, they weren’t who you’d expect to find down a small mine seam, yet there they were working to put food on the table.
He became a vocal and rightly opinionated union man who devoted himself to the welfare of his colleagues, famously getting himself and his brothers into several arguments with the bosses over conditions. He broke his arm and severely injured his back before going to Dunlop then Alcan Smelter to work as a control man.
The Common Room allows us to stand on the shoulders of greatness and be thankful for the work the engineers did here to preserve life across the region and beyond.
I wish I could have told him about my job at The Common Room; me being in a place so steeped in our family’s history would have meant a lot to him. There’s an old telephone switchboard in Wood Hall, with names listed beside the buttons. One says Pollard, my Granda’s surname. While this is not in reference to him, I think of him when I see it and imagine him not answering whoever was trying to call him on it.
– Lauren Dunbar
Programme and Engagement Manager, The Common Room
