Hi Group
Here in NSW Australia the designation " Token Boy" lasted till the virtual
end of contract mining (in the 1950's)

Before a pair of contract miners filled a skip they would hang on it a
leather "token"  carrying their identification number.

When the skip arrived on the surface and was emptied ("tipped") the token
boy removed this and called the number to the "company weighman" and the
"check weighman" so they could record it on the daily  "weighsheet" which of
course went to the office for computation of payment. The token was then
placed on a numbered hook  for collection next day.

It was considered a heinous crime to exchange tokens in the mine (thus
stealing someone's coal) but not unknown...the position of the holes in the
skips made this difficult when filled.

There was also the practice of placing one's token on a skip of "company
coal" which may have been filled from spillage along the haulage road. These
were generally identified only by chalk marks and were considered fair game
by less scruplulous miners.

Regards
John





----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Smith <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 6:21 PM
Subject: "Chalkers On" & "Token Hanger".


Does anyone have any information, especially contemporary accounts and
descriptions, about the exact jobs carried out by "chalkers-on" and
"token-hangers" in C19th (or earlier) collieries. Also are these terms only
found in the Great North Coalfield or were they used in other regions also?

Chalkers-on - I have a basic understanding of what a "chalker on" was - i.e.
usually a young boy who was responsible for making a chalk tally on a record
board of what each of the putters and hewers in his district had produced
(in the way of filled tubs or corves) per shift. The chalker on was normally
stationed at one of the "rolley way" cranes or tub martialling flats
underground. Some accounts I've read suggest the "chalker on" was also
responsible for marking each tub filled with the hewers' initials, mark or
safety lamp number. In this way the correct miners could be credited with
filling each tub when raised to bank. Maybe this was one of the jobs of the
"chalker on" in some areas of the UK but I thought it would have made more
sense for each individual hewer to have chalked his own identification marks
on those tubs he'd filled. That way there would be less risk of errors and
mix-ups being made once the tubs arrived at the flats.  I believe that in
certain areas of the South Wales and the East Midlands (where tub tokens
were never very popular) the practice of hewers "chalking on" there own
identification numbers to the sides of filled tubs carried on into the
C20th. Does anyone have any ideas or more information?

Token-hanger - From a couple of C19th mining term glossaries I understand
that a token hanger was probably responsible for a similar function as the
"Chalker-on"  was at pits that didn't employ the "chalking-on" system.
Reading between the lines I think the "token hanger" was stationed at a
suitable location in the pit, i.e. the tub martialling flats, from where he
could he could ascertain from the in coming putters who had been responsible
for filling each tub. The "token hanger" would then attach a numbered token
(or couple of tokens - one for the putter and one for the hewer?) to each
tub so as it could be identified once raised to bank. In the more
conventional tub token systems, which carried on in use well in the C20th in
some parts, it was generally the responsibility of each putter and hewer to
attach their own tokens to the tubs they had filled/hauled. If this is the
case was the role of the "token hanger" then redundant or was the term
"token hanger" also applied to the boy at the surface weighing station who
removed the putters and hewers tokens from each tub (returning them back
onto there respective numbered pegs in the token cabin) prior to them being
tippled?

Regards

Mark Smith

Visit the UK's National Mining Memorabilia Association's Web site at;
http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.smith30/index.htm or http://clix.to/NMMA