On the 1st January 1947, a brave new world commenced with the Nationalisation of the British coal industry. Instead of small independent companies at the mercy of each ill economic wind, the economic strength of the Nation was expected to ensure returns from levels of capital investment that were beyond private colliery owners. Thus, Bedwas Navigation Colliery (1921) Ltd. and the connection of Sir Samuel Instone was no more. The National Coal Board flag was raised over Bedwas Colliery by Boggy Thorne, with Mr. Hopkin Llewellyn in attendance.

Back in the Rhymney Valley, they were indeed interesting times. The 'Westward Ho!' scheme in the War years had resulted in no less than 16 different nationalities being represented under Mynydd y Grug. Czecho-Slovaks, Lithuanians, Poles, and others displaced from Eastern Europe awaited those who returned from the War. As Bedwas Colliers returned from military service, in turn, the 'Bevin Boys' left their local temporary accomodation and returned to their own homes.

There was in fact a real language difficulty underground and a few arguments arose, especially when speaking at the top of the voice in English still didn't work. However, overall these were challenging and exciting times. There was pressure to intensify coal production and the men of Bedwas responded. Many of the foreign labour force with names such as Borowski, Lisak, Palcykewycz and Pruchnik were absorbed into the community.

In 1952 the Colliery is officially recorded as having 1,230 men underground and 263 surface workers. It was producing around 1,500 tons of coal per day. The management at this time was:

The previous manager, Mr.Idris Richards emigrated to Australia following Nationalisation. Mr. Henry Matthews recalls the following men who exercised much control on a day-to-day basis. They were delegated much control over the running of the pit and had long memories of the many strikes and former employees:

The following overmen are recalled:

and the following Deputies:

Henry Matthews recalls the following:

Hughie Kellow (70's) and Dai Thomas (60's) were engaged on roadway repair and as a two-man team were real characters;

Harry Coles returned as a roadway repairer, from Burma where he'd been a prisoner of war, having been captured in the fall of Singapore, . He later left and became the Steward of the Ruperra Club, where he occasionally performed his act of standing in a tin bath and downing a white bucket of beer - fantastic to behold !

Bryn Duggan and Hubert 'Screw' Stone were both a couple of characters from Abertridwr;

Sid Smith and Percy Thomas were two 'colliery-trained' amateur boxers who performed at the Aber Hall once a year. Their underground training routines were apparently hilarious;

Key local dignatories were the Secretary and Chairman of the local N.U.M. Lodge - respectively Mr. Hopkin Llewellyn and Mr. Eddy Pole. With their committee, these had a huge influence on the welfare of local miners and the affairs of the colliery.

The reorganisation of the South Wales collieries saw Bedwas designated as part of No.5 Area of the National Coal Board. It became subject to control from Ystrad Mynach, the administrative headquarters of the Powell Duffryn Company ('PD') prior to nationalisation. Bedwas and Llanbradach, suddenly, as the only non-PD collieries in the area became subject to the control of the former PD management and systems. Within a week of nationalisation lorries and workmen arrived unannounced to take away the expensive high quality furniture from the Bedwas colliery offices for use at Ystrad Fawr, Ystrad Mynach.This and other interference by the new area management at Bedwas caused a degreee of short-term unrest and the colliery manager Idris Richards resigned and emigrated to Australia. The former colliery Agent was transferred elsewhere to become a Group Manager. Only with the appointment of the new manager, Mr N A Walters, did matters settle down after a while.

Into the early 1950's a fairly regular annual output of around 410,000 tons was produced by a slightly smaller workforce than pre-War. More modern systems and machinery were introduced, each colliery having to repay over time loans made for capital investment. Bedwas was fortunate in that it had become quite a large unit with good prospects and large reserves. It did not have the problem, due to its location, of encroaching over boundaries of other collieries. A number of working faces were developed on a new method of horizon mining . By this method, long straight roadways were driven on a level course until they intersected with the rising coal seams some considerable distance from the shafts. In the South Pit a large such roadway with twin tracks was driven due east to a loading point serving both older and newer areas, by a complex network of main and ancillary conveyors. The loading point was served by Hunslet Diesel locomotives which hauled trams in both directions.

In the North Pit the pit bottom tram circuits were allowed to be operated again with the minimum of manpower and the former Cook's Return main airway on the East side of the shaft was enlarged to provide a a 100 ton capacity bunker into which a large conveyor fed coal. If there was a delay at the main loading point 50 yards to the East of the shaft, trams could be mechanically handled to the West from this bunker, from where they would roll under the force of gravity to the shaft. The coal was worked from a large district in the Big Vein seam and won by large Trepanner electrically driven machines, loading onto Panzer-type conveyors. These armoured conveyors were advanced hydraulically into the coalface as the Trepanner traversed the face length above the conveyor in a production technique known as Longwall mining.The roof was supported by self-advancing Dowty Hydraulic Chocks, which ancored the hydraulic rams which pushed the armoured conveyor forward. This district advanced to the rise of 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 for several hundred yards from the end of the main loading belt which fed the bunker and shaft. This was driven Northwards in the direction of the Nine Mile Point colliery in the Sirhowy Valley.

These systems worked into the 1960's and were developed into other parts of the mine into the early 1970's. At this point, the colliery faced competition from cheaper imports of coal from Poland and Nigeria, and this story will continue in due course into the problems of the mid 70's to the 80's.

I am hugely indebted to Henry Matthews of St. Cenydd Road, Caerphilly for the above recollections, with other information from the Ministry of Fuel and Power Report on the Explosion at Bedwas Colliery, Monmouthshire on 10th October, 1952. Cmd 9019., for which I extend my thanks to Mr. Don Pole (son of Eddy Pole mentioned above).