At the Coalface: The memoir of a pit nurse
Written by Joan Hart and Veronica Clark
Narrated by Maggie Ollerenshaw
5/5
()
About this audiobook
A heart-warming story of a woman who devoted her life to helping others. This is the memoir of Joan, who started nursing in the 1940s and whose experiences took her into the Yorkshire mining pits and through the tumult of the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
Joan Hart always knew what she wanted to do with her life. Born in South Yorkshire in 1932, she started her nursing training when she was 16, the youngest age girls could do so at the time. She continued working after she married and her work took her to London and Doncaster, caring for children and miners.
When she took a job as a pit nurse in Doncaster in 1974, she found that in order to be accepted by the men under her care, she would have to become one of them. Most of the time rejecting a traditional nurse’s uniform and donning a baggy miner’s suit, pit boots, a hardhat and a headlamp, Joan resolved always to go down to injured miners and bring them out of the pit herself.
Over 15 years Joan grew to know the miners not only as a nurse, but as a confidante and friend. She tended to injured miners underground, rescued men trapped in the pits, and provided support for them and their families during the bitter miners’ strike which stretched from March 1984 to 1985.
Moving and uplifting, this is a story of one woman’s life, marriage and work; it is guaranteed to make readers laugh, cry, and smile.
Related to At the Coalface
Related audiobooks
Alfie the Holiday Cat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mashego File Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taming the Twisted 2 Reconstructing Rain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCalling WPC Crockford: The Story of a 1950s Police Woman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beech Bank Girls: Making A Difference Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dubrovnik Book Club Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlfie and George Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Muskoka: Enchanting Stories from Cottage Country Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCalled by the Wild: The Dogs Trained to Protect Wildlife Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Falconer Files Murder Mysteries Books 1 - 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIt's All About Cats Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Haunted Rectory: The Saint Francis Xavier Church Hookers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSirius: A Novel About the Little Dog Who Almost Changed History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ash Lake Murders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A New Cook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Saturday Girls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe River Flows On Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beech Bank Girls: A Time Remembered Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Picturehouse Girls: An absolutely heart-breaking World War Two historical fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlfie in the Snow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Favorite Comedians: My Obsession With the Comedians I Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Road and Beyond: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings'Til Niagara Falls Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Mama Had a Quick Little Chat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saving Sailor: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSouls for Sale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Little Princess Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chasing North Star: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Personal Memoirs For You
The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pageboy: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Woman in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Stay Married Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Counting the Cost Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Night: New translation by Marion Wiesel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Me: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making It So: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love, Lucy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love, Pamela: A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wishful Drinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for At the Coalface
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is Joan Hart's story, from her birth right up to the present day, but primarily it is about her nursing career and in particular her work as a pit nurse in South Yorkshire. It's full of fascinating anecdotes and stories of her time at two pits, including her memories of the miners' strike. Full of compassion, beautifully written and heart-warming, this is a brilliant book. Joan Hart takes no nonsense but her character and caring nature really shine through. Lovely read.