Jim would always 'let you down'

JIM Millner was a man who would always 'let you down' - but only in the safest and most professional way.

For Jim was a pit-head winder at the old Ravenhead Colliery, operating the cage which carried the miners from the surface to the pit bottom.

And he was was spotted on my recent flashback photo featuring a smiling half-dozen ending their shift at that particular colliery.

That glimpse back in time, before the savaging of our local mining scene, apparently caused a buzz of interest among friends and relatives who recognised those old-timers - including Barbara Millner of Smith Street, Sutton, who just happens to be a distributor for the Star.

She writes: "Coming across the photo on Page 6 (August 29), I recognised my father-in-law Jim Millner, standing on the left. According to John, my husband, Jim worked at Ravenhead Colliery after the last war and right through to its closure. He was a winder at the pit-head."

Jim, she adds, lives in Cheviot Avenue, Parr, having moved earlier from Stretton Avenue. And she rounds off her letter with a little compliment to a caring team.

"Jim's wife now resides in Eton Hall Nursing Home in New Street, where the staff do their utmost to make the residents as comfortable as possible - each having their own nicely-furnished room."

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