Robert Ditchfield (1921-2004) – Managing the Mines Drainage Unit

FoHC Chair, Steve Grudgings writes:

Since my own interest in the South Yorkshire Mines Drainage Unit (MDU) started in the 1990s. I kept coming across the name Bob Ditchfield in references to the unit. I found out that he had lived at Burlington Cottage, Wath upon Dearne, but couldn’t locate any of his family – until that is former Mines Drainage worker Terry Hudson recalled that his son (also Robert) had been a Captain in the Royal Navy.

Intrigued by what I considered an unusual turn of profession, I searched the Navy Lists and found that Bob (Jnr) had retired in the rank of Captain, but also had a Doctorate in Metallurgy. I made contact, explaining my interests. Bob Ditchfield (Junior) kindly provided the following information and images of his father.

Bob Ditchfield was born in 27th May 1921 and raised in Wentworth, where his father, Saddler Sergeant Major W.R. Ditchfield RHA, worked at Earl Fitzwilliam’s Stables. His mother Martha died in 1930, and on leaving school at age 14 in 1935, he became an underground cost clerk at New Stubbin Colliery “accounting every tub full to the last farthing”.

In 1938 the New Stubbin Territorial Army battery RA was formed which he joined and was fully trained ready for mobilisation when war was declared in 1939. Initially deployed in anti-aircraft defence, he rose quickly to the rank of Sergeant and following the Army Order of 1941, was selected for Office Cadet Training (at the OCTU in Shrivenham) and commissioned into the Royal Artillery.

Early in 1942 he was sent to India and became part of the 14th Army under General Bill Slim (his hero figure). The 14th advanced steadily through Burma, much of which involved patrolling the main road to Rangoon with the Japanese in retreat on both sides of the road. He ended the war in Rangoon as an acting Captain in the Indian Army. Much of his campaigning was deep in the jungle where, accompanied by a platoon of Ghurkas and another English officer, he was forward observer for the Artillery.

After demobilisation in 1946 he returned to work at New Stubbin as a miner, residing on Main Street, in Wentworth. After nationalisation in 1947, he was selected by the newly formed NCB for DPT (Directed Practical Training), thereby gaining his manager’s ticket and was appointed Manager at Denaby Main Colliery in 1956.

From 1959 to 1965 he was Methane Drainage Officer for the No.3 South Yorkshire Division. This had been a high priority ever since the Cortonwood disaster of 1932.

He was appointed manager of the Mines Drainage Unit in 1965, on the retirement of his predecessor (Mr Sydney C. Brown).

His appointment suited him down to the ground as it was made up of small team of specialists whom he could lead by example; visiting all the old colliery workings needing the unit’s attention in person. His son recalls that this work was particularly intensive during periods of heavy weather when the pumps were most likely to fail due to overload, and frenetic efforts would be made to replace and repair them.

After the Lofthouse Colliery disaster of 21 March 1973, there was a general realisation that not all old workings were accurately mapped, if indeed at all, leading to a concerted effort to improve the collection, recording and systematic sorting of such records. As Mr Ditchfield was quoted when giving evidence to the inquiry:

“This is a problem that deserves some consideration now. There could be information in somebody’s archive which possibly they don’t know about which could be of interest to us.”

MDU in operation

In January 1974 Bob Ditchfield wrote a lecture about investigating old mine workings which provides an important snapshot of the unit’s activities at the time:

“At present the Mines Drainage Department are operating twenty-four Pumping Stations along the rise side of the coalfield between Huddersfield on the West to Waleswood on the East. These catch and pump out some 270,000,000 gallons of water a month. This “make” is checked against rainfall and any other local temporary changes to ensure that no water gets away to the deep to create a possible Lofthouse condition, a 24 hour-a-day 7 days-a-week operation.”

Ditchfield, R., The Investigation of Old Mine Workings, unpublished, Jan 1974

Ditchfield also hosted a number of visitors, exploring pits under the care of the MDU. As Former Labour MP, later Lord Peter Hardy of Wentworth had noted in a debate in the House of Commons in June 1994:

“I remember spending time with Mr. Ditchfield and his colleagues at the South Yorkshire mines drainage unit, which was based in my constituency, and being lowered to the bottom of a shaft of a colliery which had closed in 1873. The shaft had to be kept open for the purposes of pumping. Unfortunately, because of British Coal’s economising, the mines drainage unit was closed and the responsibility was passed to Silverwood colliery in my constituency.”

(House of Commons Debate 28 June 1994, vol.245 c693).

He also assisted several local historians, including Arthur K. Clayton, George S. Beedan and Alex Fleming in understanding the abandoned workings and available mine plans.

Bob Ditchfield was a Chartered Engineer (C. Eng) and Fellow of the Institution of Mining Engineers (F. I.Min. E), he retired in 1982 and his Deputy Jack Brennan (previously manager of Kilnhurst Colliery) took on the MDU Manager’s role.

I asked Bob’s son about his father’s management style, and he suggested that this was unusual for the period as he had seen active service in the war whilst many in the coal industry continued to serve in what was a reserved occupation. Unconsciously, this direct military, hands on manner was always there.

Terry Hudson also told me that Bob Ditchfield had a “museum” of old interesting items found underground in the garden of his home in – I would love to have seen this (It should be noted that Bob (Jr) had no recollection of this).