| [Early Mining] [History of Wigan] [Index] |
Statement by a "trapper" aged 8 years, 1842 |
| To disperse gas, trapdoors were placed at intervals in mine tunnels to
encourage airflow in a particular direction . "Trappers" were children,
some as young as six, employed to open and shut these doors to allow "drawers"
to pass with their coal tubs. "I have to trap without a light and I'm scared, I go at four and sometimes half past three in the morning and come out at five and half past in the evening. I never go to sleep. Sometimes I sing when I've a light, but not in the dark; I dare not sing then." from "First Report of the Commission on Children and Young Persons" |
Article by Adrian Morris |