Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation

Extracts from the 1964 Annual Report

Activities

CISWO has, since its inception, encouraged participation by mineworkers and their families in games ports and social activities. Apart from all the events organised locally in the mining communities, CISWO has, over recent years, been initiating an increasing number of competitive and social events. Although 1964 saw the end of the Mineworkers' National Amateur Boxing Championships CISWO undertook the sponsorship, at National level, of the Inter-Divisional Athletics Meeting and in a number of Divisions new ventures were inaugurated. Many of the activities arc recorded in this chapter.

Angling

In Scotland, Group and District angling competitions were held on rivers and lochs in the Lothians, Fife and Ayrshire. The final of the Lothians District competition, in which 14 angling clubs took part, was held on the River Tay, the total catch being gifted to the Edenhall Hospital, Musselburgh.

The sea-angling competition in Northumberland attracted 305 anglers to the North Sea coast between North Seaton and Druridge Bay. Ninety-three fish were weighed in by 55 anglers, the heaviest catch being a codling weighing 8 lbs. 15 ozs. taken by a disabled screenworker. Area sea-angling competitions were held at Seaham Harbour and Horden in Durham.

The Yorkshire angling match was again held at Spalding, Lincolnshire, with 1,017 entrants. The total weight of fish caught was 756 lbs. 7 ozs. The North-Western Division's event was held at the Bridgewater Canal, Leigh, with 325 competitors from Lancashire and North Wales. In the East Midlands angling matches are being increasingly supported. The West Midlands Inter-Area competition was fished in River Severn waters at Atcham Bridge. near Shrewsbury, with 122 anglers taking part. The team trophy was won by Warwickshire Area with a record catch in this competition of 71 lbs. 15 ozs.

In the Kent sea-angling competition, 150 anglers took part. Conditions and catches were good, the winning bag weighing 8 lbs. 8½ ozs.

Arts and Crafts

There were 98 entries for the Northern (N. & C.) Divisional Art Competition, 76 of them being put on exhibition at six centres throughout the Division. In Yorkshire. the annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition was held at Pontefract. For three days 259 entries were on display to the public; of the eight sections that for paintings in oils attracted the largest entry.

Athletics

For a number of years an Inter-Divisional athletics meeting has been held on the occasion of the Nottinghamshire Miners' Welfare Festival on August Bank Holiday. In 1964, the CISWO Council decided to accept responsibility for this event. Teams from North-Western and West Midlands Divisions and from Leicestershire took part for the first time, making ten teams in all with over 300 competitors in 39 events. A crowd of 20,000 watched the event in fine weather. The main team trophy was won by North Derby shire.

Boxing

The semi-finals of the Mineworkers' National Amateur Boxing Championships for the 1963-64 Season were held at the Boythorpe Drill Hall, Chesterfield and the Houldsworth Hall, Manchester, and the National Finals at the Civic Hall, Barnsley. The Mitchell-Hedges Trophy, awarded to the winning Division, went to Yorkshire and the Viscount Hyndley Trophy, awarded to the leading Area, was won by Area No. 7, Yorkshire Division.

The boxing championships have been held annually since the season 1947-48 except for 1956-57 when they were cancelled because of petrol rationing. In the peak years, over 650 boxers entered the championships and eliminating contests were held throughout the coalfields to produce the finalists. The championships were news, a number of boxing names were established and wide public interest was captured through the medium of television. In recent years the general decline in the popularity of boxing had a marked effect on the number of entries for the mineworkers' championships. Last season the total entry was 103 and although the final events were successful it was clear that the time had come to consider the future of the championships.

The General Committee of the National Coal Board Amateur Boxing Association under whose auspices the mineworkers' championships were organised, after careful thought, decided to discontinue the championships and to dissolve the Association, including the Divisional Boxing Committees of the NCBABA, on 31st July, 1964.

Brass Bands

The Mineworkers' National Brass Band Contest was held at Blackpool with 42 of the leading mining bands in the country competing by invitation. The winners were:

The test piece for the Championship Section was Jodrell Bank by Peter Yorke. At the presentation ceremony in the Winter Gardens Ballroom, with a capacity audience, Lord Robens officiated and presented the Challenge Trophy to the Markham Main Colliery Band.

The Northern (N. & C.) Division held its first Divisional brass band contest in 1964 and its success indicates a good future for this new event. It took place in the Ashington 'Hirst' Welfare Hall in conjunction with the Ashington Arts Festival. Twelve bands competed, the top section being won by the Ashington Colliery Band. The Durham Divisional brass band contest was held in four sections at the Bowburn Miners' Welfare Centre and the Easington Miners' Welfare Hall, Crookhall Colliery Band winning the premier award. Forty bands entered the Yorkshire Divisional contest and the first section was won by the Grimethorpe Colliery Institute Band. For bands in the East Midlands Division, contests were held at the Skegness Holiday Centre and for those in South-Western Division at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

CISWO arranged for the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, winners of the Championship Section of the Mineworkers' National Brass Band Contest in 1963, to visit Gelsenkirchen for the European Festival of Mining Bands in June, 1964. They were enthusiastically received and, in addition to taking part in the Saturday festival, gave an open-air concert on the Sunday morning.

Other Musical Activities

Twelve hundred singers and instrumentalists from all over the Durham coalfield took part in the third musical festival arranged by CISWO at the Durham Technical College. The festival attracted entries from 23 school choirs.

The concert in the City Hall, Sheffield, on the evening of the Yorkshire Divisional Brass Band Festival, was outstanding. Mass ed miners' bands and male voice choirs were conducted by Mr. Rae Jenkins with Miss Adele Leigh as guest artiste, The concert was repeated at Leeds a fortnight later.

