Twenty-seven miners from around Britain were presented with their badges at a special Downing Street reception hosted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as part of the 60th anniversary commemorations to mark the last Bevin Boy being demobbed from the Army.

And many more local coal workers will receive their badges through the post soon following the announcement by former Premier Tony Blair that surviving Bevin Boys would be eligible to apply for a badge.

The programme was named after Ernest Bevin, a Labour MP who was Minister of Labour and National Service in the Wartime coalition Government.

Mansfield man Alan Weston, of Black Scotch Lane, was one of the 48,000 men conscripted to the mines during the Second World War when he was just 18 and he told Chad that he was delighted the miners' contribution had been recognised.

"It was pleasing to finally get some kind of recognition for my small contribution to the war effort," he said. "I will dedicate it to my father who was killed down the mines aged just 53.

"I'm pleased because many people thought the Bevin Boys were trying to get out of going to war. But most of us would have much rather been serving in the Forces — this was the lot we were given by Ernest Bevin."

Bevin Boys were chosen at random and performed vital but largely unrecognised service in the coal mines, many not being released until years after the War.

Destined

Mr Weston, who worked at Creswell and Mansfield's Crown Farm collieries, said he wanted to join his brothers in the Armed Forces but thought he was destined for the pits because his father was a miner.

"I made two vain efforts to join the Forces," he told Chad. "I had a premonition that the ballot may well be biased and would recruit more young men from the mining areas than elsewhere in the UK. At least I was from a miner's family, while many of my new workmates were not."

Mr Weston said the work was hard and in conditions he could never had imagined.

"It was harder work than I had been used to, manually pushing the tubs, and often they would become derailed thus requiring to be lifted back onto the track," he said.

"If any slight interruption occurred and stopped production, all hell was let loose."

Dennis Hill — who lived in Rushden, Northamptonshire, and was conscripted to work at Clipstone Colliery — described his 'horror' at being conscripted to the mines.

"Three weeks before my 18th birthday, I received papers informing me that I had been selected, by ballot, to work in the mines," he said.

"I was ordered to report to the Chesterfield Labour Exchange and, along with the other conscripts, was sent for a month's initial training to Creswell Colliery.