South Normanton researcher releases first book on legacy of coal in the community
A writer and researcher interested in preserving the history and legacy of our area is releasing his first book this month.
Roger West, who was born in South Normanton and grew up in the heart of a once-thriving coalmining community, has worked as a football reporter, broadcaster, and co-commentator for Mansfield 103.2 FM, Centre FM, and BBC Radio Derby Sport.
Roger, who has also contributed articles to various newspapers and magazines over the years, explained how he is committed to preserving the memory of ‘King Coal’, believing that without such efforts, the legacy of the coal mining industry will be forgotten by future generations.
In his new book; ‘RED BLOOD FOR BLACK GOLD,’ Roger aims to do just that – ensuring that the proud and once-thriving coal mining industry is remembered in years to come.
Roger shared with your Chad that he has always dreamed of writing a book, and is thrilled that this lifelong ambition has finally been realised.
He said that the South Normanton Colliery disaster of 1937, in which eight men tragically lost their lives, inspired him to write an article that was eventually published in Derbyshire Life magazine.
From then, he went on to design a PowerPoint presentation on the same subject which was given at South Normanton Post Mill Community Centre attended by over 150 people, and through it, raised an impressive £550 for the Oncology Unit for Sherwood Hospitals.
He explained: “It was on that very night in March three years ago that someone suggested I should write a book about coal mining, and what better place to start than my home village.”
Roger shared how he approached many publishers who all rejected the idea of what he said was “yet another fossil fuel book”.
However, he said Jonathan Taylor at Spiral Publications had faith in him and his idea – telling the researcher to carry on with this theme.
Roger added: “I'm from a proud coal mining family and community, and the book covers my village of South Normanton with a fair slice of coal mining social history.
“It has to be said that all collieries and their communities do not differ dramatically.
“Coal mining was more than a job, it was a way of life where each looked after the other, whether on t'pit top, or down below.
“I do feature Alfreton Colliery, A&B Winnings, that's Blackwell and Hilcote, but once you have one pit, you have them all.”
In addition to comprehensive details about the mining process, this book is filled with regional history, personal recollections from past generations, poems depicting the miner's experience, and features numerous historic black-and-white images and photographs.
Roger added: “When I was in my early years, my father used to tell me that you could name twelve pits within an eight-mile radius of South Normanton village market place.
“I would think that almost every household in South Normanton featured someone who was employed at one of those 12 coal mines.
“My father, brother, uncle, father-in-law, grandfathers and great-grandfathers were all hewers of coal in a life-threatening environment long before health and safety were thought of.
“The fact that my father like most male family members was employed in the most dangerous of all occupations, ‘down the pit’, fills me with immense pride. And coal was King.
“It warmed the village homes, kept the lights burning, and paid and paved the way for most family necessities.
“‘Buckets of Red Blood have been spilled in the search for Black Gold down the generations and within the boundaries of South Normanton and Derbyshire.
“Coal fuelled much employment, rising to prominence many times down the years then all to soon it was burnt out, gone. This is my story.”
Just last year, Roger, who is passionate about the history of the wider Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire area, shared his research on the war time crash of a Stirling Bomber, Serial EH 988, in Annesley Forest in 1945.
He told your Chad how he learned about this incident from the book ‘Passage to Destruction’ by Malcolm and Rose Bryan.
Over the years, Roger has taken care of the memorial site with friends and fellow community members, playing a key role in honouring the crew members who lost their lives in the crash eighty years ago.
Roger, an avid reader, researcher, and writer, releases his new book ‘RED BLOOD FOR BLACK GOLD,’ on Friday, February 21, 2025.
It will be available at www.spiral-books.com, on Amazon, and can be ordered from all good bookshops.