From the Cradle to the Coalmine
The Story of Children in Welsh Mines
9781783160556
Distributed for University of Wales Press
From the Cradle to the Coalmine
The Story of Children in Welsh Mines
It is widely believed that the employment of children underground in coal mines ended with the establishment in 1840 of the Children’s Employment Commission, which exposed dangerous working conditions and sparked the adoption of a law that prevented children under the age of ten from working underground. What Ceri Thompson reveals in his richly illustrated From the Cradle to the Coalmine, however, is that the lack of inspectors made the law difficult to enforce, and many children continued to work illegally until Parliament made school attendance compulsory in the 1860s.

Table of Contents
Chronology of Important Dates
Introduction
Child Miners: The 1842 Commission
Collier Boys: The coal boom, 1850s to the 1920s
Mining Trainees: From depression to nationalisation, 1920s to the 1980s
Child Miners Today
Introduction
Child Miners: The 1842 Commission
Collier Boys: The coal boom, 1850s to the 1920s
Mining Trainees: From depression to nationalisation, 1920s to the 1980s
Child Miners Today
Be the first to know
Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!