Principles of Coal Mining. University of the Underground

My Eldest son brought me this book for christmas.

As far as I can work out it is intended for coal miners, despite the inscription on the title page above. (Click on the image if it is not clear).

Preface says the book is necessary because through there are many excellent technical treatises , they are too large and too expensive for most students. The (many !) reprinted reviews suggest that this book is useful both for the engineering student and the miner.

Written in pencil inside the front cover is the inscription:

'Charles Rees
Penrhiolithin (the last 8 letters are not at all clear)

Brynnamen
morning class'





The handwriting is almost identical to the rounded script my Granny learnt at a Brixton primary 1899/1905.

I found Another copy offered for sale of principles on the internet insribed 'presented for regular attendance at night school in 1903'.

Small it may be, but the book is still very demanding covering the the ages of rocks from the cainozoic, geology of rock strata, chemistry, looking for coal, initial sinkings, methods of timbering shaft bottoms (aren't there a lot?), methods of working and so much more..

I'm rather frustrated as their seems to have been a national scheme for miners education but I can't find much about it.



Also very curious about Charles Rees, found his village, through it's now spelt Brymmanen, I can't find his mine, but if you look at the satellite on multimap , the village is surrounded by many disarded mine workings.

I found a little on the Ammanford council website(nearest town) about education in Amanford before the opening of a technical college in the twenties. Explains Charles Rees's classes, anyway:

"[Until] this time there were evening classes in a variety of subjects. These classes were quite popular, and often well attended. The same teacher would conduct two or three classes a week in the winter time, and would be doing this year after year. Often-times the boys looked upon the classes as a means of getting together and as a pastime, it was neither good nor bad. The pattern of many a local evening class was this – the pupils came every winter to support the teacher, who invariably lived in their midst, and canvassing for pupils was a common thing. It was quite natural for a young teacher to be anxious to supplement his income by taking evening classes, but unfortunately his prime purpose in doing so would be financial and personal, with the welfare of the pupils a secondary matter. Any pupil who had any ideas of furthering his education was immediately suspect, and sometimes victimised, and looked upon by the teacher and his fellow students as one whose presence would be unwelcome the following winter. Many such pupils embarked on correspondence courses, and succeeded.

Ammanford council site is wonderful by the way, vibrant history. A town where the only relevant political choice was to take your communism neat, or rebel with a dash of Trotsky.