A Charles Bowden Production for Tyne Tees Television that speaks with some of the 50,000 teenagers who were sent down the mines in a scheme dreamt up by wartime minister Ernest Bevin to relieve the desperate coal shortage. 60 years on, many who served their country at collieries in County Durham and Northumberland remain bitter that their part in the war effort still isn't recognised. They talk about the poor conditions and stigma of being a 'Bevin Boy'. Archive footage of...

A Charles Bowden Production for Tyne Tees Television that speaks with some of the 50,000 teenagers who were sent down the mines in a scheme dreamt up by wartime minister Ernest Bevin to relieve the desperate coal shortage. 60 years on, many who served their country at collieries in County Durham and Northumberland remain bitter that their part in the war effort still isn't recognised. They talk about the poor conditions and stigma of being a 'Bevin Boy'. Archive footage of coal travelling along a conveyer and young men digging coal down a mine. Three former Bevin Boys make comments of their time working as a miner during World War Two. More archive of artillery guns firing into the night sky changes to a photograph of Labour politician and Wartime Minister for Labour and National Service Ernest Bevin and him speaking on a radio about the lack of miners needed for the war effort. Title: The Bevin Boys Interviews with two former Bevin Boys; Warwick Taylor and Dennis Fisher about why young men were needed to work down the mines and how in 1943 Ernest Bevin began recruiting them to work down there and why this was a disaster. More images of Ernest Bevin with his voice over the radio talking about his policy with the coal mines. British Movietone newsreel entitled 'Bevin's Boys' changes to a re-enactment of four young Bevin Boys walking into a mine with one carrying a Davy lamp and another a spade. Warwick Taylor talk about how men were selected and why there wasn't any choice if you, like him, were selected. Dennis Fisher talks about how many of these young men had never seen a coal mine before inter-cut with the actors seen previously now walking through the mine yard past the pithead in overalls and hardhats. In his shed at his Ellington home John Marshall tinkers with a piece of electronic sound equipment. Interview with Mr Marshall about how he told his mother about being call-up as a Bevin Boy and what affect this had on her. Other men talk about their call-up papers and their attempts to appeal against the decision inter-cut with men in overalls walking up a ladder making their way towards the entrance of a coal mine as well as photographs of John Marshall as a young man. Additional sequences from the British Movietone newsreel showing young men at a Government Training Centre Colliery intercut with Warwick Taylor talking about his intense training in being a miner that was done there. The young Bevin Boys now climb into a lift and are lowered to the pit floor. Warwick Taylor and John Marshall talk about their first frightening experience of being lowered. At the bottom the young men get out and walk along darkened roadways. Interviews with Alf Gaddas, sitting next to his wife Sybil, Dennis Fisher and Howard Taylor who all talk about their first experiences of being down a mine. At the pit face the young men use pickaxes and shoves to dig out the coal changes to more footage from the British Movietone newsreel of men returning to the surface after their shift. The former Bevin Boys talk about those who volunteered and how as many as 15,000 were under conscription age with many also coming from public schools. The British Movietone newsreel features one of these boys being interviewed by another young miner. In the village of Stobswood near Morpeth former Bevin Boy Dan Duhig from Oxford and local miner Bob Mavan walk along a path towards a series of miner's cottages where Dan was billeted during the war. They talk about their experiences and the problems Dan had understanding the local 'pitmatic' dialect. At an open-cast site large diggers excavate the landscape once worked by Dan and Bob underground, both men continue to reminisce about their experiences. Title: The Bevin Boys Archive footage of a young man working at the pit-face shovelling coal and horse-drawn wagons carry the coal away. On the surface the young Bevin Boys walk through a colliery yard. Interview with Dan Duhig, Howard Taylor, Warwick Taylor and John Marshall about the prejudice they all received from both the general public as well as loved ones for being a Bevin Boy rather than a member of the military in uniform. Husband and wife Alf and Sybil Gaddas flick through an album of their wedding photos, they talk about how they met as Alf was a Bevin Boy at Ferryhill in County Durham and about their happy 53-year marriage. The men begin to talk about the stigma many still face being considered a 'conscientious objector' which the majority of Bevin Boys were not. John Marshall talks further about his experiences and how he ran away from the mines to be transferred to 'active service' in the army as well as how he met his wife. Archive footage of young men digging with pickaxes at the pit face and shovelling coal into wagons which are pulled away by horses. Interview with Dennis Fisher about the lack of appreciated for the work done by Bevin Boys and the rejection of them by organisations such as the Royal British Legion. Mark Colacicchi of the Royal British Legion approaches a war memorial and bows his head, he explains why Bevin Boys are not eligible to be full members of the legion. Amateur footage of Bevin Boys marching through Durham in front of their association banners, part of the annual Durham Miners Gala. Inside Durham Cathedral their banner stands with others. Warwick Taylor talks about why this gesture is important. At Ellington near Morpeth John Marshall walks his dog, behind him the local colliery and wheel. Underground the young Bevin Boys walk along a darkened pathway. John explains why he returned to Northumberland following his traumatic experiences during the war. A montage of still images and footage from the British Movietone newsreel on Bevins Bos played over men singing 'The Bevin Boy's Song'. Each of the men featured in the programme give their final comments on their experiences Credit: Sheilagh Matheson Credit: Young Bevin Boys Chris Cain, Nic Chapman, Robert Earnshaw, Jamie McKie Credit: Camera Lee Sutterby Credit: Sound Jamie Flynn Credit: Dubbing Mixer Andy Ludbrook Credit: Editor David Hindmarsh Credit: Executive Producer Jane Bolesworth Credit: Produced by Charles Bowden. © Tyne Tees Television 2003 End credit: A CBTV Production for Tyne Tees Television. Granada