Rhys Evans’ Journal A Day in the Life

1. Rhys Evans’ JournalA Day in the Life By Felix

2. 1776 Rhys Evans 1896 A big mine disaster happened recently, lots of people died. I’m not sure exactly where it was. Just that something like that might happen in our village any time now. Everyone I know could be killed in the blink of an eye. Sometimes I wonder why we are mining the coal here. Why would we go into a disgusting, humid, dirty pit anyway? It gives us food. It keeps us alive but barely living. But why does anyone need the coal? I have heard that many rich people have been reading about the conditions and danger that we have to work in. They are even becoming interested in the wellbeing of the lower class. I hope that this will lead to higher pay or safer mines to work in. I am always scared that my brother or myself will be hurt. Dad told meit was because it makes machines work. I remember dad told methat his father’s father was alive when James Watt invented his steam engine. James Watt made a steam engine that was much better than the ones before. That steam engine opened up many other possibilities afterwards. Big factories opened up in London and other big cities. Those factories make almost everything. It’s nice to know that all the work we do every day is for a good cause. I think it’s a good cause. I thought once that it might be interesting to be an inventor like James Watt. I have always thought it would be great to have a workshop full of twirling tubes and bubbling liquids. I could be rich and live in a huge house like the Tyler family does. I could even have people working for me. Imagine having servants! I could order people to give me anything. A back rub, a roast chicken, I could even go to school! But that would only be if I could invent something that people would like and that would only be if I could ever be an inventor. I doubt that will ever happen.

3. A mine explosion “Breaking the News”

4. 1805 Rhys Evans, 1896 My granddad told me about what the Blanaevon Ironworks were like when he worked in them. He said that they were actually quite similar to how they are now. I have never worked in an ironworks before so I had little to relate with. At the time I was actually quite intrigued. Granddad always had interesting stories to tell about what life used to be like. He told me that he was younger than I am now when he and his father, mother and siblings moved from their farm to Blanaevon. He and his family were all frightened about the terrible environment they had to work in. Although the pay and living standards would have improved, there was a much higher chance of being killed in the Ironworks. Granddad’s best friend Gwalter was killed in that Ironworks. He was taking out the stone to release the molten iron and there was just a little more iron than expected and a little more liquid-like too. Some of the lava splashed up and landed on Gwalter’s face. He screamed in pain. A scream that was soon muffled and stopped, stopped because his mouth ceased to exist. It must have been a horrible sight. On another note, I have always thought that an ironworks would be safer than the pit. In coalmines people die almost every day. In our mine alone it’s about one death every month. Although anyone would think that a sore thought is little to worry about, it is the most painful part of working in the pits. The dust that we inhale day after day gives us a throat we can barely swallow through. It is ironic that we can barely eat the food we can only just afford to eat. In fact, I know a Scottish prayer that is actually quite accurate for our situation. Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.

5. The Blanaevon ironworks Molten Iron

6. 1842 Rhys Evans, 1896 My granddad also told me about when a new law was introduced. It was called the mines act. This rule meant that no women or young children could work in the coalmines and iron works anymore. His father was furious about it and openly expressed his dislike of the law to almost the entire neighbourhood. Because Granddad’s mother and little sister couldn't work in the pit anymore, their family salary almost halved. His mother’s new job earned her much less money unfortunately. Secretly, Granddad was pleased about the new law. I think his mother might be too. He was very worried about his little sister Gwendolyn when she worked in the mines. Because she was small, they always made her do the most dangerous parts where slipping into tiny spaces was necessary. Granddad’s little sister was the most likely person in the mine to die before the law was introduced. I actually feel the same way about Idris. I wouldn’t want him to ever have to work in the pit. Sometimes I feel jealous of Idris. He gets to go to school and receive free education. He actually has a chance of getting out of coal mining and having a different kind of life. He has been teaching all of us what he learns at school every day. We have actually been given some interesting information. We have even learnt how to read a little! I can now read simple words like ‘big’ and ‘cat’ and various other three-letter words. It makes Idris feel much more important when he teaches us. His face brightens up. Maybe he could be a teacher when he grows up, maybe a worker in the pit. At least he may have a choice. I know working in the pit is very unhealthy. I’ve seen almost everyone in the mine coughing up black Phlegm and having to work much slower because of it. The black lung kills so many in the mines. My own father died because of it. He could barely walk fifty metres before he had to stop and breath. I still think about him almost every night. I hope he has found a good life in heaven.

