The relics in question are name plates given to the hard-working pit ponies, who toiled for hours each day lugging all manner of things in and out of the numerous pits.

The ponies themselves were well regarded and cared for and could lead working lives of 20 years or more. They were given names by the miners with whom they worked and these were often daubed on bits of old conveyor belt and hung around their necks.

Mr Brittlebank, who spent 34 years as a miner, managed to salvage two such mementos of his time, one with the name 'Dot', the other 'Rufus'.

They open a window into that world which might otherwise have remained hidden.

Mr Brittlebank, 74, who has been married to wife Maureen for 54 years, wrote in originally in response to a letter written by Geoff Wilkinson, published in Yorkshire Diary on August 1 this year.

He said: "When they shut down the pits, they did it so quickly and threw out all kinds of stuff that ought to have been kept. I managed to save a few things myself and these are two of them. They are pit pony name plates but they are done on old bits of conveyor belt.

"My first job in the mines was a pony driver. I would bring them back to the stables at the pit bottom. Then they would be inspected. If they had so much as a cut or any injuries on them you would be in big trouble, because they were in your care. Some of them had working lives of over 20 years."

Mr Brittlebank, who has two children and three grandchildren, worked at four pits during his time: East Ardsley, Shaw Cross, Rothwell and Charleston, from which he retired in 1988.

He said: "I can remember us holding fuddles underground, little celebrations to which you would bring a bottle of beer but the Coal Board banned them after one got out of hand. I can also remember walking all the underground roads. I was the safety man and I used to travel the three miles underground from the Fanny Pit to Thorpe.

"Everyone was close, the last thing you wanted underground was any enemies and everyone understood that, because you were so far away from medical help.

"I think the Lofthouse Colliery disaster of March 1973 affected everyone. Seven men died and only one body was ever recovered after they hit an old unrecorded mine shaft which was full of water. It happened from time to time, before legislation was brought in forcing mine owners to record old shafts."

Mr Brittlebank wasn't the only person to put pen to paper in response to Mr Wilkinson's query about whether there was a Fanny Pit, a question which has been well and truly answered in the affirmative.

Mr D McGough (email: Footswitch173@aol.com) worked at the Rothwell Fanny Pit until its closure on December 9, 1983.

Pam Audsley (email: pam audsley@hotmail.com), of Leeds, also remembered the pit, as did Fred Bosworth (email: boswors 02@leedslearning), of Leeds.

Mr Brittlebank can be contacted at maureen brittlebank@yahoo.co.uk.


Calling all past Froebelians

MEMBERS of the Leeds Froebelian Society will be holding a reunion on Monday.

The society was named after Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852), the great German educator who pioneered pre-schooling. A school was set up in Leeds in a small house in Horsforth in 1913, when it was run by Mary Louise Hoe, daughter of the Newlay Station Master.

Mary Hoe was assisted by a Miss D Hunt and both were Froebel-trained. At that time Horsforth was very much a village, as were the surrounding areas of Rawdon, Rodley, Farsley, Calverley, Yeadon and Guiseley, with large houses set in green fields. It was from these villages that Miss Hoe's first pupils came.

There was no other independent junior school in the area and state education was poor.

In 1932, the school moved into Clarence Road, occupying numbers 12 and 14, where it remains to this day. In 1950, the school was purchased by Mr and Mrs Williams, who gained Ministry of Education recognition in 1957. The school became a charitable trust in the 1960s. John Andrew was headmaster from 1973-1991, the current head being John Tranmer. It has had only four heads in its 96-year history.

A series of reunions will be held over the next four years ahead of the centenary in 2013. The first reunion will be on Monday – invitations have been sent to over 60 ex-Froebelians who left prior to 1960. Organiser Janis Wright said: "There must be many more such former pupils and staff out there and we urge them to get in touch."

Contact Janis at janis_w@talktalk.net; or 0113 258 8774.


Recalling the class of 1920

Your letters...

I submit a picture of Brownhill Council School, Harehills Lane, class of 1920, or thereabouts. This photo may be of interest to their descendants. Boys: Edward Linicar, Kenneth Benton, Stanley Wright, George Linicar, Syd Briggs, Cliff Waldron, 'Curly' Kershaw and looks like 'Ciggs'. Girls: Florrie French, Enid Tell, Eva Huckley, Gladys Hargreaves, Kathleen Dawson, Edna Dawson, Eileen Bolley, Ivy Meggit, May Yeoman (my mother), Dolly Heaton, Hilda Powlet, Ethel Wilkinson, Diana Tong, Violet Mary (Josie), Elsie Black, Nellie Armitage,

Edith Latty, Elsie Sigsworth, Jessie Blackburn, Lena Waters, Rita Bakewell.

Teachers: Mr Newton, Jack Thompson, Marjorie Sherel.

Keith Rhind, Leeds, email: keith.rhind @btinternet.com


Regarding the picture of the Black Prince (Yorkshire Diary, September 12), the two ladders being used were manufactured at J Gorstige Ltd, 83 Kirkstall Road, now Benfield Motors. The firm has now moved to Pickering Street, Armley. I have worked for Empire Ladder for 43 years.

Christopher Greenwood, Leeds, email: chris_greenwood@live.co.uk


Guess the year

The people had an appetite for destruction, the king went bad and Britain and France dug in for the long haul. What year are we referring to? Answer next week.

Last week's question: Giant trees shook as old maps were torn up in the UK, while in the USA torn does not cover it. What year are we referring to? Answer: The famous 'Rumble in the Jungle' boxing match took place in Zaire between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. In the UK, the 1972 Local Government Act was implemented, resulting in the re-drawing of many county boundaries and in the US, 149 tornadoes (an anagram of 'A torn does') struck in one night. The year was 1974.

Did you know?

Do you remember Arthur Smith, the much-loved cricket score card seller at Headingley, who died aged 79 in October 1991. Mr Smith was known to thousands of cricket fans and worked at the ground selling score cards, magazines and confectionary for over 60 years. A keen sports fan, one of the highlights of his career was the chance to take six months off in 1950/51 to join the England Cricket Team on a tour of Australia. He also used to sell the YEP and his shrill calls once brought him into conflict with the BBC, who complained his calls were being picked up on broadcasts.

Appeared in EP 10 Oct 2009