ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD

THE old-time pit brow girls were a special breed - cheerful, uncomplaining and fiercely loyal to each other.

Theirs was a hard slog, within the shadow of the colliery headgear, picking out rocks, stones and other finger-stubbing waste from among the conveyor belt-carried coal.

But once out of their clogs and and overalls, these heart-of-the-North lasses were never too tired to wash off the grime, put on their make-up and glad rags and become belles of the ball at the pit-village tanner hops.

And now, a mature student, aiming to pen a page of pit brow history, is seeking out any survivors who might be able to provide first-hand details.

Helen Thompson of Prescot, explains: "I am studying at St Helens College, on an Access course, and for my women's history project I've decided to concentrate on pit brow lasses."

Explaining that she's "desperate for some primary source material." Helen has turned for help to fans of this ancient page. She wonders if anyone could put her in touch with any woman who actually worked on the pit brow.

And there's every chance that there are still a few around, because I can recall seeing the pit-brow lasses of Haydock cheerfully clattering their way home, often arm-in-arm and in full song, as late as the 1950s.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.