In South-Western Division, an area concert was held at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, with an audience of 1,500 people. Massed bands from the area and the Ammanford Mixed Choir were conducted by Mr. Harry Mortimer and a recording was issued under the title of Miners Making Music. A concert for the entertainment of 1,800 retired miners and their wives was held at the Gwaen-cae-Gurwen Welfare Hall with massed bands, the Morriston Ladies Choir and guest artistes. The amateur operatic competition in South-Western Division was won by the Tredegar Amateur Operatic Society with a performance of Night in Venice.

Cricket

Backworth beat Lynemouth, last year's winners, in the final of the cricket knock-out competition in Northumberland, In Yorkshire, an innovation in 1964 was a coaching course for young cricketers arranged in co-operation with the Central Council for Physical Recreation. The course was held at the Rossington Miners' Welfare Scheme under the instruction of Mr. Arthur Mitchell, senior coach to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Knock-out cricket competitions were held in three areas in Yorkshire. the Burnley Area of North-Western Division, and in the Cannock Chase and Warwickshire Areas of West Midlands Division.

Inter-Divisional matches were arranged between the West Midlands and South-Western Divisions. The first match, at Ebbw Vale, was abandoned after four overs due to rain. The return match, at Highley Miners' Welfare Scheme, resulted in a win for West Midlands.

Football

An Inter-Divisional association football match between Scottish and Durham Divisions was played at Holyrood Park on the occasion of the Scottish Miners' Gala, Scottish Division winning by 3-1.

The Northumberland miner's welfare league championship was won by Pegswood. A junior football competition was organised in Areas 4 and 5 of Durham Division and knock-out competitions were held in Area 6 of Yorkshire Division and in the Cannock Chase and Warwickshire Areas of West Midlands Division. The North-Western Divisional football competition was won by Mosley Common. Inter-County matches between Northumberland and Cumberland resulted in a win for each side, Northumberland winning on aggregate by 6-4.

Rugby league games were played between Cumberland and Lancashire. The match on the ground of the Grasslot Miners' Welfare Scheme was won by Cumberland 15-11 and that at Bold was a draw, 17 all.

Golf

The finals of the Scottish Divisional golf championships, always well supported, were played over the Royal Musselburgh course. A deputy at Comrie Colliery won the individual scratch trophy for the second year running and the team championship went to Lanarkshire District.

In the Northern (N, & C.) Championships, Cumberland beat Divisional Headquarters' Staff in the final of the team event played over the Backworth Miners' Welfare course. A Divisional golf competition was organised in North-Western Division for the first time. in the West Midlands event, the team trophy was won by Warwickshire,

Horticulture

The Durham floral and horticultural show was held at the Murton Colliery Miners' Social Welfare Centre, In Yorkshire, the chrysanthemum show at the Brodsworth Miners' Welfare Hall staged 588 exhibits. The Chrysanthemum Society attached to the miners' welfare scheme was formed in 1947 and has 690 members; it has an excellent horticultural library. Horticultural societies also flourish at Dinnington and Thurcroft.

In North Wales, an autumn flower show was held at the Point of Ayr Colliery Institute for the first time. A horticultural show was held in connection with the Nottinghamshire Miners' Welfare Festival, and the show at Coleorton Hall, Leicestershire, was again an outstanding occasion, Successful shows were held at the welfare halls at Lewistown, Nantymoel and Risca in South Wales. Snowdown Colliery horticultural section obtained the National Dahlia Society's award for the best exhibit at the Canterbury spring show.

Indoor Games

The opening of the indoor bowling centre at Blantyre has added to the facilities available to mineworkers in Scotland for this popular recreation. An inter-colliery ten-pin bowling competition arranged in Area No. 2 of Yorkshire Division was played off between 8 teams at Doncaster.

Indoor games leagues and championships sponsored by CISWO are a feature in the welfare schemes of Northumberland, North Derbyshire, Lancashire and North Wales. Inter-county billiards matches were played between Cumberland and Northumberland and in a number of indoor games between Durham and Northumberland. The Divisional billiards and snooker competition in South-Western Division was won by Oakdale.

Ladies' Sections

New miners' welfare ladies' sections have been established at Huthwaite, Cotgrave and Silverhill/Teversal in Nottinghamshire, making a total of 34 sections in the County with a total of 2,100 members. Events in 1964 included the Annual Conference, addressed by Mr. George Woodcock; a county dance where entertainment was provided by Ukrainian dancers; a holiday in Holland and an outing to London.

At the Wharncliffe Woodmoor Miners' Welfare Scheme in Yorkshire, a keep-fit class is operating under the instruction of Miss Dorothy Hyman of athletic fame.

Pigeon Racing

Both the Durham and the Northumberland Divisional pigeon races were flown in conjunction with the Up-North Combine's massive event from Lille, France, in which a total of 11,258 birds took part: 373 Durham miners and 284 Northumberland miners entered birds for this race. The race for Cumberland was flown from St. Malo, 82 miners entering 273 birds. in North Wales, 65 competitors entered 268 birds, also racing from St. Malo to home lofts. Races were organised in Area No. 2 of Yorkshire Division and in North Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The Kent Collieries Association held races from Dorchester, Truro and Lymington.

Tennis

A tennis match between Yorkshire and Derbyshire, held on the occasion of the Yorkshire Divisional athletic day, was won by Derbyshire. In Nottinghamshire, a District tennis tournament was held as part of the Miners' Welfare Festival. The West Midlands Divisional tennis competition was won by South Staffordshire.