I READ with interest the articles in your recent editions about women working in the mines.

As someone who has worked in mines I would like to know if there is anyone living in the Forest of Dean with a similar experience to myself.

During World War Two there was a unwritten rule that you could start work the week you were 14.

In my case I was not 14 until Wednesday so I started work on the Monday picking slags on what were called the screens on the colliery surface.

On Tuesday the manager came and said: "I am short of a lad underground, off you go."

So I can honestly say I worked underground at the age of 13.

There were no pit head baths in those days. When I arrived home black as the ace of spades my father greeted me with the words: "Now you see where you will end up if you don't pass your exams."

The strange thing is that I passed my exams and eventually went to work for the National Coal Board. I later transferred to the steel industry after having had several close encounters with the 'Grim Reaper.' – W.A. Lewellyn, Firs Road, Caldicot.