7. Welsh miners and pit ponies

8. 1876 Rhys Evans 1896 Mother and Father have always told Idris and I about the time that they moved from MyrthrTydfil to Tylertown. My mother believed the Ironworks were very dangerous and word was spreading of a new mine with good pay and free housing. Both of my parents liked the sound of that and, although Mother was very pregnant they decided it would be best to move as soon as possible to Tylertown, Built by Alfred Tyler. Soon After, I was born and our family started to grow in size and health - except for my father. Unfortunately the coal creates a dust that is terrible for people’s lungs. Work in the pits is much more difficult and intense than in an ironworks. Even I have seen people be crushed or run over in the coalmine. Father told me that coal was actually used to fuel machines. Although Iron was used to make gears and the frames of machines, without coal, they were useless stacks of metal. I found it very strange that all of the structure relied on a black, staining rock. Coal was used to heat our house and to cook our food but that was all I had known of before. I thought that perhaps the rich had huge furnaces to keep their house warm all year. I wish our house could be cozy all year. It gets freezing in the winter. We all literally bundle up at night together in front of the small fire and eat our vegetable stew. We could only just feel our toes. It is strange that none of us got frostbite. Our fire was what we saw our futures in. Idris and I still stare at the flickering flames and imagine how we would get ourselves out of this terrible life. We could become more than dirty miners by staring at the fire. The fire let us keep our head in the clouds for just an hour every day.

9. A coal-powered factory

10. 1896 Rhys Evans 1896 There has been another mine explosion. This time it was in our mine, Pendyrus. So many of our friends and neighbours died. Mr. Davies from next door, my best mate Dai, even a young boy who was in there regardless of the law. I think his name was Owen. The accident was so bad that the mine owner Louis Tyler decided it would cost far too much to rebuild the mine, buy more pit ponies, hire more people and pump the water out. Louis Tyler figured out it would be a much better idea just to sell the mine and live off the rest of his earnings. Most people would call it retiring. The moment I came back from the pit that day my mother and Idris hugged me tightly and almost cried with happiness to know that I had survived. These tears of joy were only to be replaced with tears of mourning as we thought quietly about the many people that were lost that day. We wept for Mr. Davies from next door, for my mate Dai and for little Owen. An hour and a half solemn thought passed before I stood up and started thinking about what we could do. I came up with some poor ideas before Idris, mind still full of wonder despite the rough world we lived in, shared with us a brilliant thought. We could take a boat to immigrate to another country. Starting a new life in a new place would be good for all of us. We could have a healthy and prosperous life almost anywhere we wanted. Idris could be a genius sometimes. Two weeks from then Mother, Idris and I were on a train to Liverpool where we would embark on our epic journey to Sydney, Australia. Only later did we find out that Sydney was actually in the Australian state called ‘New South Wales’. It seemed to fit quite well. In those two weeks Idris and I had worked overtime in the pit and we had all rationed our food much more than ever before. We were really skinny when we boarded the ‘Gulf of Cyam’ to voyage to the south. Mother had somehow used her ‘connections’ to sell all of our furniture and belongings beside the highly necessary. We set off with minds racing and hearts pumping with excitement. We shut the door of our ugly two-up-two-down cottage. Ready to start our new adventure in a new land.

11. After the explosion New horizons

12. Conclusion The primary short-term impacts of the industrial revolution were the masses of people who changed their lifestyle from a predominately rural farming economy to city dwelling workers in factories, mills and mines. Instead of working for themselves they would be working for an employer. This was a factor that led to a greater divide between rich and poor of 19th century Britain. People’s diets changed because of the decrease in access to fresh produce. In the past they would have grown their own and traded with neighbouring farms. Long-term coal burning produced a massive quantity of air pollution that remained on the brickwork of buildings. This can still be seen in much of Britain although many buildings have now been cleaned. This also caused lung problems for the population leading to early death. Population distribution was probably the largest change during the industrial revolution. Cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow grew quickly due to the movement of people from rural areas seeking work. Another change was that people demanded more rights from the government. Laws such as the mines act and the education act gave more protection for children and a better future for the poor. Rural life for the people who did not move to work in an industrialised area remained very similar. People still migrate on a large scale to find work. They bring their families with them and it can be difficult to adapt. This is currently happening in many developing countries throughout the world including China. People are moving from the country to the cities so they can find work. Often conditions for migrant workers are difficult. Their housing can be overcrowded and expensive. The likelihood of a mine accident is still very high in China while in more developed countries it is rare. In such countries there are certain laws to protect workers and their rights. However, there are other completely undeveloped countries where some people have almost no rights. Even young children must slave for long hours in poor conditions.

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