•Photographs of men at work in the Forest coalfield are few and far between, a fact which makes this interesting view at the New Fancy pit all the more fascinating. The shot shows coal being loaded into a lorry owned by Royce Birt, of Yorkley. The man on the right was foreman Fred Hale, who lived at Parkend, and the youngster holding the horse is Russell Lee, now a very fit 93 year old. Mr Lee worked on the pithead for two years before going underground where he worked as a hodder, pulling out the coal. After two years he became a coal cutter. Once buried after a fall, Mr Lee lived to tell the tale and on the closure of New Fancy he transferred to Lydney's Norchard Colliery where he completed 30 years underground. Anyone with more information can contact Brian Clutterbuck of Dean 841206.
