The poems of a Ramcroft Collier

A notebook of poems by Harry Fokinther, a collier at Ramcroft Colliery near Bolsover, kept by a workmate and transcribed in 1998 by the former miner A. N. Bridgewater. They range from a portrait of the poet's grandfather after a lifetime underground to a wartime appeal to miners and a tribute to Ramcroft's fire officer.

The mining history in this record

Harry Fokinther worked at Ramcroft Colliery, at Heath near Bolsover in Derbyshire, and wrote verse in a notebook, signing each poem and adding notes on how some of them came about. When Ramcroft closed he moved to Oxcroft Colliery, starting there on a Monday; he was killed in an accident on the Wednesday, and is buried in Scarcliffe churchyard.

His widow gave the notebook to Charlie 'Straggy' Handcock, a workmate from Ramcroft, who lent it round for people to read. A. N. Bridgewater, whose father and uncles had worked at Ramcroft, photocopied it to spare the original, tried without success to persuade Handcock to publish it for charity, and in June 1998 made a transcription in the original spelling, of which he produced only a few copies. 'The Ancient Miner' is a portrait of Harry's grandfather, Joseph Attenbrough, who after a full working life in the mines of Derbyshire lived to nearly ninety-two and approved of the new mechanised mining; 'Coal' gives the seam its own voice; one poem was an appeal to British miners to return to the pits in the critical war years, and another honours Ted Smith, Ramcroft's fire officer.

People

Harry Fokinther, collier and poet. Charlie 'Straggy' Handcock, his Ramcroft workmate, who kept the notebook. A. N. Bridgewater, who transcribed it. Joseph Attenbrough, his grandfather, the subject of 'The Ancient Miner'. Albert Edwin 'Ted' Smith, Ramcroft's fire officer.

Legacy today

Bridgewater's transcription is on oldminer.co.uk, with a downloadable copy and notes on Ramcroft Colliery, and Harry's family helped correct it. A relative, who was about two years old when he died, also put his poems online as 'Uncle Harry's Poetry', counting 'Black Diamond' as a favourite.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Harry Fokinther's poems survive in a notebook his widow gave to Charlie Handcock, his workmate from Ramcroft Colliery; A. N. Bridgewater transcribed them in June 1998, keeping the original spelling and punctuation and each poem's notes on its origins. (documented fact) ¹
• Fokinther left Ramcroft when it closed, started at Oxcroft Colliery on the Monday and was accidentally killed there on the Wednesday; he is buried in Scarcliffe churchyard. (later recollection) ¹
• 'The Ancient Miner' portrays Fokinther's grandfather Joseph Attenbrough, who after a full working life in Derbyshire's mines lived to nearly 92 and approved of modern mining. (documented fact) ¹
• One of the poems was written as an appeal to British miners to return to the pits during the critical war years, and another in appreciation of Albert Edwin 'Ted' Smith, fire officer at Ramcroft Colliery. (documented fact) ¹
• A relative who was about two years old when Fokinther died put his poetry online as 'Uncle Harry's Poetry', naming 'Black Diamond' as a favourite. (documented fact) ²

Mines

• Ramcroft Colliery — Derbyshire
  Harry Fokinther worked at Ramcroft until it closed, and his notebook of poems was kept by a Ramcroft workmate; one poem honours Ramcroft's fire officer, Ted Smith.

Real-world mining concepts used here

Coal, Colliery

Sources

1. (secondary) Poems - oldminer.co.uk (the poems of the late Harry Fokinther, transcribed by A. N. Bridgewater) — oldminer.co.uk
2. (secondary) Uncle Harry's Poetry (WahineNakahi, Internet Archive capture of 21 October 2020) — WahineNakahi (Google Sites)

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026