I can recall the term 'puffler' being used in the 1950's at the County
Durham colliery where I worked. There was a puffler on each hand-filled
face and he really acted as a representative of the fillers on the coal face
in regard to their output and earnings. I think that the move into
mechanised faces, starting with the use of 'flighters' at this colliery,
caused the job to disappear.
Alan Vickers.
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