The Second World War: Barnsley's Story

The Pogmoor Crash When talking about the Second World War in Barnsley the Pogmoor Crash is often remembered as an event of great courage and sacrifice.

On 6th January 1942 a crew of five left Dalton airbase in a Whitley bomber to attack the docks in Cherbourg, France. It was too cloudy to see the target so the plane returned with a full load of bombs. On its return to England it became clear that one of the engines was overheating and the plane was losing height.

The Captain, Alexander Hollingsworth, made the decision to jettison the bombs south of Sheffield and on the approach to Barnsley ordered his crew to parachute out.

Captain Hollingsworth made the courageous decision to stay in the plane and pilot it away from a residential area. The plane crashed into the quarry at Pogmoor. Hollingsworth died but three of his four crew survived, and no Barnsley residents were hurt.

The crash site was guarded but some young people managed to sneak past and take items. These ‘souvenirs’ were kept and have been slowly reunited over the years.

Mining During the War Coal mining faced serious problems during the war.

The under-investment of the 1920s and 1930s meant that many mines weren’t working efficiently. The shortages of materials during the war meant that steel props often weren’t available and timber was in short supply. This made conditions for miners more treacherous than ever. Instances of injuries were 13 per cent higher during the war than in the 1930s.

Miners also struggled with lack of food for such manual work. Factory workers were often given a hot meal part way through their shift in addition to their standard rations.

This was not practical for miners as only about one in four pits had a canteen. Miners were eventually offered cold meat pies to take down the pit as an alternative.

Very few mines had bathing facilities and miners were refused extra soap rations which made getting clean more difficult than ever.

Boys as young as 14 starting at the pit normally worked overground before moving into the pit itself. A lot of young men were angry that they weren’t able to join the Armed Forces as they saw this as a better alternative to working in the pit.

Pamphlets on loan from the Yorkshire branch of the NUM.