Whilst delving into the recent history of Devon Great Consols I came
across one Ernest Gregory. To say the least Mr Gregory appears to have
been a colourful character, at least if Tamar valley folklore is to be
believed. As I understand it he was prospecting at DGC in the late 1940s,
dissapeared into darkest Africa, returned during the mid 1960s when he
started a precipitation works at DGC and, latterly, was reworking the
dumps. Local legend alledges that he ended up having a sex change. I have
also heard that he was working fluorspar in the Dales/Northern Pennines.
Someone once mentioned to me that an article had been written about his
activities and that the NMRS might hold a copy(????).
Can anyone add to this or fill in the gaps?
Rick Stewart.
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